Fire Sale

Benny Fikus, Rob Reiner, hatches a plan to cash in on his failing clothing store by staging arson. He wants Sherman, a man in a mental hospital who still believes World War II is being fought, to escape and torch the shop, which they’ve convinced him is a Nazi military headquarters.

During a vacation with Marion, Anjanette Comer as Marion Fikus, Benny suffers a heart attack, and his two sons take over the business: Russell Fikus, Rob Reiner, who is insecure and eager to expand the store and marry his girlfriend, and Ezra Fikus, Alan Arkin, who desperately needs money to adopt an orphaned 6’8” African-American teen named Booker T, Byron Stewart, hoping he will join Ezra’s high school basketball team since Ezra has won only two games in seven years and fears losing his coaching job.

Russell discovers Benny is bankrupt, with the only asset being the surrender value on the fire insurance policy. He cashes in the policy and splits the proceeds with Ezra, using the money to buy more stock.

Back at home, Benny lies nearly comatose after the heart attack. Marion is in denial, and when house painters working on a redecoration project tell her that her husband is “very sick,” she interprets it as Benny’s death and shifts the decorating plans to prepare for a funeral.

Meanwhile, Sherman has escaped and heads toward the store to burn it down so they can collect on a policy they no longer have.

Benny recovers and warns Russell that Sherman is on his way.

Hilarity ensues as Ezra has his wife run his basketball team while he and Russell try to stop Sherman from his quest to fight the Huns

by any means necessary

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 11:11