Recently, a dear friend of mine and his family had to sell their house.  They did so because it turned into something one would call, like today’s film, The Money Pit (1986).  This is not something with which I have had a great deal of experience, though a few months ago I did have somebody buy my current abode.  My reasons for the transaction are vastly different than those of my friend, though his situation pales in comparison to what you see in the movie.  Then again, these cinematic proceedings are intentionally over-the-top for comedic purposes.  Still, my friend and his wife did what they did, like new home owners Anna Crowley (Shelley Long) and Walter Fielding, Jr. (Tom Hanks): they had to sink more money into it than they expected.  Then again, had my friends had the same finished product as Anna and Walter, they might have held on, too.  How do we get to this decision to fix up or potentially sell, or “flipping” as it is also called, or keep the house?  You will have to read on to find out.

Before Anna and Walter begin putting their dollars into The Money Pit, they get word that Walter Fielding, Sr. (Douglass Watson) has married a young woman in Brazil.  He says he is happy in his letter to his son, though Junior is incredulous despite Anna believing the story.  She is Junior’s girlfriend, and he wants to marry her.  Despite her evident love for him, she is not ready.  This has nothing to do with the fact that they are sleeping in her ex-husband’s bed, Max Beissart (Alexander Godunov).  He is the conductor of the orchestra for which she plays the violin, and he is returning from being overseas, prompting their need to find a new place to live.  I would tell you what Walter, Jr. (henceforth just Walter) does for a living, though I am a little vague on this detail.  He seems to be a lawyer, but also represents famous musicians . . . I think.  It is not all that important, though his clientele, not to mention Anna’s job, makes me wonder why they cry poor throughout the film.  In any case, they are in need of housing, fast, and Walter’s real estate friend finds them a seeming steal in the suburbs of New York City.  They should have been warned off by Estelle’s (Maureen Stapleton), the previous owner, eagerness to unload the property, and most everything on it, in order to get out of the country with her apparent former Nazi husband.  Heedless, they buy the house, and as soon as they move in, things start to go wrong.  I will not give you an exhaustive list, but the front door, then the entire door frame come off; the stairs to the second story collapse; the plumbing does not work, forcing them to draw water from a decorative fountain outside; and the electricity short circuits, almost killing Walter.  The easy solution, you might think, would be to have repairmen come to fix their problems.  However, the house has a certain reputation in the area, forcing Anna and Walter to enlist the services of some questionable characters, and pay exorbitant prices to do so.  They are devoting what little funds they have to pay for the quotes and permits alone.  Thus, Anna turns to Max to purchase a painting she owns in which he is interested in order to obtain the capital they need to complete the project.  Nonetheless, the title turns into actual holes in the ground that make the grounds look, as many observers agree, like a missile testing sight.  It also puts a strain on their relationship as the crew foreman, Brad Shirk (Carmine Caridi), tells them “two weeks” whenever they ask when for a timeframe for repairs.  There is some physical comedy in here as Anna and Walter must navigate living in an active construction site, which does the workers more harm than good, especially when he inadvertently knocks over all their scaffolding.  The strain this puts on Anna seems evident to the ever-vigilant Max, who is constantly looking for an excuse to lure her into his bed.  One night, while Walter is away for business, Max prevails upon Anna to come to his place, enticing her with the promise of a warm bath, something she has not had for months, and dinner.  She complies, warning him that it will go no further.  Yet, she wakes up the next morning under his covers and wearing his pajamas.  Distressed, she promptly leaves, vowing to never admit the affair to Walter.  Yet, as they share a meal that evening, Walter can tell there is something going on with Anna.  He promises not to get angry if she tells the truth, but she continues to deny anything happened until after they go to bed.  It is said to him while he is half asleep, but once it hits him what she is saying, he springs out of bed and begins accusing her of all manner of bad behavior.  She is hurt by his lack of understanding.  Each of them tries to throw the other out of the house, but neither will leave until their remodeling is finished.  In the meantime, Max visits and tells Anna the truth, that they did not sleep together that fateful night.  Still, such is her anger that she decides not to say anything until the last day when Brad hands them a key to what is essentially a brand-new house.  The plan is to sell it and go their separate ways, but he realizes that he does not want to be apart from her.  Thus, they make up and get married. We close with Estelle and her Nazi husband selling a house in Brazil to Walter, Sr., and his wife.

Speaking of the final shot in The Money Pit, it is not a villa outside of Rio de Janeiro as the subtitle proclaims.  Rather, it is the Cá d’Zan, the winter home of circus magnate John Ringling near Sarasota, Florida.  Had they given us a glimpse of its interior, you would have seen a well-furnished museum.  While this little factoid is interesting, what piqued me more was a line said by Brad towards the end.  He is talking to Anna and Walter about all they had to do to get their house back together.  Brad mentions that it was hard, but that it had the most important ingredient for success: a firm foundation.  He is, of course, making a reference to Anna and Walter’s relationship.  There is a Biblical parallel to such wisdom.  In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus discusses the necessity of building anything on solid rock.  He is using a parable to promote Faith, and comparing its firm ground to the less secure sandy ground, which is susceptible to the pressures of the outside world.  Anna and Walter believe they are on the latter, though repeatedly reminding themselves that “the house is going to be great.”  It is crucial to have this kind of belief, whether this is applied to home building or how we approach God.  The film demonstrates well how easily we can fall victim to the pressures of outside forces, and see everything crumble below us, figuratively and literally.  By all appearances, they have a happy relationship.  Yet, they do not have the firm foundation they think.  What is missing is what we get at the end, the sacrament of marriage.  This is not to say that after your wedding day all problems will cease.  However, it involves a commitment, or covenant, that goes beyond the mere fixing up of a home.

There are some aspects of Anna and Walter’s relationship in The Money Pit that I could do without, namely her open use of birth control.  Otherwise, it is an okay film, though nothing spectacular.  This might explain why I had not heard of it until recently, despite its cast and being associated with Steven Spielberg.  For those of you undergoing remodeling, it might hit too close to home for you, pun intended.  As such, I am not sure whether to recommend this one.