TOP 10 CONTRACTOR MOVIES OF ALL TIME!!!

July 6, 2001

You may be surprised to learn this, but Hollywood has not concentrated on the wonderful world of contractors and contracting. Perhaps that's because the need of Hollywood to keep on schedule and on time is completely contrary to the ethos of the contractor. In fact, Bud the Contractor does not believe that there are any movies about contractors and construction. He is, of course, wrong -- but not by much. So, in honor of Bud the Contractor:

	10.	Overboard (1987): Kurt Russell plays a down-and-out contractor stiffed by Goldie Hawn who achieves exquisite -- and surprising -- revenge. On the list because of a suggestion from a listener: "Kurt Russell makes a good wife out of a %$#%$". What more could a contractor do?
	9.	Dutch (1991): The contractor as family man. Ed O'Neill (of Married With Children fame) stars as a down-to-earth contractor and the prospective husband of Maribeth Williams , who is charged with bringing her incredibly spoiled and bratty son back from boarding school. Very underrated film.
	8.	Return to Me (2000): David Duchovny stars as a contractor who falls in love with Minnie Driver, who has his deceased wife's heart. A hokey plot with a lot of holes, saved by a wonderful supporting cast , featuring the late Carroll O'Connor and Robert Loggia.
	7.	Tin Men (1987): Danny Devito and Richard Dreyfuss star in a tale of aluminum siding salesmen in Baltimore. A Barry Levinson film. Funny and too-true.
	6.	Unforgiven (1992): Okay, so what does this Western have to do with contracting? Gene Hackman spends most of the movie building one of the worst, most lopsided houses in movie history, a house only he and Bud the Contractor could love. Won an Oscar® for Best Picture, and well-deserved it.
	5.	The Fighting Seabees (1944): May be John Wayne's most unusual wartime role. He leads a squad of formerly non-combattant engineers and contractors in a series of landing field construction projects in the Pacific. When William Frawley (Fred Mertz) bites the dust, it always brings a tear to my eye.
	4.	The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): A much better war movie than the one above, even if it's not, strictly speaking, about contractors. But they do build a heck of a bridge. And they do it reluctantly, slowly and involuntarily -- sort of like a real contractor! Alec Guiness and William Holden head a grand cast in a great film.
	3.	Lilies of the Field (1963): Sidney Potier stars in this wonderful movie about an itinerant contractor -- but aren't all contractors itinerant? -- who agrees to help a group of nuns build a church. Fine performances by all. Won an Oscar® as Best Picture, and deserved it
	2.	The Money Pit (1986): Should be required viewing for anyone considering buying a "fixer-upper". Tom Hanks and Shelly Long star as the young homeowners trying to live through a significant remodel. Hanks' laughing scene following his misadventure with the bathtub is a classic.
	1.	Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948): The all-time classic comedy about home construction. Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are grand as the unwitting New Yorkers who decide that it would be a wonderful idea to build a home in the Connecticut countryside. The most painful thing about the movie now is the discussion about cost of construction and Grant's outrage at having to spend, like, $15,000 for a four bedroom house. A grand watch.

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