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Fun with Dick and Jane (1977 film)

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This article is about the original film. For the remake with Jim Carrey & Téa Leoni, see Fun with Dick and Jane (2005 film).
Fun with Dick and Jane
A cartoon drawing of two parents, a house and a car. Small photographs are pasted in place of faces of the father and mother.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTed Kotcheff
Screenplay by
Story byGerald Gaiser
Produced byPeter Bart
Max Palevsky
Starring
CinematographyFred J. Koenekamp
Edited byDanford B. Greene
Music byErnest Gold
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 9, 1977 (1977-02-09)
Running time
99 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.5 million[2]
Box office$13.6 million (US/Canada rentals)[3]

Fun with Dick and Jane is a 1977 American comedy film starring George Segal and Jane Fonda. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, the film is caustically critical of the "anarchy" of the American way of life.

The character names come from the Dick and Jane series of children's educational books, and the title is taken from the title of one of the books in the series.

Plot

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Dick Harper is a successful aerospace engineer in Los Angeles, where he and wife Jane have a lovely house, with a swimming pool and new lawn under way. Jane takes care of their son, Billy.

Because of financial reversals at the business, however, Dick's boss, Charlie Blanchard, suddenly fires him. Dick and Jane owe more than $70,000 and abruptly find themselves with no income. Their attempts to find other gainful employment fail. Jane lands a fashion modeling appearance at a restaurant that becomes a fiasco. Dick ends up applying for unemployment and food stamps, while Jane's wealthy parents, rather than helping, advise them to use this experience positively as a life lesson.

Unable to come up with any other solution to their problems, Dick and Jane turn to a life of crime. They make an effort to select their victims judiciously—robbing the telephone company, for example, so making the customers in line cheer. In time, Dick and Jane weigh their guilty consciences against their needs, trying to get back their old lives and stay out of jail. They make the decision to "retire" from robbery. However, almost immediately they see Charlie Blanchard on television, testifying in front of a Congressional committee. After realizing that Charlie keeps two hundred thousand dollars in his office as a slush fund (used to pay off lawmakers), Dick and Jane decide to rob Charlie. At a gala at Dick's old firm, Dick and Jane break into Charlie's office, crack the safe, and steal the money. They leave his office and make it to the main floor of the building, but the building's security guards alert Charlie before the couple can leave. They are seen guarding all the exits. Dick admits to Charlie that he and Jane have stolen his money. However, they also explain that Jane has called the police about the theft. Knowing that the $200,000 might be confiscated by the authorities and lead to further unwanted investigations, Charlie tells the arriving police that no crime was committed and walks the couple safely out of the building.

A press release announces that Dick has been hired to be president of the firm, as Charlie has resigned.

Cast

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Reception

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The film was Columbia's third-highest-grossing film in the US in 1977[4] with rentals returned from the United States and Canada of $13.6 million.[3]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 57% rating based on reviews from 14 critics.[5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 2.5 out of 4, and wrote: "This stuff is funny enough, but somehow it's too easy. It's situation comedy, when the movie's earlier moments seemed to be promising us a hard-boiled commentary..."[6]

Remake

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The film was remade in 2005 with the same title, starring Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "FUN WITH DICK AND JANE (A)". British Board of Film Classification. 1976-12-15. Retrieved 2013-01-19.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (June 26, 1978). "Studios Are Picking Up More Films From Independents". The New York Times. p. C18. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. p. M160.
  4. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1977". Variety. January 4, 1978. p. 21.
  5. ^ "Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (February 11, 1977). "Fun with Dick and Jane". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ^ Fun with Dick and Jane at Box Office Mojo

Bibliography

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