Ruthless People: Movie Analysis

When most people begin house hunting, they contact an agent and the first thing out of their mouths is, "We're looking for a home to live in." The agent, having loads of experience with people in exactly this situation, immediately begins honing in on your consumer needs: how many are in your family (how big a house do you need), is there any particular style you like (ranch, modern, Victorian, and so on), where do you work (where would you like to live), and so on? By the time you've answered the agent's questions, you're a gone goose. You're deep into your own desires and the agent has neatly categorized you as a typical homebuyer. You'll see only properties that you find personally satisfying and except for such puffery as, "These homes …show more content…
In it two actors, Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater, became so financially desperate that they kidnapped a rich man's wife (Midler) and held her for ransom. What made the movie so wonderful was that instead of being serious, it was a comedy. The rich man, played by Danny DeVito, wouldn't pay the ransom because he was happy to get rid of his wife. The kidnappers were really softhearted and sympathetic to Midler. She, in turn, was so outraged by her husband that she helped them collect the ransom! In the end, everyone went as their heart (not their heads) dictated and it was great fun for the audience. Of course, it was just the movies. Real life usually isn't as kind or as much fun. However, there was an element of truth in the story that's well taken here; namely, nice people trying to act ruthless can benefit themselves. Inevitably, their hearts won out, as may be the case when we buy a home. Before that happened, they at least attempted to let their heads direct their actions. Now I'm not suggesting that you kidnap anyone; but I am asking you to at least make the effort to be ruthless when you make a home purchase. Be ruthless toward the seller, toward the agent, and most of all, toward yourself. Why Be Ruthless? There are a lot of dictionary synonyms for ruthless including ''inhuman," "atrocious," "barbaric," "vicious," "infamous," and "despicable." You can certainly be all these things if it helps you to get a better deal on a house. But they probably won't, and that's not what I'm suggesting here. Rather, by ruthless I mean that you aim to be determined, relentless, unstoppable in getting just what you want. Why is this necessary? Why should a buyer be "ruthless"? The answer is that when you buy with your eye toward investment, that is to say toward reselling, you're not going to get much help from anyone else. You may not even get much help from yourself! You're pretty much