With “Greed,” British film maker Michael Winterbottom brings a satire about the ultra-rich in the context of the fashion industry. Centered around Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan), a disgraced self-made fashion industry icon, this is the story of how he tries to rebuild his reputation by having his biography written by Nick (David Mitchell) while attempting to throw the biggest party of all time for sixtieth birthday. As can be expected, not everything goes according to plan.
Even with a cast that boasts Isla Fisher, Sophie Cookson, and Asa Butterfield, this script is not one that even this list can salvage. With the story jumping back and forth from a strange in-your-face harsh reality in third world countries part of the script that then moved back to a luxury private resort in Greece, it just doesn’t work. By the time the second act started, I had the rest of the story figured out, with surprises few and far between. If there is a silver lining here, it is how I found the facts that applied to the story’s message at the end of the film informative and powerful. I really wanted “Greed” to be a better film, but the only way I would sit through it again is if it was on my television, the batteries in the remote were dead, and I didn’t feel like getting up.