History Literature / BrewstersMillions

''Brewster's Millions'' is a novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902, although it's arguably more well known for the various adaptations in different media that have been made since it was originally published. The basic story revolves around an impoverished young man by the name of Monty Brewster, who inherits a substantial amount of money from a long-lost relative -- and stands to further inherit a huge additional amount. (The total sum varies by time period, but to fit the title, it's always in the millions; in the Richard Pryor version, the original inheritance is $30 million and the full inheritance is $300 million.) The will [[OnOneCondition specifies one catch]], however: Monty must ''waste'' the entire first amount in a limited period of time. He must end the challenge with no tangible assets whatsoever ''and'' keep the arrangement a secret from everyone else. Monty will win the full inheritance if he pulls it off, but if he breaks any of the rules or fails to spend the first amount in full, he inherits nothing.

''Brewster's Millions'' is a novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902; it's been adapted for the screen nine times. The most famous film version remains the 1985 film starring Creator/RichardPryor and Creator/JohnCandy; the story had been adapted before in 1921, 1926 (with the protagonist changed to a woman), 1935, 1945, and 1961. A Hindi version produced in 1988 serves as a shot-by-shot Indianization of the 1985 film, and a Tamil version was produced in 1997. A play based on the story was created in 1906. The plot of this novel also formed the basis of an episode of ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]''.

An impoverished young man by the name of Monty Brewster inherits a substantial amount of money from a long-lost relative -- and stands to further inherit a huge additional amount. (The total sum varies by time period, but to fit the title, it's always in the millions; in the Richard Pryor version, the original inheritance is $30 million and the full inheritance is $300 million.) The will [[OnOneCondition specifies one catch]], however: Monty must ''waste'' the entire first amount in a limited period of time. He must end the challenge with no tangible assets whatsoever ''and'' keep the arrangement a secret from everyone else. Monty will win the full inheritance if he pulls it off, but if he breaks any of the rules or fails to spend the first amount in full, he inherits nothing.

*** In the 1985 film, Brewster finds a loophole to purchasing assets: [[spoiler:he buys a rare stamp, then ''mails it'']]. Since he used it for its intended purpose, he didn't technically didn't give it away or destroy it.
*** He also buys several bottles of ''very rare'' (read: expensive) and drinks it (original intended purpose); rents his old AAA ball club and fixes up the park for an exhibition game with the Yankees (improving a ''rented'' property), and books local TV time on his own dime, to protest both mayoral candidates (legitimate value for service). When the people want to elect ''him'', he declines because the $60,000/year job would be considered an asset derived from the inheritance.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The 1985 film ends abruptly, so viewers never find out what happened to any of Brewster's former friends or employees. It's probably safe to assume they'll be set for the forseeable future with the hundreds of thousands of dollars Brewster was paying them (and the film outright shows Spike becoming a multi-millionaire thanks to the ultra-exorbitant salary Brewster paid him and several commissions and investments).

* JustForTheheliofIt; In the 1985 Richard Pryor film version, Brewster flies his minor-league baseball team in on helicopters for a press event before an exhibition game he has paid for between the team and the New York Yankees. The coach calls him on it, saying that the team will be tired after the trip which was completely unnecessary because they're just over in New Jersey and could've gotten there faster on the bus. Brewster counters that he did it to make an impression - he doesn't mention that he did it so he could spend more money (to fulfill the challenge to spend a large sum of money and have nothing tangible to show for it).

''Brewster's Millions'' is a novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902; it's been adapted for the screen nine times. The most famous film version remains the 1985 film starring RichardPryor and John Candy; the story had been adapted before in 1921, 1926 (with the protagonist changed to a woman), 1935, 1945, and 1961. A Hindi version produced in 1988 serves as a shot-by-shot Indianization of the 1985 film, and a Tamil version was produced in 1997. A play based on the story was created in 1906. The plot of this novel also formed the basis of an episode of ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]''.

* AllOrNothing: The terms of the will force Brewster to either win everything or walk away with nothing. Many of the adaptations, however, add an "escape clause" that allows still Monty to claim a very small percentage of the inheritance in exchange for not having to go through with the challenge and with no further obligation, but that's all he gets. (In the 1985 film, the "escape clause" money was $2 million).

* AllOrNothing: The terms of the will force Brewster to either win everything or walk away with nothing.

