Movie review: ‘Easy Money’

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

Despite his success on the big screen with an instantly iconic turn in the comedy classic “Caddyshack,” it took Rodney Dangerfield three more years to get another film. Given how “Caddyshack” was ultimately received, he would have had a three-picture deal today within 24 hours of the first view of the dailies (in case they still do those in this digital age). In any case, “Easy Money” from 1983 is billed as Dangerfield’s first starring role, but while it’s funny … it’s no “Caddyshack” but better than many and certainly defines “comedy.” You simply can’t go wrong … unless you don’t enjoy Dangerfield’s comedy!

‘Easy Money’
(1983; 95 minutes; rated R; directed by James Signorelli and starring Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci and Geraldine Fitzgerald)

THE MONEY IS NOT SO EASY FOR RODNEY

(NOTE: I expanded this review with some more opinion and trivia and updated links on July 13, 2018. I expanded it again on Sept. 2, 2019. I expanded it again on March 9, 2026.)

In the Rodney Dangerfield world of film comedy, his role as “Al Czervik” in “Caddyshack” is tops in the memory of the majority of audiences. His lines remain great and are still quoted today (some written for him; a bunch ad-libbed) and his physical comedy was pitch-perfect, to mix a metaphor. In the end, though, he wasn’t the headliner. After that, I’d say that “Back to School” is his next best and his best leading role (click here to read my review).

With that out of the way and setting this stage, I’ll look at “Easy Money” today and, although not up to the extremely high bar set by “Caddyshack” three years earlier and “Back to School” three years later, “Easy Money” is near-great, especially supporting players Taylor Negron and Joe Pesci (who doesn’t curse as much here or kill anyone since Martin Scorsese isn’t around). Also, I’ll note that the late satirist and former National Lampooner P.J. O’Rourke was a co-writer of the screenplay. Add it all up … and you’ll find it fall-down funny.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

In “Easy Money,” Dangerfield plays “Monty Capuletti,” a children’s photographer with a lot of bad habits. He smokes; he drinks; he gambles; and he does other bad things such as keeping certain items in a “roach motel” in his medicine cabinet and has white hand-rolled “carrots” fall out of his “Bobby Bunny” puppet while taking pictures at a kid’s birthday party.

Whew.

Still, by today’s MTV/WeTV standards, he’d be the square on a realty show.

Just as Dangerfield’s daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh as “Allison Capuletti” in her first post-“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” film) is getting married, his mother-in-law hatches a plan to make him prove his worth. She’s filthy rich and pretends to die. As the terms of her will states, Dangerfield must give up all his bad habits for a year to inherit. As all his friends say, it’s “easy money.”

Well, maybe not so easy. After all, this is a guy who probably doesn’t believe he couldn’t exist without a smoke, a drink or … well, a joint.

Dangerfield at first says no, but he succumbs to his driven daughter’s insistent harangue as she sees the dollar signs at the end of the tunnel. No, it’s not Jennifer, but Lili Haydn in a quite decent turn as “Belinda Capuletti.” Soon, he’s exercising and giving up his favorite things.

Trouble lurks in all corners: a neighbor (planted to make sure he fails by a greedy archrival) tries to lure him with a bad thing (as well as his girlfriend) and he’s constantly around guys who smoke, gamble and do all the things he cannot now do. Dangerfield manages to tiptoe through these minefields with aplomb and you simply can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.

Also, even the backgrounds contain hilarity.

One great scene with background scene is Dangerfield having an emotional discussion while a pervert is behind him. At one level, that stuff is no joking matter (of course … duh!), but the scene works here.

Now, on to a look at the work by some of the actors …

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

    Dangerfield plays this one as you might imagine him in real life: each day is a stand-up routine. He eases through one scene to the next and manages to convey more than just his wise-cracking side. No one nominated him for an Oscar for this one, but he gets a hit here … it’s just not a homerun (I’d call it a double to the wall). In addition to “Easy Money,” Dangerfield did other comedies including the kid soccer film “Ladybugs” and “Little Nicky” as well as being way out of his usual character as the sickening father in “Natural Born Killers.” Dangerfield died at the age of 82 in 2004 from complications from heart surgery after notching 37 acting credits.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

    The Oscar-nominated Geraldine Fitzgerald (for “Wuthering Heights” in 1939, not “Easy Money”) plays “Mrs. Monahan,” the bossy, tightfisted mother-in-law who wants to run Dangerfield’s life since her daughter made the mistake of marrying him. Fitzgerald, who was also rich matriarch “Martha Bach” in the original “Arthur” film and its sequel, does a wonderful job as the miserly and crusty keeper of the family fortune. Her career spanned seven decades, beginning with “Blind Justice” in 1934. She passed away at the age of 91 in 2005.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

    Taylor Negron, another “Fast Times” veteran, does an outstanding supporting turn as “Julio,” Dangerfield’s slightly sleazy but ultimately good-natured and faithful son-in-law. Negron makes you laugh in every scene and he is funniest when he’s trying to break into Dangerfield’s house because Leigh won’t talk to him after their honeymoon night fiasco. You’d have to see it to fully enjoy it (especially when he says, “I am the man!”). Negron was also in “Punchline,” “Angels in the Outfield” and “Bio-Dome.” I also liked tiny moment as a mailman in the comedy “How I Got Into College” (click here to read my review). Negron died at 57 in 2015 of liver cancer.

