History YMMV / RichieRich

* FairForItsDay: While the movie is lambasted for glorifying massive wealth, an enormous taboo in the less prosperous years of the 21st century, it is much deeper than given credit.

* HarsherInHindsight: A ''lot'' of the jokes and plot points in the movie has gone from being "silly" to "unexpectedly sharp political commentary" since the TurnOfTheMillennium.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Jenna Ortega went from playing an amoral friend of a rich, eccentric family to playing an [[{{Series/Wednesday}} amoral member of a rich, eccentric family]].

** The scheme Reginald describes to avert a hypothetical dismissal, lying about a potential takeover, is known as a "pump and dump," in which disinformation is spread to artificially jack up the price of a stock. Enron and Stratton Oakmont (made famous by the ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'') are notorious examples of firms that kept themselves afloat through manipulation.

* TearJerker:
** From the movie when Richie [[spoiler: hears that his parents' plane has gone down. He uses the 'Dad Link' to try and find his father. Nothing. He tries it again with boosted power and the computer eventually informs him 'Dad not found.' Over and over again.]]
** Richie's eventual friends excluding him at first and later admitting they had to be bribed into hanging out with him is depressing for anyone who's struggled to make friends.
** [[spoiler:Also, when he looks out from his window to see his faithful servants being forced to leave because Van Dough fired them, following Cadbury's arrest.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: A lot of the jokes in the movie have gone from being "silly" to "unexpectedly sharp political commentary" since the TurnOfTheMillennium.

** Van Dough planned to have Cadbury killed and made to look like it was a suicide by hanging. In 2019, finance and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell from an apparent hanging, with many people suspecting foul play and a staged suicide.

** Van Dough is willing to ''blow up'' his boss, wife, and son to make himself richer. He even is willing to shoot Richie in cold blood.

* HarsherInHindsight: A lot of the jokes in the movie have gone from being "silly" to "unexpectedly sharp political commentary" since the TurnOfTheMillenium.

* HarsherInHindsight: A lot of the jokes in the movie have gone from being "silly" to "unexpectedly sharp political commentary" in recent years.

* SignatureScene: [[spoiler: The scene where the Rich Family Vault is opened and is revealed to be full of momentous instead of hoarded wealth is considered to be a great moment in an otherwise average movie.]]

** The kids from Richie's school not only like him but can probably relate to him better than Gloria and her friends. This would automatically solve the LonelyRichKid subplot, but they are absent for contrived reasons.

** This is the 1990s, so hardly any kid or adult is depicted as holding a cell phone or using a laptop. Richie's [=DadLink=], technology a super-rich kid could possess in the mid-90s, comes across as ridiculously outdated since even the average Joe had access to Skype and Bluetooth since the 2000s. A cutthroat businessman like Van Dough might be seen checking his stocks on a laptop or an app on his phone.

** A movie about a kid with a ton of wealth to throw around isn't as entertaining, with income inequality and rising living costs a significant issue in the 21st century.

** The conflict between Richard and Van Dough over what a corporation owes its employees, with Richard supporting high wages and Van Dough supporting cutthroat capitalism, has gained more relevance in light of the Great Recession and ''especially'' the Great Resignation as millions of Americans have quit their jobs after years of stagnant wages and rising living costs, putting the policies of people like Van Dough under greater scrutiny, especially as these policies have led to once reputable companies like General Electric and Lehman Brothers decline or outright collapse.

* {{Wangst}}: Richie comes from a family wealthy enough that have their own personal Mount Rushmore...and yet we're supposed to pity his lack of friends.

** While the film is mostly light-hearted, at multiple times, it takes a huge swipe at corrupt and downsizing yuppie capitalism and makes a strong defense of employer-guaranteed employment. The former, embodied by Reginald and Van Dough, is not just bad for the working man, but detrimental to the bottom line in the long run. The latter, embodied by Richie and his father, not only helps the working man but is more sustainable for the bottom line.

** Richie can come across as spoiled, but he is shown to be NiceToTheWaiter: he treats Cadbury as a second father and attacks one of his bratty classmates for mistreating his butler.

* FairForItsDay: While the movie is lambasted for glorifying massive wealth, it is much deeper than given credit.

** While the Rich parents aren't perfect, they promote good benefits and job security for their workers. [[spoiler: The fact that their family treasure is their happy memories, not wealth, is a good swipe at those who put cash above anything else]].

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Richie's only two friends are Murray, who is also his [[TheScrooge frugal financial advisor]], and Darcy, who wants nothing more than to [[GoldDigger spend Richie's money]].

** In the 1994 film, jokes about the U.S. President looking for a loan aren't very funny in light of the Economic bailouts during the 2007 recession. One of said jokes has Mr. Rich telling the President "[[CaptainObvious when a country spends more than it earns, it goes into debt]]", with the latter looking utterly perplexed by this. Again, pretty uncomfortable with sovereign debt crises all around the world. The ability of a prosperous businessman to bribe the chief executive also is uncomfortable in the wake of Citizens United and the increasing power of corporations over politics.