'''''Brewster's Millions''''' is a novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902; it's been adapted for the screen nine times. The most famous film version remains the 1985 film starring RichardPryor and John Candy; the story had been adapted before in 1921, 1926 (with the protagonist changed to a woman), 1935, 1945, and 1961. A Hindi version produced in 1988 serves as a shot-by-shot Indianization of the 1985 film, and a Tamil version was produced in 1997. A play based on the story was created in 1906. The plot of this novel also formed the basis of an episode of ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]''.

** Zig-zag: Louie, the avaricious parrot in the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Warner Bros.]] cartoon "Dough Ray Me-Ow" (1948) is reading a book titled [[IncrediblyLamePun "Rooster's Millions".]]

An impoverished young man by the name of Monty Brewster inherits a substantial amount of money from a long-lost relative -- and stands to further inherit a huge additional amount. (The total sum varies by time period, but to fit the title, it's always in the millions; in the Richard Pryor version, the original inheritance is $30 million and the full inheritance is $300 million.) The {{will}} [[OnOneCondition specifies one catch]], however: Monty must ''waste'' the entire first amount in a limited period of time. He must end the challenge with no tangible assets whatsoever ''and'' keep the arrangement a secret from everyone else. Monty will win the full inheritance if he pulls it off, but if he breaks any of the rules or fails to spend the first amount in full, he inherits nothing.

**** Which leads to FridgeLogic, why didn't he just [[spoiler:spend the entire $30 million on rare stamps and mail a bunch of letters]]?

* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: In the 1985 film, two partners of the law firm that represents Brewster's great-uncle try to cheat Brewster out of his inheritance so the firm will inherit the estate (which would net the partners a rather sizeable fee from the $300 million before it's divided up to various charities). As time runs out on Brewster's chance to earn the inheritance, Angela informs Monty of the scheme; this causes Brewster to punch the accountant who was bribed by the partners into attempting to defraud Brewster. When threatened with a lawsuit, Brewster retains Angela as his lawyer for $20,000 (the exact amount of money keeping him from earning his inheritance) and gets a receipt written for the amount -- completing the challenge and earning his inheritance -- just as the clock strikes midnight.

* {{Will}}: The will of Brewster's great-uncle drives the plot.

* AmoralAttorney: The lawyers in the 1985 film fall under this trope, as they're actively plotting to cheat Brewster out of his inheritance.

** Zig-zag: Louie, the avaricious parrot in the [[LooneyTunes Warner Bros.]] cartoon "Dough Ray Me-Ow" (1948) is reading a book titled [[IncrediblyLamePun "Rooster's Millions".]]

* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: In the 1985 film, two partners of the law firm that represents Brewster's great-uncle try to cheat Brewster out of his inheritance so the firm will inherit the estate (which would net the partners a rather sizeable fee from the $300 million before it's divided up to various charities). As time runs out on Brewster's chance to earn the inheritance, Angela informs Monty of the scheme; this causes Brewster to punch the accountant who was bribed by the partners into attempting to defraud Brewster. When threatened with a lawsuit, Brewster retains Angela as his lawyer for $20,000 (the exact amount of money keeping him from earning his inheritance) and gets a receipt written for the amount -- completing the challenge and earning his inheritance -- just as the clock strikes midnight.

'''''Brewster's Millions''''' is a novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902; it's been adapted for the screen nine times. The most famous film version is the 1985 film starring RichardPryor and John Candy, although it was adapted before in 1921, 1926 (with the protagonist changed to a woman), 1935, 1945, and 1961. A Hindi version was produced in 1988 (a shot-by-shot Indianization of the 1985 version) and a Tamil version was produced in 1997. A play based on the story was created in 1906. The plot of this novel also formed the basis of an episode of ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]''.

Monty Brewster is an impoverished young man who inherits a substantial amount of money from a long-lost relative and stands to further inherit a huge additional amount. The total sum varies by time period, but to fit the title, it's always in the millions; in the Richard Pryor version, the original inheritance is $30 million and the full inheritance is $300 million. The {{will}} [[OnOneCondition specifies one catch]], however: Monty must ''waste'' the entire first amount in a limited period of time, be left with no tangible assets whatsoever, and keep the arrangement a secret. Monty will win the full inheritance if he pulls it off, but if he breaks any of the rules, he inherits nothing.

