I remember seeing Yves Simoneau's "Free Money" in the new release section of a video store, despite its never having been in the theaters. I thought it odd that a movie starring Marlon Brando would appear out of nowhere. It turns out that the movie got released in Singapore in 1998 (see the header about the movie on IMDb). As for the movie itself, it makes no pretense about being silly, with Brando as a sadistic warden whose daughters feign pregnancy to force their loser boyfriends into shotgun weddings. While Brando's role reminded me of his performance as Vito Corleone, it still didn't seem like the sort of role in which I would expect to see him. The rest of the cast is OK in their roles, but the plot is so routine that the movie isn't as entertaining as it could be. Worth seeing once.

This is a film that no doubt disappointed many viewers. After all, it's a Marlon Brando film and he's considered, by some, to be a genius at his craft. So, it this is the category you'd fall into, the film is sure to frustrate you because it is NOT high art! However, if you can simply turn off your brain and enjoy, it's not a bad little time passer."Free Money" begins with two twin young ladies telling their insane and dangerous father (Brando) that they were each pregnant. So, in the next scene, you see a double wedding to two dim guys (Thomas Haden Church and Charlie Sheen). Neither suspected that the sisters were NOT pregnant and simply wanted to get married. As for Brando, he was the warden of a local state prison--and soon began treating his new son-in-laws like convicts. After all, he reasoned, they got his 'little girls' pregnant--and they needed to be punished. The treatment got so bad that Sheen concocted a scheme to rob a train carrying old bills headed to the incinerator. After all, then they could afford to run away and leave their dreadful lives.At the same time, a VERY clichéd female FBI agent (Mira Sorvino) comes to town to investigate the warden. She's the daughter of the local crooked judge (Donald Sutherland) and she is trying to discover why EVERY prisoner who tries to escape from the prison is found shot dead...and in the back! How these two plots converge is for you to see.On the plus side, the film is mildly humorous--though not hilarious. And, the plot is kind of cute and engaging. But, on the other hand, some of the characters were one-dimensional. Sorvino was the clichéd 'sassy feminist' character--one who, at times, acts really stupid--thus undermining her character and feminism completely. And, while it looks like Brando had fun playing his role, he overacted and mugged quite a bit. I didn't really mind this--but you won't detect any sort of master thespian in his acting! Agreeable, silly and slight--it's not great nor is it bad--sort of like toast.clichéd stupid lady

Watching Marlen Brando on screen is like watching a master carpenter chiseling intricate details into a piece of mahogany. Brando's acting is the ONLY thing that makes this movie watchable. The plot is inane and laughable (not comic). The other big name actors seem to be making desperate attempts to give the characters they portray some modicum of humanity... these characters have the humanity of wet cardboard. Everything about the technical side of this film is either mediocre or just plain awful. The director throws freeze-frame and slow-motion shots about with impunity. The incidental music is cartoonish and destroys any hint of dramatic effect. It's not something I really look for in a movie, but even the wardrobe was way off. The venerable Brando couldn't take focus away from the awful rags they had him decked out in. I've heard this movie called "David Lynch-esquire" and "irreverently funny"... it is neither. David Lynch films are borne of wicked creativity - this film was in no way creative. And don't confuse irreverence with stupidity.

Any film with Marlon Brando is worth watching and I was not disappointed by this one. It is as though a bunch of big name stars got together and decided to make a screwball sicko black comedy. The film is erratic but overall they succeeded.Marlon Brando is superb as The Swede, a vicious and sadistic prison warden and a true `River of Fire' on earth. He clearly enjoyed this role. Charlie Sheen is funny but badly miscast loser due to his lack of accent (more on that later). Thomas Church is wonderful as Larry, a dim bulb but big-hearted co-accomplice with Bud. Donald Sutherland is very disappointing as Judge Rausenberg, as is Mira Sorvino as his daughter the FBI agent. The scheming, teenage twins were funny and wonderful.As with many screwball comedies, the plot jumped around frenetically and was difficult to follow. Still, I found it cohesive if lacking in continuity. The strongest points were the scenes with the Swede, the twins, and Larry and Bud while the weakest point was probably the laughably easy train robbery. Also, I found the pit bull like violence in the prison unrealistic and difficult to deal with.Having lived in Minnesota, I was disappointed by some of the details of the movie. First, Marlon moved his hands a lot when he talked while any Minnesotan knows that a true Swede talks with his hands still --- very still indeed --- at his sides. Yah sure, yabecha! Also, the accents were very erratic. Larry had a true northern Minnesota accent while Charlie Sheen had no accent at all --- he was miscast. Marlon and Donald did fairly well but the twins sounded like Valley girls pretending to be Minnesotans --- their enthusiasm for their roles made this cute rather than annoying. The film was so erratic and had such poor continuity that I can't give it more than a six but it still was worth seeing at least once. I recommend it to anyone with an open mind who can deal with the violence and the sexual content. This film definitely is not for children.