For Richer or Poorer by Tim Allen and Kristy Alley (1998)
Abstract
This report discusses the film For Richer or Poorer by Tim Allen and Kristy Alley (1998). The film was published in the U.S and Canada in 1998. Its casts include Tim Allen and Kristy Alley. The theme of the film was to warn against being materialistic and encourage people to live a simple life. The report also shows the demographics of the cast members most of whom are actors and comedians. Cultural issues and practices such as marriage and divorces are presented in the report. In addition, the report shows the healthcare issues, beliefs and preferences. Finally, the report shows that the film can change the way people view certain issues such as wealth and the issue of marriage. People should avoid being materialistic because this can affect their marriages.
For Richer or Poorer is the name of a movie by Tim Allen and Kristy Alley. This movie was produced in 1998 in U.S and Canada.
Cast and producers
For Richer or Poorer was cast by actors such as Tim Allen and Kristy Alley. Other actors included Michael Lerner, Wayne Knight and Jay Sanders. The movie was directed by Bryan Spicer while Jana Howington and Steve LuKanic wrote the film (Tim & Kristy, 1998). Bill Sheinberg, Jonathan Sheinberg, Bruce Economou and Michael Glick produced this movie.
Theme of the movie
The movie For Richer or Poorer clearly brings out the theme of materialism. Being materialistic made two New Yorkers, Tim Allen and Kristy Alley to hide in the Amish society as fake farmers (Tim & Kristy, 1998). While hiding in this society, these two people learn how to work and they get to know what is important in life. Their ultra materialistic character makes them find themselves in problem after the swindling accountant embezzled millions of money from the company. This made the two actors to run away and hide in Amish town where they learn important life lessons as husband and wife. The movie is considered classic because it has a significant impact in the scholarly world. It brings out true emotions by showing people what is important in life. The movie is charming and this helps it to show the viewers how less can be more. It is a multifaceted movie, which is filled with humor and has wonderful lessons about important life requirements (Tim & Kristy, 1998). It presents Tim and Kristy as characters who are obsessed with earthly possessions and this causes their marriage seem to come to an end. This shows that people should not be materialistic because this can ruin their lives.
The other theme of this movie is simplicity in life. The movie shows that it is good to live simple life like that of Tim and Kristy in Amish farm. When these two characters were rich, they could not stand each other and when they were robbed by their accountant, they ended up living in the Amish society as farmers (Tim & Kristy, 1998). While in the farm, Tim and Kristy learn important lessons in their life such as working which shows the importance of living a simple life. They also learn how to love each other all over again and this shows that being rich can affect love between people. For richer or for poorer, it is good to love one another in order to ensure a successful marriage.
Demographics of the cast members
The demographics of the cast members of the movie For Richer or Poorer shows the gender, age, race, home ownership, location, disability and employment status of each of the cast members. Tim Allen and Kristy Alley are the main casts in the movie. Tim Allen was born in 1953 in America. He is an American comedian, actor, artist and entertainer. He is known for his home improvement and starring roles in many films. Currently, Tim Allen works in the ABC Sitcom last man standing. He has written books such as “Don’t stand too close to a naked man” and “I’m not really here” (Jack, 2006). Kristy Alley on the other hand was born in 1951 in America. She is an American actress and comedienne famous for her role in Television shows where she has won awards such as Golden Globe Award. Joy Sander is another cast in the movie For Richer or poorer. He was born in America in 1953 and he is an American character actor. He is famous for playing mob lawyer character in NBC detective series. He is also famous for being the narrator of PBS series (Jack, 2006). He has also served as the narrator of many other Nova episodes since 2007. Michael Learner is For Richer or Poorer Cast who was born in 1941 in New York. He is an American actor who began his acting career in the late 1960s. He also appears in radio and television presentations. Wayne Knight is a cast who was born in 1955 in America. He is an actor, comedian and voice actor very famous for the role he played as Newman in TV sitcom (Jack, 2006). He is also famous for taking part in BBC casts in 2011.
Cultural issues, healthcare issues, beliefs, preferences and wishes discussed in the film
There are various cultural, healthcare, beliefs and preferences issues discussed in the movie For Richer or Poorer. One of the cultural issues discussed in this movie is marriage. The movie shows that marriage is important in a society and this is why the characters in the movie held marriage ceremonies where they could exchange vows. Marriage vows in this film go “For richer or poorer, till death do us part” (Jack, 2006). This shows a strong bond between the married people in the Amish society. The other cultural issue is worship because the people demonstrate belief in God. The other cultural issue is division of duties between men and women where the men perform the hard tasks such as farming while women wash, cook and sew clothes. The film discusses preferences such as the kind of life to lead. For example, Alley and Allen prefer a wealthy and materialistic lifestyle that puts their marriage into troubles. When the accountant embezzles the couple’s millions of money, he prefers to run away and leave them behind to take the fall for the crime. The two try hard to be what they are not as they learn the culture and habits of the people in the Amish society. For richer or poorer discusses different beliefs of the people in the society. One of the beliefs is that a miserable marriage should be ended through divorce. They also believe in God and this is shown when Allen and Alley’s 10th anniversary is held in a real estate pitch known as “the holy land” which is modeled after the biblical lore (Jack, 2006). On the side of healthcare, the movie discusses issues such as revealing of the issues of pregnancy in order to ensure the protection of the unborn child. For example, Alley revealed that she was expectant when they reached at a place where they had crashed a cab.
Predominant sick care practices presented in the film
The film presents predominant sick care practices such as taking care of Alley when she reveals that she is expecting the family’s first born child. Sick care practices also include helping people in problems. When Allen and Alley get to Amish, Jay Sanders and his family makes the pair feel at home and this shows sick care practices are ensured to enhance the comfort of people in the society (Jack, 2006).
Ethical issues
The film presents ethical issues such as marriage conflict. This is shown through Allen and Alley who can stand one another despite being very wealthy. When they got to Amish, they learnt to love one another with or without money and this shows that the solution to marriage problems is making sure that there is love between couples at all times (Bryan, 1997). The other ethical issue brought out in the film is materialism. The film shows that materialism can cause problems among people in the society and the solution to such as problem is to ensure that people avoid being materialistic in the society.
Birth rites, child rearing practices and death right presented
The birth rites presented in this film are that the unborn child has to be protected in order to ensure that it remains healthy. On the other hand, a child has to be brought up in the presence of both parents and should be shown how to behave like in the case of the Yoder family (Bryan, 1997). However, there are no death practices presented in the film.
Family structure
In this film, a family structure is mostly made up father, mother and children. In some other families, there are grandparents who wake the people every morning. Communication patterns flow from the parents to the children where the parents instruct the children on what to do (Bryan, 1997). The men in the family do the hard tasks such as farming while the women perform household duties such as cleaning and cooking. The families also respect customs such as obedience to the old people in the society and this is why the grandfather can unconvincingly allow people to sleep late in the night. The aging people are respected and obeyed in the society and this shows respect for traditions. Religious practices such as belief in God and holding of marriage ceremonies are practiced by the people of Amish society.
Influence of film
The film influences viewers to see the issue of wealth possession in a different way. It shows that people need to avoid being materialistic because being materialistic can have great effects on their marriages. In this connection, people need to ensure that their wealth does not affect the love they have for their spouses (Bryan, 1997).
References:
Bryan S. (1997). For Richer or Poorer. New York: Prentice Hall
Jack L. (2006). For Richer, For Poorer. New York: McGraw hill
Tim A. & Kristy A. (1998). For Richer or Poorer. DVD, Canada
Tim A. & Kristy A. (1998). For Richer or Poorer. DVD, U.S
