How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980)

Funny-women Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin and Oscar® winner* Jessica Lange "are a pleasure to watch" (The Film Journal) in this hysterically funny film about a trio of housewives whose desperate need for money delivers a sizable "supply of laughs" (Boxoffice)!Jane, Elaine and Louise are three women on the verge of a financial breakdown until they spot the "Money Ball," a game involving a six-foot sphere and tons of whirling cash. But Jane, Elaine and Louise don't want to play Money Ball'they want to steal it! Will these inexperienced thieves soon be "rolling in it" or will this first attempt at crime spin them right into jail?*1994: Actress, Blue Sky; 1982: Supporting Actress, Tootsie

Review from a Eugene, Oregon native

Since 1976, when I was a small kid until now, I've lived in Eugene, Oregon on and off. For some reason back in the early '80s I was not made aware of How to Beat the High Cost of Living. I think a lot of reasons for that was another movie filmed in Eugene back in 1978 was much more successful and received much more attention, I'm referring to National Lampoon's Animal House. And I would have imagined seeing this film on television back in the 1980s, but I never did.

This is a great little time capsule from 1980 (actually 1979, it was filmed in 1979, not released until mid 1980), showing places like the Valley River Center (the mall the movie was set) and other places were like before they were remodeled beyond recognition. Seeing the interior of Valley River Center really took me back since me and my family would go there from time to time back then (back in 1980, me and my family lived within walking distance from Valley River Center, thanks to a bicycle footbridge crossing the Willamette River to VRC). The movie proudly shows the Meier & Frank (complete with that late '60s logo and rotunda - you have to bear in mind Valley River Center opened up in 1969, and so did its Meier & Frank), as well as all the other (real) shops that existed in Valley River Center at the time. I was a bit bewildered why they didn't show the Montgomery Ward's, which was opposite from Fredrick & Nelson. Outside of Valley River Center, there's a scene at an Albertson's, a store I've been in personally, at that time, and still go to now (although, like most everything else, remodeled and expanded beyond recognition since), and Taco Time, a taco joint (not unlike Taco Bell) that was established here in Eugene. There's even a scene at Skinner's Butte at night. I can go on about the changes since (how the mall and those establishments went through many remodels), but I have to say that How to Beat the High Cost of Living is just about the only Hollywood movie that I have personally visited many of those locations that were filmed, and had so even just very recently, even if they're now practically unrecognizable from the film. Not to mention that by 2006 the Meier & Frank was no more, replaced by an already existing Macy's (since the May Co. which owned Meier & Frank since 1966, was bought out by Federated Department Stores, and they decided to change all the stores they bought out into Macy's). At least I was happy that the Valley River Center's Meier & Frank kept the old logo and old look right until its early 2006 demise.

Most of the film is quite accurate of Eugene, although there's one scene where Jane Curtin gets pulled over by Dabney Coleman for running a stop sign, it occurred at Main St. Now, unless she happened to wander off to neighboring Springfield, there is no Main St. in Eugene (Main Street in Springfield heads from downtown eastward out of town off Hwy. 126).

The movie consists of three ladies, Jane Curtin, Susan St. James, and Jessica Lange who, due to divorce and poor business decisions, leaves them bankrupt and desperate. So you have to watch this film to see what happens next. Just that I tell you involves a money ball in the middle of Valley River Center.

I don't claim it to be the greatest movie out there, and I can do without some of the acting, but I still like it. Plus it's set in a town I live in, where I have personally been to many of the locations the film were shot at (though I never personally witnessed the film being shot). I am so happy they didn't use Eugene as a backdrop, and then use Hollywood locations with totally fictitious landmarks and businesses, this is the real Eugene in and out, at least as it was in 1980.

If you're a Eugene native, and have lived here as long as I have, you owe it to yourself to check out this film. If you're new to Eugene, then seen this film, you're looking at Eugene as it was at the end of the '70s/turn of the '80s. April 4, 2008

must for fans of the 1970s

This overlooked comedy from 1980 was shot in 1979 and is really a 70s styled movie. You really root for these three suburban woman, all of whom have been screwed over by men, as they fight against the economic climate of the late 1970s. Its great for seeing the sometimes ugly styles of the time, especially the shopping mall. Evidently shot on location in Eugene Oregon, featuring a great jazz score by Patrick Williams (Hubert Laws on flute), this movie shows that in the 1970s they didn't just make movies about teens but instead average women trying to cope with daily life with wit and grit. December 29, 2007

This movie is a crack up

This movie is fun, different. I have liked since the very first time I saw it on HBO all those years ago. I haven't seen it in a long time and am thrilled to find it again. Total entertainment. Love this. Donna August 24, 2007

This movie isn't that great.

I was an extra in this movie, and I was really excited to see it in the theatre. But I was really disappointed. I thought it was a dud. But some people like it, so maybe it's me... June 24, 2006

Funny stuff even after all these years! Underrated comic gem!

I remember seeing this in the theaters as a kid way back in 1980 (OK, now I officially feel OLD!)...anyway, this is a small, slight, yet hysterically funny and very smart comedy that somehow has fallen off the radar for most audiences - similar to Dolly, Jane, and Lily in "9 to 5," Jane, Jessica, and Susan make a terrific trio of would-be thieves trying to steal a load of cash from the "money ball" in a Pacific Northwest Mall. With cameos from Fred Willard, Eddie Albert, Richard Benjamin, and Dabney Coleman, the entire cast, the screenplay, the direction, and the tacky details of late 70s/early 80s middle-class America are all dead-on hilarious! If they can go ahead and ruin "Fun with Dick and Jane" by doing a remake, why hasn't anyone thought of remaking this underrated comedic gem? Seriously, if you love light, frothy, yet still-topical comedies, give HOW TO BEAT a whirl! March 11, 2006

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