Movie Music Monday – Easy Money

Last week the Music of My Life post focused on 1983, and coincidentally today’s Movie Music comes from a 1983 comedy.  Easy Money was released on this day back in ’83 and has one of the funniest last lines I’ve ever heard!

The film stars Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Rodney plays Monty Capuletti who loves to drink, smoke and gamble.  When his rich mother-in-law dies his family is told that they will inherit $10 million.  There is one  condition – Monty has to give up drinking, smoking, gambling and live a healthy life for 365 days. 

The movie earned $5,844,974 in its opening weekend, ranking number one at the domestic box office, toppling the prior three-week #1 run of National Lampoon’s Vacation.

Gene Siskel wrote that “the big discovery in the comedy ‘Easy Money’ is that Rodney Dangerfield, unlike most stand-up comics, does not need dialogue to be funny. He is funny just standing still—or his version of standing still, which includes nervous twitching, profuse sweating, pained expressions and rolling of the eyes.” Rodney is indeed funny in this movie, but Pesci’s performance is just as funny! 

Billy Joel was asked to write a song for a new Rodney Dangerfield movie, also titled Easy Money, and he came up with “Easy Money.”  This triggered the retro approach to the rest of the songs his An Innocent Man album.  (Rodney later appeared in the music video for “Tell Her About It’.)

Easy Money is what one author called “a get-up-and-dance, snap-your-fingers, clap-your-hands song complete with a beefy horn section and Billy channeling the vocals of the king of soul, James Brown, or Wilson Pickett.” The lyrics are just as catchy as Billy keeps delivering clever metaphors (“I got a hot slot machine of a system ready to go”) only this time the song’s theme is looking for easy money, rather than trying to get a girl.  Billy was clearly having a good time as he is singing.

I always loved this one, sadly, it was never released as a single.  I really think this one could have been a huge hit.  It’s just too fun!