  • An Oscar nominee (certainly not for this one), Leigh isn’t anywhere near as funny or competent in this one as Negron, but she doesn’t have much to work with here (and her accent’s more than just a bit strained) to showcase her obvious talent. Leigh was quietly great in “Miami Blues” with the moron named Alec Baldwin; did a great turn in the dark drama “Single White Female;” and was in “The Road to Perdition” with Tom Hanks.” Also, she was in Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”
  • An Oscar winner and nominee (not for this one), Pesci is basically good here as Dangerfield’s best friend “Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Cerone” and is as blustery and arrogant as you might imagine, but not as profane as in his Scorsese flicks. It’s not his best role (his comedy was much better in “Home Alone” – click here to read my review) but certainly lighter than the evil, violent gangsters he’d play in “GoodFellas” and “Casino.” He won his statue for “GoodFellas” and was nominated for “Raging Bull” (another Scorsese film that starred Robert De Niro).
  • Two other supporting actors, Val Avery and Tom Noonan, do a workman like job. Avery, who was in the original “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Wanderers” (click here to read my review), “Papillion” and “Donnie Brasco” (click here for my review), plays “Louie” the insightful bartender, while Noonan plays “Paddy” from Dangerfield’s entourage (he was also the psycho serial killer in “Manhunter,” which is the original “Hannibal Lecter” movie – click here for my review – and “Heat” that co-starred De Niro and Al Pacino – click here for my review). Avery died at 85 in 2009, while Noonan died at 74 in early 2026.
  • Candice Azzara and Lili Haydn round out Dangerfield’s family as his wife “Rose Capuletti” and daughter “Belinda Capuletti.” Each manage to do an acceptable job, but do not stand out in this one. Azzara, who was billed as Candy Azzara in the film credits, has been in “Catch Me if You Can” and “Ocean’s Twelve” while Haydn was in “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Easy Money.”

Everything works out in the end for Dangerfield and he closes out the film with one of his great mother-in-law jokes.

A final note on the cast: I won’t mention the work by supporting actor Jeffrey Jones here. I didn’t miss his performance; I just prefer not to write about that sleazebag.

“Easy Money” was solid by being the 26th ranked film at the domestic box office in 1983 with $29.3 million, according to Box Office Mojo. As an R-rated comedy it didn’t do as well as the equally R-rated and even better “Trading Places” ($90.4 million – click here to read my review), the still better “National Lampoon’s Vacation” ($61.3 million) and the not-so-great “Porky’s II: The Next Day” ($33.7 million). It was even behind the PG-rated comedy “Mr. Mom” ($64.7 million). The No. 1 film for the year was “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi” at $252.5 million. Here are the films from that year that I’ve reviewed for my blog:

Other film and cast notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Dangerfield’s birth name was Jacob Cohen; Fitzgerald’s full birth name was Geraldine Mary Wilma Fitzgerald; Avery’s birth name was Sebouh Der Abrahamian; Negron’s birth name was Brad Stephen Negron; and Leigh’s birth name is Jennifer Lee Morrow,
  • Billy Joel wrote and sang the title song for “Easy Money” and Dangerfield returned the favor by being in a music video for the Piano Man’s “Tell Her About It.”
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “During the scene where Rodney Dangerfield is watching television and flipping channels, you can hear ‘All we need is one pin, Rodney!’ which is from a Miller Lite beer commercial starring Dangerfield.”
  • Bill Murray was originally cast but dropped out of the role ultimately played by Noonan. Hmmm … I guess Murray was just a star-to-be to even consider such a small part.
  • Rodney was one quoted as saying that the character of “Monty” is the closest to his own personality of any of his roles on TV or film.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “When Monty and Nicky walk into the board room, Nicky is introduced as Nick Marino. In the credits his name is Nick Cerone.”
  • Dangerfield’s “Monty Capuletti” is a obvious and ham-handed play on the family names in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” … the Montagues and Capulets.
  • “Easy Money” took over No. 1 at the box office and stopped at three weeks a run at the top by “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “Debut produced screenplay for a cinema movie for all of the film’s writers J. O’Rourke, Michael Endler, Dennis Blair, and Rodney Dangerfield.”

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