* ValuesResonance: The conflict between Richard and Van Dough over what a corporation owes its employees, with Richard supporting high wages and Van Dough supporting cutthroat capitalism, has gained more relevance in light of the Great Recession and ''especially'' the Great Resignation as millions of Americans have quit their jobs after years of stagnant wages and rising living costs, putting the policies of people like Van Dough under greater scrutiny, especially as these policies have led to once reputable companies like General Electric and Lehman Brothers decline or outright collapse.

* FridgeBrilliance: While it may seem on the surface that having a UsefulNotes/McDonalds franchise in the house (with all orders no doubt charged to the Rich family's tab) is a largely unnecessary excess, the Riches' many servants and the employees of the science lab on grounds are likely grateful.

** A movie about a kid with a ton of wealth to throw around isn't as entertaining with income inequality and rising costs of living a major issue in the 21st century.

* {{Wangst}}: Richie comes from a family wealthy enough that have their own personal Mount Rushmore...and yet were supposed to pity his lack of friends.

** In the 1994 film, jokes about the U.S. President looking for a loan aren't very funny in light of the Economic bailouts during the 2007 recession. One of said jokes has Mr. Rich telling the President "[[CaptainObvious when a country spends more than it earns, it goes into debt]]", with the latter looking utterly perplexed by this. Again, pretty uncomfortable with sovereign debt crises all around the world. The ability of a rich business to bribe the chief executive also is uncomfortable in the wake of Citizens United and the increasing power of corporations over politics.

* ValuesDissonance: Richard Rich is depicted as a good guy because he helps out his employees and donates much of his wealth to charity. In the 90s, men like Richard Sr. were celebrated as capitalist heroes. In recent years, greater skepticism and scrutiny of corporate philanthropy means that Richard comes across as paternalistic ''at best'' while others might see his charity as a [=PR=] facade.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** In the 1994 film, jokes about the U.S. President looking for a loan aren't very funny in light of the Economic bailouts during the 2007 recession. One of said jokes has Mr. Rich telling the President "[[CaptainObvious when a country spends more than it earns, it goes into debt]]", with the latter looking utterly perplexed by this. Again, pretty uncomfortable with sovereign debt crises all around the world.

** The joke about the President needing another loan from Richard goes from being "silly" to "spot-on political satire" in the wake of Citizens United and the increasing power of corporations over politics.

** From the movie when Richie [[spoiler: hears that his parents' plane has gone down. He uses the 'Dad Link' to try and find his father. Nothing. He tries it again with boosted power and the computer eventually informs him 'Dad not found'. Over and over again.]]

** This is the 1990s, so hardly any kid or adult is depicted as holding a cell phone or using a laptop. Richie's [=DadLink=], technology a super-rich kid could possess in the mid-90s, comes across as ridiculously outdated since even the average Joe had access to Skype and Bluetooth since the 2000s. A cutthroat businessman like Van Dough might be seen checking his stocks on a laptop.
** Richie's "poor" friends have a stable middle-class life that has become increasingly out of reach over the course of the 21st century.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Reginald appears as Richie's pompous and bratty rival in a couple of scenes. The movie seems to set up the rivalry from the comics, but he vanishes from the film after two scenes.

* OneSceneWonder: Ben Stein makes a lot of his short screentime as Richie's business professor.
* TearJerker: From the movie when Richie [[spoiler: hears that his parents' plane has gone down. He uses the 'Dad Link' to try and find his father. Nothing. He tries it again with boosted power and the computer eventually informs him 'Dad not found'. Over and over again.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Reginald appears in a couple of scenes as Richie's pompous and bratty rival. The movie seems to be setting up the rivalry from the comics, but he pretty much vanishes from the movie after two scenes.

** This is the 1990s, so hardly any kid or adult is depicted as holding a cell phone or using a laptop. Richie's DadLink, technology a super-rich kid could possess in the mid-90s, comes across as ridiculously outdated since even the average Joe had access to Skype and Bluetooth since the 2000s.

* ValuesDissonance: Richard Rich is depicted as a good guy because he helps out his employees and donates much of his wealth to charity. In the 90s, men like Richard Sr. were celebrated. In recent years, greater skepticism and scrutiny of corporate philanthropy means that Richard comes across as paternalistic ''at best'' while others might see his charity as a [=PR=] facade.

* ValuesResonance: The conflict between Richard and Van Dough over what a corporation owes its employees, with Richard supporting high wages and Van Dough supporting cutthroat capitalism, has gained more relevance in light of the Great Recession and ''especially'' the Great Resignation as millions of Americans have quit their jobs after years of stagnant wages and rising living costs, putting the policies of people like Van Dough under greater scrutiny.