Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent, crude crime comedy starts well but fizzles.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Greedy People
What's the Story?
In GREEDY PEOPLE, Will (Himesh Patel) and Paige (Lily James) move to the sleepy island town of Providence to start a new life. Paige is pregnant, and Will has landed a job as police officer. He meets his captain, Murphy (Uzo Aduba), and his new partner, Terry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Terry shows Will the ropes—i.e., where to get free coffee and such. While Terry is taking a break with a lady friend, Will gets a call that he interprets as an armed intruder. Responding alone, Will causes the accidental death of Virginia (Traci Lords), the wife of wealthy fish vendor Wallace Chetlo (Tim Blake Nelson). Terry arrives on the scene and the partners stumble on an enormous pile of cash. They agree to make the death look like a robbery and take the money. But as the tangled investigation gets underway, it turns out that there are other parties involved, including clueless masseuse Keith (Simon Rex) and two competing contract killers known as The Irishman (Jim Gaffigan) and The Colombian (José María Yazpik).
Is It Any Good?
This crime comedy starts out well, with zany jokes, brutal surprises, and razor pacing, but it eventually succumbs to a grim seriousness and a plodding final stretch. Greedy People opens with Patel and James—reuniting after their pairing in Yesterday—playing the perfect small-town, aw-shucks couple; they're just good people trying for a good life. Their small island town is painted in beautiful strokes, including Paige's visit to the hardware store, which is run by a beef jerky-obsessed manager. And Gordon-Levitt chomps ravenously into his character, zipping through his lines with rapid-fire energy and filling them with a kind of subtle bitterness, a frustration about being maybe not good enough or not smart enough.
But then the movie settles down to the business of being one of those Elmore Leonard-like crime comedies in which a whole bunch of characters all try to backstab each other, get their hands on the sack of money, and kill each other. It's not a bad story, but it's more familiar than it is surprising, and once Greedy People forgets to be funny, it loses its power.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Greedy People's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How does lack of communication lead to most of the characters' problems? How might the story have turned out differently with better communication?
How is sex depicted? What values are implied? Is there trust? Consent?
What does the movie have to say about greed? Is there a good side to greed? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : August 23, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : August 23, 2024
- Cast : Himesh Patel , Lily James , Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- Director : Potsy Ponciroli
- Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 113 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence, language throughout and sexual content
- Last updated : September 3, 2024
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate