How to Beat the High Co$t of Living

Over the weekend, I watched a movie that I haven't seen in probably about 25 years. It was the 1980 comedy How to Beat the High Co$t of Living starring Jane Curtin, Susan Saint James, and Jessica Lange. The three women play housewives, in various states of financial distress who plot to steal money from their local mall during a mall promotion where the days receipts are put in a giant money ball.

 

I didn't remember a whole lot about the movie except for the fact that I thought that the big money ball was really cool, Jane Curtin has to ram her car through her garage door when her power is shut off, and the fact that I was really suprised at the time that Jane Curtin revealed her breasts (I had to have watched this movie on HBO because I doubt ABC would have aired breasts during their weekend movie presentation). Of course after watching the movie again, I now realize that she used a body double.

 

Back in the early 80's it would have been just another silly caper movie to me. I don't think that the financial hardships of the era would have really registered. My parents did a good job of shielding me from things that I didn't really need to worry about and believe me, I would have.

 

But, now as an adult I recognize a lot of the financial problems in the movie. On some level it is interesting how in 25 years some things haven't changed. Jane Curtin's character comments that it is unbelievable that the price of gas went up 9 cents in one week. What is scary is that I saw the price of gas go up 15 cents in one day at my local gas station.

 

Now I am not advocating going out and robbing your local mall. I always found it odd that the protagonists of the movie were doing something clearly illegal and you are rooting for them to succeed. I would imagine that my mom would have objected to that, after all she didn't like the fact that Ferris Bueller and his friends got away with their day off. Still when you see houses sit on the market for over a year because they can't sell, hear about 100's of homes in one subdivision in foreclosure, or have to make adjustments to your food budget to pay for a tank of gas, something is seriously wrong.