Kay Bell says that although she is not a fan of Steve Carell, she might be compelled to see his new movie Date Night:
[T]oday, I learned a tidbit that makes it a must see: Carell’s character is a tax lawyer.
Don’t waste your money, Kay.
My wife and I saw the movie this weekend and it contains only one small scene that a tax type might find even mildly amusing.
Carell tells a young newlywed couple that they are getting a $700 refund. The man, who reminds me of a younger version of Motley Crew lead singer and renowned swordsman Tommy Lee, gives Carell a high five.
His wife then says they’ll use the money to go to a private island where they will make love to one another “like twenty times a day.”
Carell proudly and confidently declares that he has a much better idea for how the young couple should use the refund.
“Start a Roth IRA”, he says.
The man looks at Carell, then at his hot and frisky wife, then back at Carell and says, “I think I’m gonna go with her plan.”
Other than that scene, Carell’s character might as well have been a plumber.
But the movie, and Kay’s post, did get me thinking about other tax professionals portrayed in the movies. Here are a few I remember off the top of my head:
- Donald Sutherland – Ordinary People
- Rick Moranis - Ghostbusters
- Tom Cruise - The Firm
- Gene Hackman - The Firm
- Tim Robbins¹ - The Shawshank Redemption
- Charles Martin Smith² – The Untouchables
Can you think of any others?
Footnotes:
¹ He’s a banker who turns tax preparer while in prison. He does the warden’s taxes.
² He discovers Al Capone’s tax fraud.
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3 responses so far ↓
1 HappyTaxDude // Apr 12, 2010 at 6:25 pm
I know that you may not want to concede that they are tax professionals, but Will Ferrell played an IRS agent in “Stranger Than Fiction” (2006).
2 Peter // Apr 13, 2010 at 7:24 am
I thought Will Ferrell was a professional race car driver?
3 HappyTaxDude // Apr 13, 2010 at 8:32 am
A lot of Revenue Agents retire and become NASCAR drivers (or pit crew members).
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