A lottery win of $5,000 forever changes the lives of a miner turned dentist and his wife.
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Reviews
SWITCH.
5
By SWITCH.
'Greed' is a so-so comedy; I wouldn't say it's worth your time unless you're a fan of some of the actors. The comedy is surface-level fine; no one is bombing, but no one is succeeding. The film does stumble with its handling of sweatshops and the fashion industry, and that's more than enough to give this one a miss.
- Chris dos Santos
Read Chris' full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-greed-mockumentary-misses-both-comedy-and-social-commentary-beats
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
6
By Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
“Greed” is overstuffed with so much social commentary that its bursting at the seams. The film tries to tackle too many hot topics, including the selfishness and sins of the mega-rich, the excesses of the fashion industry, the exploitation of mistreated factory workers, and the plight of impoverished refugees. Its themes may be crowded, but the film is never boring.
The movie tells the fictional story of luxury fashion retail honcho Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan), an idiot narcissist billionaire who is an excellent villain for modern times. Sir Richard is planning a spectacular themed 60th birthday party on the Greek island of Mykonos, and price is no object when it comes to having proper silverware, a “who’s who” guest list of the hottest celebrities, the finest gourmet cuisines, and a hand-built replica of the Roman Colosseum, complete with a gladiator match featuring a live lion.
There’s a moral outrage that intensifies as this slightly satirical story turns darkly tragic, and the dialogue is crisp and witty as screenwriter (and director) Michael Winterbottom aims his pen squarely at the target of Western capitalism. But despite an extremely satisfying ending and the film’s heart being in the right place, “Greed” isn’t as hard-hitting as it could (or should) be. It feels far too real for that.
CinemaSerf
5
By CinemaSerf
It is probably best just to assess this satirical comedy on a superficial level; otherwise the hypocrisy is overwhelming. Steve Coogan plays a self made gaziliionaire who is organising a no expense spared celebrity 60th birthday party for himself on Mykonos. In cahoots with his ex-wife Isla Fisher and his mother Shirley Henderson we are exposed to the most vulgar and crass aspects of the mega-rich lifestyle in which they live whilst at the same time exploiting just about everyone that they come into contact with - regardless of gender, education or ethnicity. Jamie Blackley "Young Richard" takes what plaudits there are in this. He is expelled from his posh private school school for regularly fleecing the other pupils; next he is fleecing those in the London rag trade before setting up a discount store that sets the ball rolling for his future billion pound enterprise. Coogan is good as the odious and exploitative "McCreadie"; David Mitchell really wooden as his autobiographer "Nick" and we have a few scenes for Asa Butterfield as his slightly geeky son "Finn" but the rest of this has mis-information and double standards written all over it. The comedy is obvious; the constant parodies from "Gladiator" (quite why the lines spoken in that film by Richard Harris were being delivered by Coogan is an Australian accent was a bit puzzling) grate after a while and the ending just downright ridiculous. If it is attempting some sort of social commentary on how the wealthy get rich on the backs of others then it needed to be much better informed and make some attempt to reconcile the aspirations of rich and poor alike - as well as those of the ever-thrifty, something for nothing consumers living in countries of the "west" and their mind-numbingly incompetent legislators.
