Money Pit [VHS]
Steven Spielberg produced this underwhelming 1986 effort at a slapstick spin onMr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. The pre-Oscar Tom Hanks stars with Shelley Long as a married couple whose efforts to finish construction on their home are sabotaged by costly and sporadically funny accidents. The unfinished domicile becomes a metaphor for their troubled relationship, as evidenced by Long's character's attraction to a madman violinist (Alexander Godunov). Hanks is the only reason at this point to check this film out. Richard Benjamin (My Favorite Year) directs but with no flair or distinction.--Tom Keogh.