6 Movies To Watch When You Want To Eat The Rich
Are you feeling hungry but can’t figure out why? Have you already stuffed your face with Pringles several times but still have an inexplicable urge to devour something fleshy?
You may have a problem called Wanting to Eat the Rich. It’s a condition that has overtaken more than one American lately, for some reason, and there’s not much you can do about it. Protesting helps, but only for a short time. You still wind up with an overwhelming desire to pluck out Kylie Jenner’s eyebrows and use them as seasoning on your lasagna. (Or, you know, however your condition manifests itself.) However, since you will most likely be arrested if you make good on your desire to Eat the Rich, you should probably watch one of the following six movies instead.
Parasite (2019)
Watch it when: All you want for Christmas is class war.
Why it helps: It’s trenchant without being preachy and satirical without being obvious. It’s pretty much a gold standard for eat-the-rich cinema, and you’ll cringe and grin as you watch the Wealthies of Parasite try to maintain their status quo. The amount of genres on display is staggering: Through dark comedy, tragi-horror and disaster film excess, this movie reveals just how rigged the world is.
The Menu (2022)
Watch it when: You crave a healthy side of karma.
Why it helps: Everyone in this movie gets what’s coming for them. However, The Menu doesn’t let you feel smug about that. You are as guilty as these solipsistic richies, the movie seems to say, and you’re part of the problem — if not the whole problem. That said, it is still extremely satisfying to see Ralph Fiennes rip into each of these well-heeled diners, exposing their arrogance and hypocrisy.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Watch it when: You want your satire extra salty.
Why it helps: A significant portion of this movie is dedicated to the depiction of self-centered rich people expelling body fluids from both ends as they slowly drown. This is somehow both hilarious and horrific. Later, when said rich people establish a New World Order along with the Poors, the movie’s message becomes no less satisfying — especially when the Richies reveal their true, pathetic natures.
Ready or Not (2019)
Watch it when: You’re too tired to eat the rich and prefer that they do it themselves.
Why it helps: The rich people of this movie do the kinds of things that you, as a healthily cynical armchair psychologist, expect of rich people. As in, they regularly hunt beautiful young women in order to fulfill the criteria of the Satanic pact that keeps them wrinkle-free and happy. This movie gleefully skewers the concept of generational wealth, as well as the elaborate, unhinged ways that rich people protect it. And yes, the working class final girl gets a happy ending. Sort of.
Knives Out (2019)
Watch it when: You’re feeling self-righteous but also kinda want to stare at Chris Evans.
Why it helps: This movie’s snappy script turns a lens on the white, privileged, and delusional, all the while exposing them as bigots, freeloaders, and talentless hacks. Ana de Armas’ character is nearly the only likeable person in this movie, and it’s no coincidence that she’s working class. Her moral compass will temporarily restore your faith in humanity.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Watch it when: You’re ready to overturn the whole f***ing system.
Why it helps: Before blessing us with Parasite, Bong Joon-ho had already blessed us with Snowpiercer, a dystopian thriller about a never-ending, class-divided train ride. Poor people to the back, rich people to the front; poor people packed in like sardines, rich people treated to sushi and orchestras. That sort of thing. As you can imagine, the revolution comes swiftly and violently, and it’s made all the better by the presence of Tilda Swinton, in an outfit that’s unhinged even for Tilda Swinton. The whole affair exposes the absurdity of manufactured inequality, serving axe fights and protein bars made of bugs while ratcheting the tension up to a fever pitch. Oh, and this movie has Chris Evans, too! I swear that this was an accident. I’m definitely not actively daydreaming about being stranded on a private island with my boyfriend and Chris Evans right now, subtly insinuating to Chris that it’s not gay if you don’t kiss afterwards. Definitely not!
