Greedy
Greedy is a 1994 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, starring Michael J. Fox and Kirk Douglas, about a family of scheming relatives who compete for the fortune of their wealthy, wheelchair-using Uncle Joe McTeague. It was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, produced by Brian Grazer for Imagine Entertainment, and released by Universal Pictures on March 4, 1994.1 • 2
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | March 4, 1994 (United States, wide), Universal Pictures; video release December 15, 19982 • 3 |
| Runtime and rating | 113 minutes, rated PG-13 for language3 |
| Director and writers | Jonathan Lynn; screenplay by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel1 |
| Lead cast | Michael J. Fox (Daniel McTeague), Kirk Douglas (Uncle Joe), Nancy Travis (Robin), Olivia d'Abo (Molly Richardson), Phil Hartman (Frank)1 |
| Box office | $13,137,484 domestic and worldwide; opening weekend $4,805,115 in 1,710 theaters3 |
| Critical reception | 33% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (18 reviews); 6.3/10 on IMDb from about 16,000 users4 • 5 |
| Douglas milestone | The last film Kirk Douglas completed before suffering a major stroke in 19965 |
Spoilers
Plot
Uncle Joe McTeague, a self-made scrap-metal tycoon, is surrounded by relatives who flatter and backstab one another in the hope of inheriting his fortune, reported in reviews as a $20-million or $25-million estate.6 • 7 Alarmed that Joe has taken in Molly Richardson, a young former pizza-delivery girl he has appointed as his "nurse," the family summons his long-lost favorite, Daniel (Danny), a professional bowler whose father left the family years earlier.8 Danny's girlfriend Robin, a television sports producer, urges him to ask Joe for a $300,000 loan to open a bowling alley.7
The relatives' tactics include hiring private detectives to spy on one another, undergoing sex-selection fertilization to produce male heirs, naming daughters with variations of "Joe," and bringing Joe $400 stuffed birds for his collection.9 Danny performs the boyhood Jimmy Durante imitation Joe used to love to win his favor.9 The film's plot points, as cataloged by The Numbers, include a wheelchair hoax, a career-ending sports injury, and a surprise twist.3
Production
The film was produced by Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment with cinematography by Gabriel Beristain, editing by Tony Lombardo, and production design by Victoria Paul.1 Randy Edelman composed the score.10 Director Jonathan Lynn also appears on screen as Douglas the butler.3
The movie opens with a black-and-white sequence of Jimmy Durante performing "Inka Dinka Doo" from the 1944 film Two Girls and a Sailor.5 The family name McTeague was taken from the title figure of Frank Norris's novel McTeague, the basis of Erich von Stroheim's 1924 film Greed, and the premise drew on Charles Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit.7
Reception
Box office. Greedy opened on March 4, 1994 in 1,710 theaters, grossing $4,805,115 on its opening weekend, 36.6 percent of its final domestic total of $13,137,484.3 Box Office Mojo records no international gross, giving the same figure as the worldwide total.2 The film ranked second on its opening weekend and fell 45 percent in its second weekend.3
Criticism. The film received largely negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 33% Tomatometer from 18 reviews, with 6 fresh and 12 rotten, and a 48% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 5,000 ratings.4 Roger Ebert, film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it two stars, writing that it "has a promising first act, and then makes the mistake of taking its silly story seriously."11 The Deseret News critic Chris Hicks found some "wickedly funny bits" but judged that the ensemble supporting cast was "loud and zany . . . but not very funny," comparing the film's ambitions to It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.8 The Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas credited Kirk Douglas's performance, "rich in sly, deft nuances," with holding the film together while the caricatured relatives floundered.6 Reviewer Jonathan Rosenbaum observed that the film exploits the difficulty, in the post-Reagan Hollywood of 1994, of portraying unbridled greed as anything less than wholly admirable.12
Availability
As of the most recent checks, Greedy is not included with any subscription streaming service in the United States; it can be rented for $3.99 or bought for $14.99 on platforms including Amazon Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google TV, and Fandango at Home, and is available on DVD and Blu-ray.13 • 14
References
- Greedy (1994), AFI Catalog
- Greedy (1994), Box Office Mojo
- Greedy (1994), The Numbers
- Greedy, Rotten Tomatoes
- Greedy (1994), IMDb
- Kevin Thomas, "Film Leaves Fans 'Greedy' for More Kirk Douglas," Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1994
- Greedy (1994) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com
- Chris Hicks, "Film review: Greedy," Deseret News, March 8, 1994
- Lynn Smith, "Twists in 'Greedy' Make for a Generous Payoff," Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1994
- Los Codiciosos (Greedy), ICAA Film Database
- Roger Ebert, "Greedy," Chicago Sun-Times, March 4, 1994
- Jonathan Rosenbaum, "Greedy," February 1, 1994
- Greedy (1994): Where to Watch, Rent or Buy, Moviefone
- Greedy streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch
Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles symbols to J
Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026
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