As Monty feverishly starts hemorraging money as quick as possible, he soon realizes [[SpringtimeForHitler it's amazingly difficult to lose an incredible amount of money]].

* ConsolationPrize: The 1985 film combines this with a reference to the original story, as the will offers a "wimp" clause for Brewster which offers him an even million with no strings attached if he chooses to walk away from the challenge.
* DefrostingIceQueen: This is subverted by Angela Drake in the 1985 film. She shows a softer side when Brewster begins to act more charitably, but her overall personality never truly changes, and she doesn't get into a relationship with Brewster despite his best efforts.
* EccentricMillionaire: This is played straight with Brewster's benefactor, but merely invoked with Brewster, who only appears to be extremely eccentric due to the terms of his challenge.
* JerkassFacade: Brewster is a decent and good-hearted man, but since he can't tell anyone why he's doing what he's doing, he frequently comes off as an irresponsible jackass.

** There's also a few smaller conditions attached, mostly meant to avoid LoopholeAbuse: Brewster can't have any assets after the challenge save for anything he owned before it began, he can't tell anyone what he's doing or why, he must get value for the services of anyone he hires, he can only spend a predetermined small percentage on charities and gambling, and he can't buy expensive goods and then destroy them or give them away to avoid having assets.

* RadishCure: Giving someone millions of dollars and forcing them to spend it all within a short period of time seems to be a good way of making them sick to the back teeth of both money ''and'' spending it -- which is the precise point of the exercise. In the 1985 film, Monty's uncle says his father employed a RadishCure to discourage him from smoking, which served as his motivation to force Monty to spend $30 million in 30 days -- and to forbid Brewster from telling his friends about the condition (since they'd help Brewster to fulfill the condition, and nobody helped Brewster's uncle).
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Edward Roundfield, played by Pat Hingle in the 1985 movie, is officially an independent observer with no claim or stake in the bet, brought in by the law firm to ensure the details of the will are carried out to the letter. He makes a point of being impartial, but in practice, he's clearly fond of Brewster and more sympathetic to his dilemma than he is to the lawyers (as Brewster's a down-to-earth nice guy, while the lawyers are SmugSnake {{Amoral Attorney}}s who are trying to cheat Monty).
* SelfMadeMan: Monty's uncle, James T. Sedgwick, is one in the original novel.
* SpringtimeForHitler: This trope is guaranteed to happen. Brewster tries to blow a load of money on betting on longshots, but the longshots storm home and make him even more money. When he tries to lose money by investing in a worthless stock, the stock's value skyrockets after everyone else buys in. In the 1985 film, he tries to waste it on a [[FictionalPoliticalParty frivolous political campaign]], but the voters are attracted to his message and almost vote for him (which would have left him with a job and a salary, thus nullifying the inheritance), which causes Monty to convince people to vote for "None of the Above" and eventually drop out of the race.
* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: This is brilliantly invoked with Brewster's great-uncle's video will in the 1985 film. The editing makes it appear as if the two are sharing a direct back-and-forth dialogue.

* UnwantedRescue: As Brewster is unable to tell his friends ''why'' he's trying to lose money, they frequently engage in well-meaning attempts to stem the flow by investing or saving it sensibly, much to Brewster's dismay. This is subverted by the accountant who cheerfully reveals the deposit Brewster forgot about on a furniture rental, seemingly to cheer him up; the subversion is due to [[spoiler:the accountant, who had set up the forgotten deposit in order to help the amoral bankers cheat Monty out of the inheritance]]).

* {{Will}}: This is what drives the plot.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The 1985 film ends abruptly; viewers never find out what happened to any of Brewster's former friends or employees. It's probably safe to assume they'll be set for the forseeable future with the hundreds of thousands of dollars Brewster was paying them (Spike is revealed to have become a multi-millionaire himself thanks to the ultra-exorbitant salary he got from Brewster combined with commissions and investments).
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: In the 1985 film, two partners of the law firm which represents Brewster's great-uncle try to cheat Brewster out of his inheritance so the firm will inherit the estate (which would net them a rather sizeable fee from the $300 million before it's divided up to various charities). As time runs out on Brewster's chance to earn the inheritance, Angela informs Monty of the scheme; this causes Brewster to punch the accountant who was bribed by the partners into attempting to defraud Brewster. When threatened with a lawsuit, Brewster retains Angela as his lawyer for $20,000 (the exact amount of money keeping him from earning his inheritance) and gets a receipt written for the amount -- completing the challenge and earning his inheritance -- just as the clock strikes midnight.

A novel written by George Barr [=McCutcheon=] in 1902 and which has subsequently been adapted for the screen nine times. Probably the most famous film version is the 1985 one starring RichardPryor and John Candy, but it was filmed before in 1921, 1926 (with protagonist changed to a woman), 1935, 1945 and 1961. It was also made in a Hindi version in 1988 (a shot-by-shot Indianization of the 1985 version) and a Tamil version in 1997). There was also a play (1906). The plot also formed the basis of an episode of ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]''.

In each version, Monty Brewster is an impoverished young man who inherits a substantial amount of money, and stands to further inherit a huge additional amount. The total varies by time period, but fittingly for the title, is almost always in the millions -- for example, in the Richard Pryor version, the original inheritance was $30 million, with the full inheritance standing at $300 million. However, the {{will}} [[OnOneCondition specifies one catch]]. He must ''waste'' the entire first amount in a limited period of time. If he can spend it all and be left with no tangible assets, he will get the full inheritance; should he have anything left over, he will inherit nothing. Also, the arrangement must be kept a secret, and he loses if he tells anyone about it.

As he feverishly starts hemorraging money as quick as possible, Brewster realizes that [[SpringtimeForHitler it's actually amazingly difficult to lose an incredible amount of money]].

!!Provides examples of:
* AllOrNothing: The terms of the will essentially stipulate that Brewster either gets everything or walks away with nothing.
* AmoralAttorney: The lawyers in the 1985 adaptation, who on top of the challenges of the will itself are actively plotting to cheat Brewster out of his rightful inheritance.
* AnimatedAdaptation: Although no direct adaptations of the story itself have been made, the ''[[PunkyBrewster It's Punky Brewster]]'' episode "Punky's Millions" essentially takes the basic plot of this story and runs with it with a few alterations -- for example, the cash amount becomes a game-show prize rather than an inheritance.

* ConsolationPrize: The 1985 version combines this with a reference to the original story; the will also offers a 'wimp out' clause for Brewster, offering him $1 million with no strings attached if he chooses to simply walk away from the challenge.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Subverted by Angela Drake in the 1985 version. We do see a softer side to her when Brewster starts to carry out more charitable acts, but her overall personality never really changes, and she doesn't get into a relationship with Brewster, despite his best efforts.
* EccentricMillionaire: Played straight with the benefactor. Invoked with the heir who, due to the secrecy clause, appears to be extremely eccentric seemingly wasting his entire inheritance as quickly as possible.
* JerkassFacade: Of a sort; Brewster is a decent and good-hearted man, but because he can't tell anyone why he's doing what he's doing, he frequently comes off as a spend-crazy irresponsible jackass.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: [[spoiler:How Warren Cox spills the beans about the fix to Angela Drake, who [[NiceJobFixingItVillain goes on to inform Monty]].]]
* LettingHerHairDown: Angela in the 1985 version.
* OnOneCondition: And it's a ''doozy''.
** There's also a few smaller conditions attached, mostly but not entirely to avoid LoopholeAbuse: Brewster cannot have any assets but anything he owned prior to the challenge once the time limit is up, he must get value for the services of anyone he hires, and he can only spend a predetermined small percentage on charities and gambling; he is also prevented from purposefully wasting the money by buying expensive goods and then destroying them or giving them away, and he cannot tell anyone about the challenge.
*** Brewster amazingly finds a loophole to purchasing assets [[spoiler:by buying a rare stamp and ''mailing it'']]. Technically, he didn't give it away or destroy it; he used it for its intended purpose.
* PlagueOfGoodFortune: It seems to kick in for Brewster right when he doesn't want it to.
* RaceAgainstTheClock: Happening for most of the movie, but most obviously in the final scene [[spoiler:as Angela writes a receipt for her services as a lawyer before the clock strikes midnight]].
** This trope applies twice in the AnimatedAdaptation, the characters having had to face one of these to get into the challenge in the first place on top of the terms of the challenge itself.
* RadishCure: Giving someone millions of dollars and forcing them to spend it all within a short period of time seems to be a good way of making them sick to the back teeth of both money ''and'' spending it. (Which is the point of the exercise.) In the Pryor film, the benefactor explained that his father employed a RadishCure to discourage him from smoking and that was his motivation to force his nephew to spend 30 million in 30 days and to forbid Brewster from telling his friends about the condition (because if they knew, they'd help Brewster to fulfill the condition and nobody helped Brewster's uncle).
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Edward Roundfield, played by Pat Hingle, in the 1985 movie; while he's officially an independent observer with no claim or stake in the bet brought in by the law-firm to ensure the details are carried out to the letter and he makes a point of being impartial, in practice he's clearly fond of Brewster and more sympathetic to his dilemma than he is to the lawyers. This is probably because Brewster's a down-to-earth nice guy while the lawyers are SmugSnake {{Amoral Attorney}}s who are trying to cheat him.
* SelfMadeMan: Monty's Uncle James T. Sedgwick in the original novel.
* SpringtimeForHitler: Guaranteed to happen. If Brewster tries to blow a load of money on betting on longshots, the longshots will storm home and make him even more money; if he tries to lose it by investing in a worthless stock, the stock's value will skyrocket as everyone else buys in. In the 1985 film, he tries to waste it on a [[FictionalPoliticalParty frivolous political campaign]], but the voters are attracted to his message and almost vote for him (which would have left him with a job and a salary - which would be an asset, thus nullifying the inheritance); this causes him to convince people to vote for "None of the Above" and eventually drop out of the race to avoid losing the inheritance.
* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Brilliantly done with Brewster's great-uncle's video will in the Pryor film. The editing makes it seem like the two are sharing a direct back-and-forth dialogue.

