MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Nickel’ Shortchanges Its Cast

In “Nickel & Dime” (selected theaters), C. Thomas Howell as a struggling heir hunter and Wallace Shawn as a nebbishy accountant play off each other so well you keep hoping this amiable little comedy will catch fire, but it does so only fitfully. It would seem that writers Seth Front and Eddy Polon, having come up with parts full of possibilities for Howell and Shawn, ran out of ideas. Just when they need to cut loose--in the manner of “Repo Man,” for example--they fall back on the most conventional and predictable plotting; what’s more, you don’t get the feeling they’ve steeped themselves in the ins and outs of tracking down heirs. The result is a movie with far too many attention-wandering thin stretches and too few bright spots.

To their credit, debuting director Ben Moses and Howell and Shawn proceed as if they were working with the funniest material in the world. Howell, whose motto is “When there’s no will there may be a way,” has been given 48 hours by gruff probate judge Kathleen Freeman in which to locate an heir to a man with no known survivors--the very same length of time the IRS has allowed Howell to come up with $5,000 in order to avoid jail. One of Howell’s major creditors, his bombastic tax man (Allan Rich), has ordered Shawn, his nephew, to help Howell out.

The film may wind up a loser, but Howell and Shawn are certainly winning. Howell shows us the caring, even vulnerable individual lurking behind the desperate, brash, risk-taking heir hunter, and Shawn, in his first co-starring role since “My Dinner With Andre,” plays the wimp who learns to assert himself when plunged into adventure as if such a role had never before been imagined. (Would that there had been lots more adventure into which our heroes could plunge.) If nothing else, “Nickel & Dime” does provide Shawn the opportunity to extend his range on the screen, persuasively portraying a comically naive but ultimately successful romantic lead. The film’s leading ladies, Lise Cutter (as an assistant D.A.) and Lynn Danielson (as a kooky hooker), are stuck in roles that are decidedly sketchy at best.

If “Nickel & Dime” (rated PG for some mildly suggestive situations) doesn’t add up to much at least its stars come away looking pretty good. It’s always a pleasure, too, to watch veterans Freeman and Rich, always expert in finding ways to bring out the humor and dimension in every role they play.

‘Nickel & Dime’

C. Thomas Howell: Jack Stone

Wallace Shawn: Everett Willits

Lise Cutter: Cathleen Markson

Lynn Danielson; Destiny Charm

A Columbia/TriStar presentation of a Hometown Pictures production. Director Ben Moses. Producer Lynn Danielson, Moses. Executive producer Paul Mason. Screenplay by Seth Front & Eddy Polon. Cinematographer Henry E. Lebo. Editor Joan E. Chapman. Music Stephen Cohn. Production design George Costello. Art director Steve Reece. Set decorators Dawn Medlen, Susan Benjamin. Sound Trevor Black. Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes.

MPAA-rated PG (some mildly suggestive situations).