MOVIE REVIEW : ‘For Love or Money’ Tries to Have It Both Ways

Michael J. Fox is the right actor to play a high-powered concierge for a ritzy New York hotel. As Doug Ireland in “For Love or Money” (citywide), he has the fast moves and all-seeing eyes that keep him right on top of his guests’ every whim. If you’re staying at the Bradbury Hotel, Doug can get you anything--for a generous tip, of course.

The concierge role brings out the desperation in Fox’s scampering, eager-to-please persona. He’s a first-rate comic actor with suggestions of something deeper. But the movie doesn’t do him justice. It’s trying for swank bubbliness--Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” crossed with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” But director Barry (“The Addams Family”) Sonnenfeld and screenwriters Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner are more suited to slapdash nutso comedy. The swings between clunky slapstick and “heartfelt” moments are jolting. (They’d be even more jolting if the slapstick or the heart tugs were effective.)

Doug grew up in a Catskills resort where his father worked as a bellhop, and it’s been his dream to one day ditch his concierge gig and open his own snazzy hotel. He’s scrimped for years to put together the plans--he’s even picked out a plot on Roosevelt Island. When a rich investor (Anthony Higgins) agrees to front the money if Doug “baby-sits” his mistress Andy (Gabrielle Anwar), Doug doesn’t hesitate--even though he’s been trying to date Andy on his own. Doug and Andy slowly warm to each other. His conflict is loud and clear: Does he choose love or money?

The filmmakers encourage us to buy this fairy tale by downplaying the smarminess of the conception. Doug is, after all, essentially a procurer, and Fox certainly has it in him to be hard-bitten and double-edged. But he’s wedged into sitcom situations here: parts of the film play like tonier versions of “Love American Style.” Gifted, funny actors turn up in small roles--like Michael Tucker as a mollycoddled husband staying at the hotel, or Bob Balaban as a predatory IRS agent, or Fyvush Finkel as an ancient bellhop--but Sonnenfeld gives them about as much weight as the performers on TV commercials. (Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, playing essentially himself, turns up for a giddy cameo.)

What’s missing from this film (rated PG for “elements of sensuality and mild language”) is any awareness of its own anything-for-a-rise shamelessness. The filmmakers just plow ahead with the clonks and the heart tugs. Unlike their concierge hero, they have no conflicts about reaching for love and grabbing for the gold.

‘For Love or Money’

Michael J. Fox: Doug Ireland

Gabrielle Anwar: Andy Hart

Anthony Higgins: Christian Hanover

Michael Tucker: Mr. Wegman

An Imagine Films Entertainment presentation of Brian Grazer production of a Barry Sonnenfeld film, released by Universal Pictures. Director Sonnenfeld. Producer Grazer. Executive producer David T. Friendly. Screenplay Mark Rosenthal & Lawrence Konner. Cinematographer Oliver Wood. Editor Jim Miller. Costumes Susan Lyall. Music Bruce Broughton. Production design Peter Larkin. Art director Charley Beal. Set decorator Leslie E. Rollins. Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes.

MPAA-rated PG.