-->'''Rupert Horn:''' "Of course there's a catch!

* UnwantedRescue: As Brewster is unable to tell his friends ''why'' he's trying to lose money, they frequently engage in well-meaning attempts to stem the flow by investing or saving it sensibly, much to Brewster's dismay. Subverted by the accountant who cheerfully reveals the deposit Brewster forgot about on a furniture rental seemingly to cheer him up (but in fact, he deliberately set up the forgotten deposit because he was secretly one of the few people aware of the deal.)
* VideoWills: Brewster's great-uncle has one in the Pryor film.
* {{Will}}: Driving the plot.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The 1985 film ends rather abruptly, so we never find out what happened to any of Brewster's former friends or employees, although it's probably safe to assume that they'll be set for the forseeable future with the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Brewster was paying them (in fact, Spike is revealed to have become a multi-millionaire himself thanks to the ultra-exorbitant salary he got from Brewster, along with various bits of commission and his own investments).
* WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve: In the Pryor film. Two partners of the law firm that represented Brewster's great-uncle try to cheat Brewster out of his inheritance so that the firm will inherit the estate, which would net them a rather sizeable fee from the $300 million before they divided it up to various charities. As time runs out on Brewster's chance to earn the inheritance, Angela informs him of the scheme; this causes Brewster to punch the lawyer who was bribed by the partners into attempting to defraud Brewster. When threatened with a lawsuit, Brewster retains Angela as his lawyer for $20,000 (the exact amount of money keeping him from earning his inheritance) and gets a receipt written for the amount - completing the challenge and earning his inheritance - just as the clock strikes midnight.
----

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Edward Roundfield, played by Pat Hingle, in the 1985 movie; while he's officially an independent observer with no claim or stake in the bet brought in by the law-firm to ensure the details are carried out to the letter and he makes a point of being impartial, in practice he's clearly fond of Brewster and more sympathetic to his dilemma than the lawyers. This is probably because Brewster's a down-to-earth nice guy while the lawyers are SmugSnake {{Amoral Attorney}}s.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Edward Roundtree, played by Pat Hingle, in the 1985 movie; while he's officially an independent observer with no claim or stake in the bet brought in by the law-firm to ensure the details are carried out to the letter and he makes a point of being impartial, in practice he's clearly fond of Brewster and more sympathetic to his dilemma than the lawyers. This is probably because Brewster's a down-to-earth nice guy while the lawyers are SmugSnake {{Amoral Attorney}}s.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Edward Roundtree, played by Pat Hingle, in the 1985 movie; while an independent observer with no claim or stake in the bet brought in by the law-firm to ensure the details are carried out to the letter, in practice he's clearly fond of Brewster and more sympathetic to his dilemma than the lawyers. This is probably because Brewster's a down-to-earth nice guy while the lawyers are SmugSnake {{Amoral Attorney}}s.