Movies That Are on the Money.

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Author: Mannes, George

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948; NOT RATED)

Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) and his family can't take three steps in their Manhattan digs without bumping into one another. They seek salvation in a charming Connecticut cottage that a real estate agent shows them, but the purchase isn't as blissful as hoped. (Your first clue: The title mentions building a home, not buying.)

> LESSON LEARNED The stupidest thing you can do is fall in love with a home; your wallet, and marriage, will be better off if you realize you're making a business deal. (A contradictory lesson--that even if you get fleeced on a house, it still feels like a bargain if you love your new home--feels tacked on.)

Boiler Room (2000; R)

In classic investment scams, con artists prey on their victims' dreams of above-average returns and their fear of missing the boat. In this foulmouthed illustration of exactly how such rip-offs are executed, up-and-coming salesman Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) learns the ropes at a corrupt brokerage. The highlight is a scene in which veteran broker Chris (Vin Diesel) reels in a hapless customer over the phone while his officemates gather to watch the master at work.

> LESSON LEARNED Assume that the nice young man calling you with a stock tip is trying to rob you blind.

Melvin and Howard (1980; R)

Melvin Dummar (Paul Le Mat) is an ambitious, hard-working and likable guy. But he keeps buying the accoutrements of the American Dream--a boat, for example--before he's made the money to pay for them. His life is a string of repossessions and money-rooted estrangements from wife Lynda (Mary Steenburgen). "We're not poor," he protests. "Broke, maybe." And then, one day, the will of billionaire Howard Hughes turns up, naming Melvin as a beneficiary. Based, believe it or not, on a true story.

> LESSON LEARNED Good fortune may rescue you from hard times. But don't bet on it.

Lost in America (1985; R)

It's an everyday fantasy: to have enough money to quit your job and just bum around. After working out the financials on a legal pad, David Howard (Albert Brooks) convinces his wife Linda (Julie Hagerty) that they can chuck it all and live in a Winnebago. And they can-for a few hours. David's obsession with their "nest egg" climaxes in a hilarious tirade in which he forbids Linda to say any part of the term in any context. "The bird lives in a round stick," he rants. "And you have things over easy with toast."

> LESSON LEARNED The daily rat race sure beats not having any money.

Millions (2004; PG)

Seven-year-old Damian (Alex Etel) has a richly populated fantasy life, one in which Saint Peter, Saint Clare and Saint Francis pop by to chat. So when a real bag of cash falls out of the sky, Damian assumes that God sent it so he can give it to the poor. Other people--like his nine-year-old brother, who wants to invest in real estate-have different ideas about where the money should go.

> LESSON LEARNED Money creates one kind of pleasure when you spend it on yourself and another when you spend it on someone else.

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By George Mannes