The Plot of the “Monopoly” Movie is Revealed

In the tradition of Clue: The Movie, there’s an unlikely movie adaptation of a board game in the works. That’s because the game Monopoly is coming to the big screen. Why are we talking about Monopoly in GeekTwins? Because they’ve added a sci-fi twist. Apparently, the movie will take a page from Alice in Wonderland. The story, according to an interview in the LA Times, will involve a real-estate executive obsessed with the game Monopoly who ends falling asleep during a marathon session of the game and wakes up in a world that mirrors the game. He finds himself in Monopoly City, where they use Monopoly money as currency, and the Parker Brothers are an evil entity to be destroyed. It sounds like the screenwriter made only cursory nods towards the game, though. He says that he worked the different game pieces in as background material (a wheelbarrow goes by, a sports car drives up), and he made Uncle Pennybags a maître d’ in a restaurant. A restaurant? For crying out loud. It doesn’t sound that great to me…sounds kind of hokey…but it sold Ridley Scott, who begged to direct it.

My take? I would’ve taken a page from Pirates of the Caribbean and made a story that mirrors (but isn’t entirely revolving around) the source material. I would’ve made a story similar to Wall Street, where two scheming CEOs battle it out through business dealings and corporate espionage. The main character is the nephew of of an old-school Nelson Rockerfeller-type (nicknamed Uncle Pennybags) who made his money in the railroad and real estate. His uncle dies, and leaves his company to the nephew. The hero is plunged into the world of wealth and high-finance, but faces a hostile takeover by a high-tech Bill Gates-type of technological magnate. All the game elements are there (they go to Wall Street, buy hotels, the villain has a Scottie dog), but it’s not so obvious. But I guess that’s why I’m not a famous Hollywood screenwriter.