You are here:

Hot Money

Name: Hot Money
Director: Zale Magder
Released: 1983
Duration: 78 min

Representation Score

2.2/10

Limited

1983

PG-13

Director

Zale Magder

Runtime

78 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Hot Money is a conventional 1980s crime comedy that centers on a male protagonist's internal struggle following a theft, using standard genre formulas. The film's social landscape is largely uniform, reflecting the era's typical small-town depiction. It focuses on individual ability to act and established social hierarchies without challenging traditional gender, racial, or sexual identity norms.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Hot Money have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on a heterosexual relationship between Burt and Jeanette. It does not include any non-binary gender identities or narratives that challenge traditional gender norms.

How does Hot Money portray gender?

Fair

Burt drives the central moral conflict, while Jeanette mainly motivates Burt's actions. The Sheriff provides comic relief by subverting typical masculine authority roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Hot Money?

Limited

The small-town setting suggests a predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon community. There is no indication of a diverse cast with various ethnicities.

How does Hot Money represent religion and culture?

Limited

The story examines personal morality versus community responsibility within a standard capitalist system. It does not critique Western institutions or offer diverse cultural viewpoints.

Does Hot Money include disability representation?

Minimal

The narrative does not feature any characters with physical, sensory, or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

The film offers a character-driven exploration of individual conscience and moral decisions.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks diverse racial and ethnic representation within its small-town setting.
Female characters play secondary roles and do not have independent ability to act.
There is a notable absence of LGBTQ+ identities or non-traditional gender perspectives.

Official Synopsis

Burt, a clever ex-con, has changed his identity and has managed to land a job as a deputy in small town in upstate New York. On the 4th of July, while the drunken Sheriff Paisley is busy with the local parade and festivities, Burt quietly steals a million dollars in cash from the cellar safe in the local rich old widow's house. Unsuspected, Burt makes plans to live the rest of his life in the lap of luxury in a far off place with his attractive girlfriend, local hash house waitress Jeanette. But when a crisis of conscience hits him like a wave of ice cold water, he starts to think twice about his dastardly deed, and how that purloining of the old lady's money is wrongly affecting his friends as well as innocent locals. But will Burt do the right thing?

How are these scores produced? →