Milk Money
Encyclopedia
Milk Money is a 1994
romantic comedy film
about three suburban 11-year-old boys who find themselves behind in "the battle of the sexes," believing they would regain the upper hand if they could just see a real, live naked lady. The movie stars Melanie Griffith
and Ed Harris
.
The film was shot in Pennsylvania
, Cincinnati and Lebanon. The story is set in a fictitious suburb named "Middleton," outside an unnamed city. The city Middletown exists as a suburb of Cincinnati. The screenplay sold to Paramount Pictures
in 1992 for 1.1 million dollars, then a record for a romantic comedy spec script
.
Future Boston Red Sox
All Star first and third baseman Kevin Youkilis
appears in the film as a 14-year-old extra, and even has a line in the film.
Back in her apartment Vee speaks with a male friend Cash and fellow hooker Betty. Bag-man Cash has been skimming money that he sends to his mob boss Waltzer who in turn steals from his own boss, Jerry. After the conversation Cash leaves the apartment and Vee notices the boys across the street cowering from the rain and takes Cash's car to give them a ride home.
After arriving at Frank's house the car breaks down. With no other option, Vee accepts his offer to stay in his tree house. Tom, his father, is a little surprised to find her there, but offers to repair her car in a few days when he is more free from his science classes at school. Frank tells Tom that she is a math tutor and that she's giving lessons to his friend Brad. He doesn't realize she is staying in the tree house. Frank does his best to accommodate her and begins to romanticize her, hoping to get widowed Tom to become attracted to her. In conversations with her, he tells her Tom is accepting of her 'job', meaning the false tutoring cover-up, but she thinks he means her prostitution. This innocent deception leads to several misconceptions by both Tom and Vee.
Vee learns through the TV that Cash has been murdered by his mob boss Waltzer, and phones Betty only to discover that Waltzer is now looking for her - Cash told him that she stole the money from him. She realizes that he is overhearing the conversation and hangs up. With the car still broken down, she gets Tom's old bike from the garage and rushes to find him so that he can repair it. He is on a field trip to the town's wetlands, a piece of undeveloped natural land that he is attempting to save from development. He is unable to repair the car any sooner but Vee realizes that she is probably safer there in Middletown, since Waltzer doesn't know where she is.
Meanwhile at school, Frank flunks a biology test about sex education, and must give the class an oral presentation. He decides to use Vee as a mannequin, and through a ruse manages to distract his teacher long enough to draw a relatively accurate female reproductive system on her skin-colored suit. This leads to much comic gossip among the adults, and soon enough, Tom and Vee find out the truth about her vocation. Tom is angry, confused, and hurt and turns to a box of memorabilia that was his wife's before she died.
As both go through the things inside the box they start to heal their relationship and Vee reveals that her real name is Eve, it was too biblical for her conscience so she simply removed the “e”’s. Meanwhile, Kevin's father learns the truth about her as well, and in an attempt to purchase her 'services', unwittingly calls her phone number. Waltzer learns from Betty about the trip to Middletown, thus finding out where Vee is in hiding.
Tom and Vee begin a relationship, attending a school dance and enjoying a night on the town. Waltzer shows up to spoil their fun, and a chase scene ensues, with him finally being eliminated. Anxious about her status, and afraid to return to her old job, Vee goes to his boss and relates how he has been cheating him, and asks to be 'forgotten' by them - the older crime boss succumbs to her charms and tells her he'll take care of things, and she doesn't need to be afraid any more.
Tom and Vee find the stolen money in Cash's car, (packed in the muffler, it was the reason for the breakdown), use it to save the wetlands, and everybody lives happily ever after.
opted not for a conventional negative review, but to portray the film as the result of a fictional conversation between a couple of studio executives.
on September 9, 2003. The film was presented in anamorphic widescreen
in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio
.
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
about three suburban 11-year-old boys who find themselves behind in "the battle of the sexes," believing they would regain the upper hand if they could just see a real, live naked lady. The movie stars Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
and Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...
.
The film was shot in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Cincinnati and Lebanon. The story is set in a fictitious suburb named "Middleton," outside an unnamed city. The city Middletown exists as a suburb of Cincinnati. The screenplay sold to Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in 1992 for 1.1 million dollars, then a record for a romantic comedy spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
.
Future Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
All Star first and third baseman Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis , also known as "Youk" , is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...
appears in the film as a 14-year-old extra, and even has a line in the film.
Plot
The boys — Brad, Frank and Kevin — go from their bedroom suburb of Middletown to the city, with money (all coins, about $100.00) with hopes to see a naked woman. They find a bemused hooker named "Vee" that accepts showing her breasts for the amount. However when they head back home, their bikes have been stolen. They're now broke, and stuck in the city.Back in her apartment Vee speaks with a male friend Cash and fellow hooker Betty. Bag-man Cash has been skimming money that he sends to his mob boss Waltzer who in turn steals from his own boss, Jerry. After the conversation Cash leaves the apartment and Vee notices the boys across the street cowering from the rain and takes Cash's car to give them a ride home.
