Neither terrible nor revelatory, Ramaa Mosley’s “The Brass Teapot” is the kind of movie you might stumble across on cable and stick with, if only because, well, you’ve got nothing better to do.
Like W.W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw,” “The Brass Teapot” is a slight tale with a dark twist, based on the notion that nothing is ever free. In this case, the story centers on a happily married but very broke young couple, Alice (Juno Temple) and John (Michael Angarano).
He works as an unsuccessful telemarketer; she’s a recent college grad who keeps applying for jobs that are way out of her league. They owe rent, they drive a POS and they resent their high-school classmates like the snotty Payton (Alexis Bledel), who married rich. And yet – key point – they are happy with each other.
Then one day, after a minor fender-bender during a day of thrift-shopping, Alice walks into a store as if drawn there. She spots a brass teapot with a Star of David soldered to its side and, without thinking, steals it and runs off.
She quickly discovers that this particular vessel spouts money – specifically, hundred-dollar bills. But it only does so when she hurts herself. If she gets a paper cut or bumps her head, she finds a new supply of Benjamins in the teapot.
She shares this knowledge with John and they begin inflicting punishment on each other, filling garbage bags with the bills they collect. But enough is never enough, right?
This review continues on my website.