Mock Millionaire: Difference between revisions

A [['''Mock Millionaire]]''' is an ordinary person who is pretending to be someone who's rich, powerful, or otherwise highly influential. Maybe he's part of [[The Con]] selling a [[Get Rich Quick Scheme]], or an infatuated beau pursuing a [[Spoiled Sweet]] gal, or caught up in a [[Prince and Pauper]] or [[Fawlty Towers Plot]]. Whatever the reason, expect the [['''Mock Millionaire]]''' to play the charade [[Up to Eleven]] with displays of [[Conspicuous Consumption]], casual references to [[Scenery Porn|exotic places]], lots of [[Money to Throw Away]], name-dropping the [[The Beautiful Elite|rich and powerful]], an [[Unlimited Wardrobe]] complete with [[High-Class Glass|monocle]], and maybe "borrowing" a [[Cool Car]] or [[Big Fancy House]].

* The Frank Capra film ''[[Lady for a Day]]'' has a woman named "Apple Annie" who has been telling her daughter in Spain that she's part of New York's high society. When her daughter arrives with her fiancee, the son of a Spanish count, Annie has to be a genuine [[Mock Millionaire]] and [[Princess for a Day]] to avoid derailing the engagement.

* In an old black'n'white movie, an actual millionaire who fell in love with a poor, aspiring actress, and pretended to be a normal guy (a traveling salesman, to be precise) because he figured she'd be intimidated if she knew. [[Hilarity Ensues]], and eventually, he's asked to act like a [[Mock Millionaire]] to fool the girl's boss, with nobody involved (except for him) realizing that he's ''actually'' a millionaire. Would probably count as a subversion...

* The movie ''[[Metropolitan]]'' is about a group of young upper-class Manhattanites blithely passing through the gala debutante season. They are stirred by the arrival of Tom, a [[Mock Millionaire]] who's actually a middle-class boy.

** Gatsby's case is aversion and deconstruction: He truly is a [[Nouveau Riche]] millionaire because of his criminal activities, but he lacks the education of the rich culture (he thinks San Francisco is a Midwestern City, he really doesn’t get the subtle clues that show that he is not invited to a party). He displays an over the top show of [[Conspicuous Consumption]], casual references to [[Scenery Porn|ExoticPlacesexotic places]] (Montenegro anand Oxford) in his [[Multiple Choice Past]], parties with [[The Beautiful Elite]] in his [[Big Fancy House]] and his [[Cool Car]], his [[Unlimited Wardrobe]] ''"such beautiful shirts"''. [[You Were Trying Too Hard|And that show is the clue to everyone that he must be a]] [[Mock Millionaire]].

* "Oily" Carlisle, among quite a few other [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]] characters, pulls this as a scam. Several other Wodehouse characters stumble into it as well, such as Sue Brown in the ''[[Blandings Castle]]'' novels ''Summer Lightning'' and ''Heavy Weather''.

** Reacher Gilt from ''[[Discworld/Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]'' might qualify. Though he conducts himself in a very lavish manner, throwing grand parties and dining at expensive restaurants, it might all be part of his [[Devil in Plain Sight|masquerade]] as a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]. He himself teaches that wealth is an illusion, and stole the Grand Trunk through embezzlement and accounting tricks. It's never clear how much actual liquidity he actually has; in the end, {{spoiler|when he is caught by Vetinari after fleeing the city, he's clearly disheveled and impoverished.}}

** Granny Weatherwax in ''[[Discworld/Maskerade|Maskerade]]'' ''definitely'' does. To try to get into the opera house, Nanny Ogg uses the proceeds from her book to make Granny look like a lady. Granny just acts like herself, and her overbearing, towering arrogance is enough to [[Bavarian Fire Drill|intimidate everyone into not questioning it.]]

* The [[Mark Twain]] story ''The £1,000,000 Bank-Note'' -- a—a poor American traveler in London is given this by two men as part of a bet. He is expected to return it in a month. By presenting it and asking for change, he obtains a reputation as an eccentric American millionaire, obtains credit, and becomes rich in the end through investments. This story was adapted into the movie ''Man with a Million'' starring Gregory Peck.

* Was also explored recently in an episode of ''[[Castle]]''. That [[Mock Millionaire]] is a con artist initially intent on bilking his heiress fiancée, who then fell in love with her. He is then killed by his partner to avoid potentially ruining the con.

* Recurring through-out ''[[Seven Sins|7 Sins]]'', which encourages fraud for it'sits own sake, [[Spoof Aesop|then rewards the character with sex, money, fame and power]].