Sour Grapes (1998 film)


Sour Grapes is a 1998 American black comedy film written and directed by Larry David and starring Steven Weber, Craig Bierko, Viola Harris, Karen Sillas, Robyn Peterman and Matt Keeslar. It was released on April 17, 1998, by Columbia Pictures. The film's score was composed and conducted by Basil Poledouris.

Plot

Richie Maxwell is down to his last quarter at a slot machine in Atlantic City, so he asks cousin Evan for two more coins for one more spin — a spin that wins a $400,000 jackpot.
The joy of victory is quickly replaced by a fierce disagreement over who deserves what. Richie begins by offering Evan a very small percentage of his winnings. Evan didn't expect anything at first but now he is offended because he provided two-thirds of the money Richie sank into the machine.
A bitter feud develops. Richie, a sneaker designer, hogs all the money and quits his job. Evan, a doctor, is so annoyed that, as a prank, he lets Richie believe he is dying. By the time he reveals the joke, Richie has done something drastic.
The more rattled Evan gets, the more distracted he becomes at work. And even when the cousins come to a tentative truce, everything backfires on them in events that involve girlfriends, relatives and even the homeless.
In the end, Ritchie loses all his money and winds up right back where he started. Despondent, he goes home to perform oral sex on himself—a pastime of his.

Cast

The film gained poor reviews from critics. The film made it on the 2000 list of Roger Ebert's most hated films. In his review, he remarked "I can't easily remember a film I've enjoyed less." The film has a 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Larry David himself has expressed regrets over the film. A poster for the film was put up on the set of David's office for the filming of Curb Your Enthusiasm's pilot episode. David had the poster promptly removed because he got "sick of looking at it" after one show. In a later episode, David's character tells his wife to stop lending people the film, and says he doesn't believe a friend who claimed to have enjoyed the movie, stating she was just trying to be polite.