Michael : Rich Kid or Kept Man

It could be that he had some money at one time but more like Michael just spends conspicuously to compensate for his self esteem problems and is always living one step ahead of the bill collector.

Back in the late 60's he would have been seen as incredibly extravagant but today it almost seems like the rest of the country has caught up with Michael with so many people living off their paper equity on their homes that seemed to evaporate overnight. Micheal was probably one of the first to insist on 300 plus thread count for his bed sheets and imported foods and wine but you go to any upscale shopping mall in the U.S. that's what people were buying like there was no tomorrow.

I think it is implied somewhere in the actual play that he's an actor, but who doesn't get many jobs.

It's obvious that he's coming from a well-off family (he went to an Ivy League college), probably upper middle-class or something like that. So he's probably used to a certain lifestyle you know? So when things didn't really come through, etc, he keeps a high standard of living (expensive food, designer clothes, *vicuna* sweaters - idk if you know the price of vicuna-...) but without necessarily having the money to back it up. However, to have that much money without having it, he would need to have great "credentials" either to get loans or to get to pay for them later (more likely) - a good family name or something is kinda likely.

*****
With the newspaper strike on, I wouldn't consider dying! /Bette Davis/

I interpreted it as Michael shoplifts sometimes. He also may pull the "borrowing from the store" trick, where he'd buy a sweater, or something, wear it a couple of times, then return it for credit. And yes, I get the idea he has problems paying bills sometimes.

As specific as the film gets about it is that Michael is, for the time being, living on unemployment insurance and credit. He says to Donald, "What's so snappy about being head-over-heels in debt? The only thing smart about it is the ingenious ways I dodge the bill collectors," and remarks that "Just because I wear expensive clothes does not necessarily mean they're paid for.

He must have had employment at some time, as Donald mentions that "It takes a certain flair to squander one's unemployment check at Pavilion." But Michael is clearly reaching the end of his financial rope. During that same conversation with Donald, he refers to having "flitted from Beverly Hills to Rome to Acapulco to Amsterdam," but later on after the guests have arrived, he describes his mode of escaping reality as, "I take planes," then corrects himself: "No, I don't do that anymore. I don't have the money to do that anymore."

I never got the impression that he came from money - Ivy League education notwithstanding (scholarship, perhaps?) - given his small-town childhood in "Hot Coffee, Mississippi." Sure, there are wealthy families in small towns; I just didn't get that impression. But he clearly had money and/or income he no longer has. In short, he's a deadbeat with expensive tastes.



Poe! You are...avenged!

Michael's in debt is what I interpreted - I think he's an often out of work actor (I found some of the dialogue in the beginning difficult to catch). Regarding Michael and Harold, to me it seems there is some deep affection between them, possibly romantic - I don't think it's because of some financial arrangement between them. There was definite bitterness from Harold when he said "Michael's never loved anyone", and Michael seemed hurt by that suggestion - I took that as a very personal exchange.