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1991movierewind

Episode #46: Millions

Listen to Episode 46 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.


SUMMARY - In Millions, the head of the Ferretti business empire is involved in a helicopter crash and falls into a coma. A new president needs to be appointed immediately and the young, ambitious Maurizio Ferretti (played by Billy Zane) is upset that he’s passed over. Maurizio devises a plan to rise to power anyway, using all the resources, and relatives, that he can find.


Screenplay by Enrico Vanzina and Carlo Vanzina; Directed by Carlo Vanzina, and released in Italy on January 25, 1991.


FILM DISCUSSION

Where do we even start with this one? As mentioned in the summary, a helicopter crash takes down the head of the business. Here's the "wreckage" you see after an explosion in the previous shot.

The cast is full of models to reinforce that rich people are also more beautiful.

Tons of characters are introduced early on and its difficult to know who is important, even halfway through.

For instance, they make a big deal about telling us the name of the person who will take control of the company while Leo is in his coma, but yet we never see him speak or interact with anyone.

Billy Zane is typically a smoldering villainous protagonist except for one scene where he channels his inner Nicholas Cage and jumps on the table and screams and flails.

Then the sexuality starts to really take over. Nearly every scene involves sexual behavior after a certain point.

Billy sleeping with his dad's mistress.

Billy sleeping with his cousin, played by Carol Alt

It's really hard to know how much of this, if any, is meant to be satire or farce or what. Donald Pleasance is also here confined to a strange room that's meant to be part of a bank, we guess?

Anyway, there area a lot of moving parts and few of them make logical or legal sense. The important thing is showing off the wealth and decadence as much as possible.

The power moves are awkward and when Leo wakes up halfway through the movie, things start to drag and never recover.

We don't know what the point of it all was, but it sure was interesting to watch.

Awards Talk: None to speak of this time, which isn't surprising.


TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE

This week we don't have any true crime segment to talk about so we jump right into music.

Here are your Billboard Bottom 5 Songs for the week of January 26, 1991

100 - Donnie Osmond - My Love is a Fire

99 - James Ingram - I Don’t Have the Heart

98 - MC Hammer - Pray

97 - The Cure - Close to Me [We're not sure if the remixed version was on the charts, or if the original went back on because of the remix release. Anyway, here's the remix]

96 - Trixter - Give It To Me Good


Moving on to TV, here's what you might have been watching


We take a closer look at Sons & Daughters. You can find more info here https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101202/



RANKINGS & RATINGS

Nikki 1-5 star scale - 1 out of 5

Jon 0-4 star scale - 1 out of 4

Would you watch it again? - We were fascinated the entire time, but also relatively confused. It's a little bit like watching a car crash in slow motion (or helicopter, in this case). So we might consider watching it again to see if it makes more sense. Otherwise, the music is worth listening to at least.


If you want to watch Millions, as of this recording in January 2022, it’s available on VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.


NEXT EPISODE & WHERE TO FIND US

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Join us next time for A Rage in Harlem available on Prime, Tubi, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Roku Channel, Digital Rental, VHS, DVD

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