A tycoon and CEO of a conglomerate dies when a building sign falls on him. His testament stipulates that his last family member, Guido Falcone, should inherit a billion $ and his company, but he has to show up in San Francisco in 20 days or the offer will expire. Falcone, an Italian auto mechanic, accepts, but decides to take a ship and train to San Francisco. Cutler, who wanted to take over the company by himself, hires con-artist Rosie to seduce Falcone and trick him into signing the power of attorney document, giving Cutler all the power. Falcone realizes he was seduced, but still decides to save Rosie captured in the Grand Canyon, even though that leaves him without time to reach San Francisco. Still, a company employee gives Falcone a jet, enabling him to reach San Francisco and collect the fortune with Rosie.
Terence Hill remained an unforgettable movie star in his Italian homeland, thanks to his partner B. Spencer, yet did not manage to "break into" the American cinema "solo" with this light comedy that lacks highlights. Covering the often theme of a chase to inherit a fortune, "Mr. Billion" needed much better jokes to attract the interest of the audiences. Some of the best jokes arrive swiftly, such as when two henchmen are chasing the two protagonists, but in the rush they crash their car into a bus, which turns out to be a police bus, with dozens of police officers exiting to aim their gun at the crooks. In another, a big fight erupts in a bar, so a Sheriff wants to restore some order by using his pistol to shoot in the air, but accidentally hits the sign of the said bar, causing it to fall onto his own police car. It is indicative, though, that none of these above mentioned jokes involve the main hero, Hill, who rarely gets a chance to shine in the story and is underused. Hill has very good English language skills, though his accent is slightly "off" at times, yet he is given little scenes to talk. The film lacks ingenuity and creativity, and several jokes do not work: the opening act shows Falcone in a restaurant, enacting a shooting scene with a kid, so Falcone pretends to be dying, and ruins his shirt by placing a tomato on it, simulating blood, and then ruins even the dress of a woman and the clothes of the kid, whom he both hugs with his tomato-drenched shirt. The scene is pointless and should have been cut. Too many contrivances strain the story: Falcone and Rosie stop their truck after a chase, just next to a hired hitman who conveniently waited there in an ambush. What are the odds of them driving for hundreds of miles and stopping precisely there? "Mr. Billion" feels rushed and not well thought out, since there is not that many inspiration in here, yet still works as a solid fun.
Grade:+
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