EZ Money is a 2005 Direct to Video kid flick based around the 419 Scam, known colloquially as the Nigerian e-mail scam. The premise revolves around a young girl, Molly, who while briefly left alone at the principal's office at school, intercepts a Nigerian scam e-mail to her principal and forwards it to her own account. What follows is a madcap sequence of events as she tries to get rich off the scheme and a freak power surge causes the money to become inaccessible to both her and the scammers, leading them to travel all the way to America and kidnap her sister in order to try to get the money back. And yes, the whole thing is just a bizarre as it sounds.
This film includes examples of the following:
- 419 Scam: And other tropes associated with it. Referenced by both by this name and as the "Nigerian e-mail scam"
- An Aesop: "If it sounds too good to be true... it is!"
- Anonymous Benefactor: In the film's ending, the $30 million that Dulane Delane thought was transferred to her bank account was instead spread around to a number of needy orphanages, schools, and such.
- Artistic License – Engineering: The film revolves around a bizarre sequence of events supposedly caused by a freak power surge.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: "Bad guy?" "It ees what he does!" "He's not very bad at it."
- Blatant Lies: On both the side of the scammers and the children.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: A man in a phone booth talking on a phone states "May God strike me down if I'm not at work." He gets his wish.
- Child Prodigy: Molly, despite her acting out due to her father's death.
- Covers Always Lie: The DVD cover would have you believe that the dog seen on the cover is a key part of the film. Instead, it has little screentime, if any at all.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: The main character lives with her aunt after the death of her parents in a car crash.
- Face Palm: Molly and her friend do this after Molly's little sister is kidnapped.
- Fluffy the Terrible: A growling guard dog named Fluffy that the owner claims is a poodle.
- Funetik Aksent: The main villain, Dukane Delante
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Dukane Delante smokes Cuban cigars.
- Happily Adopted: The adoptive aunt of Molly desparately wants to this be so and is trying her best.
- Jerkass: A man at a pizza shop who tries to hit a woman who calls it by mistake when she meant to dial the police station.
- Just a Kid: Molly is able to get away with a lot because adults treat her as just a kid and don't realize what she's capable of.
- New Media Are Evil: Played with
- No Animals Were Harmed: "No animals were harmed in the making of this movie and no scam e-mails were sent although several of the crew reportedly signed up for an online dating service."
-
No Budget - Police Are Useless
- Stop Copying Me: A cop, Sylis P. Murphy, who has gone twisted in the head does this.
- Stylistic Suck: Driving home the point, the film is written, directed and produced by the same person.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Dukane Delante comments "It ees so hard to find good bad guys these days."
- Tagline: "If it sounds too good to be true... it is!" and "The Nigerian e-mail scam gets scammed!"
- Title Drop: "It'll be easy. Easy money."
- We Have Ways of Making You Talk: This is used word-for-word by Dukane Delante to Sylis P. Murphy, except that with her ridiculous accent, she says "vays."
- Would Hurt a Child: Dukane Delante
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The title and the company Ez Loan.
- You Are Grounded!: After being suspended from school, Molly is grounded too.
- You Meddling Kids: Dukane Delante declares this of the children.
