But, then November 2017 happened. And Kevin Spacey joined the Cecil B. DeMille cast of thousands to be outed as a sexual predator, pedophile, and candy bar thief from Rite Aid. The conga line of persons now non grata grew. The only problem was Spacey had the plum role in this movie as Getty himself. Perceived as box office arsenic, director Ridley Scott was screwed. By Spacey. Figuratively.
But, not so fast, Scott probably said. A Christmas release date looming, he did the impossible and improbable. Virtually overnight around Thanksgiving, Scott replaced the vile Spacey with veteran actor Christopher Plummer and they immediately took on the 10 million dollar task of reshooting every scene Getty appears. In just nine days.
That kind of backstory is what drove me to see "All the Money in the World." I approached it not as a film, but a multi-car pileup on the side of the 405 Freeway. I went to the theater to essentially gawk.
And ultimately be amazed. Because the movie miraculously pulled it all together. Trust me, this was a Herculean feat. J. Paul Getty is in a lot of scenes! And not just interiors behind a desk or a phone. He is in exteriors. How Ridley Scott pulled this off is a film in itself and this is one movie where the DVD commentary track will be eagerly awaited. Hey, for purposes of comparison, the DVD should also include the Spacey version. How neat would that be?
I knew very little about the true events that made up the plot of this movie. Nor did I care much for the grim details including the infamous ear extraction, which is the equivalent of having your teenage daughter's ears pierced at Home Depot. The story points are pretty basic. The kid is abducted for an obscene ransom. His mom can't pay it. His rich grandfather can't and won't. There it is, folks.
Now there's another side controversy that comes along for the ride. It seems that, for the extensive and fast reshoot, star Mark Wahlberg got paid millions while Michelle Williams as the boy's mom literally got lunch money. This now has a whole other activist group up in arms about unequality for women in Hollywood. In this regard, they have a viable beef, especially because, at the heart of the story, Williams is the very best thing in this money. I guess one could argue that "All the Money in the World," as a production, just can't get out of its own way.
As an out-and-out movie, this one is pretty standard entertainment. But, as an example of Hollywood behind-the-scenes wizardry, "All the Money in the World" has no rival.
LEN'S RATING: Three stars.
Dinner last night: Leftover lasagna.
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