After arriving at Frank's house the car breaks down. With no other option, Vee accepts his offer to stay in his tree house. Tom, his father, is a little surprised to find her there, but offers to repair her car in a few days when he is more free from his science classes at school. Frank tells Tom that she is a math tutor and that she's giving lessons to his friend Brad. He doesn't realize she is staying in the tree house. Frank does his best to accommodate her and begins to romanticize her, hoping to get widowed Tom to become attracted to her. In conversations with her, he tells her Tom is accepting of her 'job', meaning the false tutoring cover-up, but she thinks he means her prostitution. This innocent deception leads to several misconceptions by both Tom and Vee.
Vee learns through the TV that Cash has been murdered by his mob boss Waltzer, and phones Betty only to discover that Waltzer is now looking for her - Cash told him that she stole the money from him. She realizes that he is overhearing the conversation and hangs up. With the car still broken down, she gets Tom's old bike from the garage and rushes to find him so that he can repair it. He is on a field trip to the town's wetlands, a piece of undeveloped natural land that he is attempting to save from development. He is unable to repair the car any sooner but Vee realizes that she is probably safer there in Middletown, since Waltzer doesn't know where she is.
Meanwhile at school, Frank flunks a biology test about sex education, and must give the class an oral presentation. He decides to use Vee as a mannequin, and through a ruse manages to distract his teacher long enough to draw a relatively accurate female reproductive system on her skin-colored suit. This leads to much comic gossip among the adults, and soon enough, Tom and Vee find out the truth about her vocation. Tom is angry, confused, and hurt and turns to a box of memorabilia that was his wife's before she died.
As both go through the things inside the box they start to heal their relationship and Vee reveals that her real name is Eve, it was too biblical for her conscience so she simply removed the “e”’s. Meanwhile, Kevin's father learns the truth about her as well, and in an attempt to purchase her 'services', unwittingly calls her phone number. Waltzer learns from Betty about the trip to Middletown, thus finding out where Vee is in hiding.
Tom and Vee begin a relationship, attending a school dance and enjoying a night on the town. Waltzer shows up to spoil their fun, and a chase scene ensues, with him finally being eliminated. Anxious about her status, and afraid to return to her old job, Vee goes to his boss and relates how he has been cheating him, and asks to be 'forgotten' by them - the older crime boss succumbs to her charms and tells her he'll take care of things, and she doesn't need to be afraid any more.
Tom and Vee find the stolen money in Cash's car, (packed in the muffler, it was the reason for the breakdown), use it to save the wetlands, and everybody lives happily ever after.
Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Melanie Griffith Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl... |
Vee |
| Ed Harris Ed Harris Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies... |
Tom Wheeler |
| Michael Patrick Carter | Frank Wheeler |
| Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula... |
Waltzer |
| Anne Heche Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,... |
Betty |
| Philip Bosco Philip Bosco -Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy... |
Jerry the Pope |
| Casey Siemaszko Casey Siemaszko Casey Siemaszko is an American actor and the brother of actress Nina Siemaszko. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1961 to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother.Siemaszko's best known film... |
Cash |
| Brian Christopher | Kevin Clean |
| Adam LaVorgna Adam LaVorgna -Early life:LaVorgna was born near New Haven in North Branford, Connecticut. Raised with his three siblings in North Branford, LaVorgna has been appearing on television and film since the early age of three when he first appeared on the daytime series As the World Turns.Other television work... |
Brad |
| Margaret Nagle Margaret Nagle Margaret Nagle is a screenwriter and television producer who has been nominated for two Emmy Awards and won two Writer's Guild of America Awards. Her very first script HBO's "Warm Springs" won the 2005 Emmy Award for Best Television Movie. It also won Nagle the 2006 Writers Guild of America Award... |
Mrs. Fetch |
| Kevin Scannell | Mr. Clean |
| Katie Powell | Mrs. Clean |
Reception
Siskel & Ebert gave Milk Money a "thumbs down" and speculated that the film may have been made by Hollywood executives with an affinity for hookers and their desire to make films about them, for lack of knowing women in any other profession. In writing, Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
opted not for a conventional negative review, but to portray the film as the result of a fictional conversation between a couple of studio executives.
Release
Milk Money was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on September 9, 2003. The film was presented in anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
.
- Features:
- Features Not Specified
- Video:
- Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)
- Subtitles:
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- English
- Audio:
- ENGLISH: Dolby DigitalDolby DigitalDolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1 [CC] - ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC]
- ENGLISH: Dolby Digital