Quand les gamins s'en mêlent

Milk Money (1994)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A group of young boys save up their "milk" money so that they can buy a father (Ed Harris) a hooker known as V (Melanie Griffith).

There's a bit more to the plot of MILK MONEY but that's the basic set-up. After the success of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... these types of romantic comedies were in high demand so we got all sorts of strange stories and this here is certainly one of the strangest.

Once you get over the idea of young kids buying a hooker for dad, the film itself really isn't all that bad and in many ways it's pretty charming for what it is. You've basically got two fine actors turning in fun performances and that's what makes the film worth watching. Harris is especially good as the father who is still grieving over his wife. Griffith easily steals the film as the hooker with a heart of gold as well as a great body that is constantly in tight clothes.

The film's screenplay has a pretty basic set-up and it pretty much plays out as you would expect it to. There's certainly nothing ground-breaking here and it's not one of the best films that the genre has to offer but if you're a fan of the cast then it's worth watching.

I'm sure this film is no longer considered politically correct since it involves a scene where a prostitute shows pre-teen boys her breasts, but it has a lot of cute moments and Melanie Griffith and Ed Harris have great chemistry. It made me smile more than I'd like to admit and I suppose that counts for something.

Melanie Griffith,(V) played a woman of the streets who meets up with three boys who want to see what a girl looks like in the nude. Of course, if they really wanted to do it the correct way, they could ask their dad's and possibly their mothers. However, this is a Hollywood film and it made the entire story quite funny, especially when they have a sex education class and decided to use a rather non-kosher way of presenting the facts. Ed Harris,(Tom Wheeler) plays the father to Michael Patrick Carter,(Frank Wheeler) who gets to be good friends with Melanie Griffith and introduces her to his father. This is a very entertaining film and you can find fault with this film whether you are on the left or right side in life, but comedy and laughs are good for everyone and I recommend this film for great viewing.

In some cases I'd say this is better then Pretty Woman. I say "some" with weight because Pretty Woman is a classic. But Milk Money fills that "hole" you had watching pretty woman. Ed Harris's character is sincere and attentive which matches Melanie's softness (which at the best of times can spoil her on screen performances) perfectly. It's a classic boy meets girl movie with that dash of "damsel in distress but is now hardened and tough due to life being so rough and who now finally meets a man who breaks through it all and understands and loves her for who she is" - as far as romantic comedies go- it was better then I thought it would be and even gets the heart strings welling when Ed Harris tells her "this could hurt"...The story itself can be at times almost childish, but in the end that's part of it's charm.

I've loved this movie ever since I was a kid, and after about a dozen viewings (damn, I've been having too much time) there's one question that still bothers me: who's this movie aimed at? On the surface it definitely looks like a family movie. You have your Disney-like music under almost every scene, you have your tired, clichéd story about kids wanting to make sugary sweet adults fall in love, you have your character that gets his heart cut out wait what? You have your hapless but likable kids who pull all kinds of school shenanigans, you have...Malcolm McDowall as a crazed pimp who pulls out his gun at a school dance? This movie just bounces all over the place, but it's fascinating rather than bothersome. Furthermore, even after so many times this is still a pretty effective little tearjerker. You know this stuff is probably going to end well (with someone getting his heart cut out?), but getting there is quite touching. You know she'll stay in the end, but still, don't leave. Ed Harris and Melanie Griffith also have near-perfect chemistry, it always helps if the protagonists of your romantic comedy look like they actually want to be there. "Milk Money" has its shortcomings because it's essentially an off-brand "Pretty Woman", but it's a childhood memory that I kinda cherish to this day.