Before Tom Hanks was an award winning actor, he played leading roles in several quirky comedies. Movies like Bachelor Party, Dragnet and The Money Pit were not the cinematic triumphs that a modern audience expect from him. However they (and TV shows like Bosom Buddies) were a proving ground for him to hone his craft. The reason that I bring up The Money Pit is that it’s not a great movie but it illustrates the point.
The Money Pit stars Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. They play a couple who decide to buy a house together. After buying the house, it quickly falls apart.The house falling apart is only one of the problems. A construction company is brought in to fix the problems. Tom’s character is told that it will take “two weeks” to make all of the repairs. Months later as he and Shelley’s character move closer toward a breakup, the house is a dumpster fire. Tom is asked by a variety of people if they are “testing missiles” at the house. In the end, it all comes together. The house and his relationship are both fixed by the end of the movie.
This movie is the story of any big endeavor. At the beginning, everything looks like its going to be great. Progressively though, challenges keep on surfacing. The promise of quick results is obviously a lie but you want to believe it. After months or possibly years of trials and tribulation, you have gained traction. The one issue is that you’re not guaranteed the happy ending. The struggle is the only thing that you can count on.
Tom Hanks starred in the Money Pit at the start of his career. It wasn’t destined that he was going to be the actor that we know today. He had to continue to show up in movies and TV shows, getting incrementally better. All of his movies are not box office hits, there are many duds in there. However we see these types of people and because we don’t see the struggle, we assume it was easy for them. It’s almost never easy for anyone! We all fall into the pit (money or otherwise) at some point. The question is whether or not we stay there.
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Pete
Huryk Unlimited 