By: debbie lynn elias
Writer/director Joe McClean has his finger on the pulse of society, current events and irreverent comedy with MONEY, PLEASE!. I first met McClean and his talent several years ago thanks to a film that made its world debut at the Dances With Film Film Festival, THAT FALL. An interesting story with exquisite cinematography and imagery, THAT FALL, captured my attention and put Joe McClean on my radar for future projects. McClean now returns to Dances With Films in 2009 with MONEY, PLEASE!, as well as festivals in New York City and Oklahoma. And that’s just in June alone.
So, who of you out there don’t know of or enjoy “Leave It To Beaver” or “Father Knows Best”, “The wonder Years” or even “The Donna Reed Show.” Television classics all, with MONEY, PLEASE! McClean calls on those familiar iconic and virtuous shows as the basis for his satiric wit and flat out funny parody in MONEY, PLEASE!.
“Meet the Studebakers” is America’s favorite show. Your typical American family, Mom, Pop, Little Timmy and Sarah are the epitome of bright-eyed and bushy tailed “aw shucks, Beav” apple pie Americana. For fun, the Studebakers like nothing better than getting together for a fun-filled night of board games, particularly America’s favorite, Money Please. Dad sees this as a building block, a foundation for educating the kids about financial responsibility and the American dream of buy everything! But wait a minute! Out of nowhere, Mr. Greene, that funny looking man from the board game with the top hat, monocle and white handlebar moustache sticks out a hand to Little Timmy and grabs his cash with just two words, “property taxes.” As each family member takes their roll of the dice, the family financial situation gets dicier as Sarah lands on a property space and is forced to turn to Mr. Greene for a loan at “29.97% APR.” Of course, that doesn’t keep Sarah from obsessing about more money and “stuff”, all with a handy APR attached to them. Mom pulls a gamble card which while Dad assures her “will be something good”, turns out to be anything less than a get out of jail free card – Mom is forced to sell her body for groceries. But, as this is America’s favorite wholesome family she does explain to the children, “Do as Mommy says, not as Mommy does.” As for Dad, well, he falls into the harshest of times when Timmy, now a rich gang leader packing a pistol and a couple of henchmen, orders one of his fingers cut off “just because I can.” And all the while Mr. Greene’s briefcase just keeps getting fatter and fatter with cash and his silken black top hat has magically changed to Uncle Sam red, white and blue. What has happened to America’s favorite show and favorite family?
Heading up the Studebaker family is Mark Arnold as “Pops.” A familiar face to all, my fellow Philadelphian, plays an over-the-tope, enthusiastic, blinders on, exasperated dad like no other. Of course, some of you may remember him best as Mick McAllister, Michael J. Fox’s arch rival on the opposing basketball team in “Teen Wolf.” Candace Brown is a gem as Mrs. Studebaker. With an incredibly funny character transformation – both physically and tonally – she is a comedic force to be reckoned with. Brown can currently be seen in the cable hit “Head Case” which just got picked up for a second season. One of McClean’s real casting gems though is Troy Porretta who plays Timmy. Hired as a last minute replacement, it’s no understatement when McClean admits, “We totally lucked out” grabbing Porretta. A perfect Beaver Cleaver parody, he morphs into a Kevin Arnold type gang banger with comedic ease. Chase McKenna makes a splash as Sarah Studebaker going from an Elinor Donahue “Princess” clone to uptight wall street maven to, hmm, a trampy Kelly Bundy mistress of the dark amalgamation. I look forward to seeing more from McKenna in the future. And make sure not to miss Chas Mitchell as the venerable Mr. Greene. Is it my imagination or does he bear a striking resemblance to George Bush?
Creative, inventive and original, as writer and director, McClean finds the dark satiric humor in the financial tragedies befalling most of us today, hitting the nail on the head and providing at least a partial cure for what ails us – laughter. After all, laughter is the best medicine. The self-deprecating and familial degradation set against a board game resonates with society today as we all see our hard earned money dwindling, political hands outstretched, our financial foothold in a freefall and once self-respecting, hard working Americans forced to do whatever it takes to try and survive.
But what makes this film really stand out is the stylized vision, lensing and cinematography. Starting out in black and white, the film morphs into super-saturated color (Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore), backing down into a tonal reality and ultimately a darker denaturization, and all the while keeping that “tv series” formatting. One of the most visually stimulating and diverse films to come around in a while, McClean uses the lensing as s storytelling tool and keeps you guessing the entire film, is this still just “Meet the Studebakers” or has television morphed into life itself. Key to these exceptional visuals and their art house sensibilities is the work of cinematographer, Eric Adkins. I loved Adkins work on “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” and because of that look and feel, I would never have thought of him to lens MONEY PLEASE!, but here, he really shows an entirely new side of his talent. According to McClean, “I feel like I owe the whole movie to him. He helped so much with the technical switches from one TV show style to the next. He is truly awesome. I hope he’ll work with me again.” A favorite editing choice of McClean, Joe Campo, who worked on “That Fall” reteams with McClean here with some more fine work.
Laugh out loud funny but with comically tragic undertones, MONEY, PLEASE! is one film for which you will gladly hand over the price of admission.
Mr. Studebaker – Mark Arnold
Mrs. Studebaker – Candace Brown
Timmy Studebaker – Troy Porretta
Sarah Studebaker – Chase McKenna
Mr. Green – Chas Mitchell
Written and Directed by Joe McClean.
