Stripes
Bill Murray of course first broke through in replacing Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live and the switch was appropriate with both of them exuding the same wry, sardonic wit which would make them appear to be the coolest and funniest guy in the room (although Chase did it better). From there on Murray headed into the movies, starting off with the low budget Canadian tax shelter comedy Meatballs with not much of a starring role as the lunatic head counselor whom much of the time stayed offscreen while the movie focused on the actual kids at the camp. With his name and face on all the posters along with his SNL clout, it was a smash hit and prepared him for his next starring role, this 1981 release that once again plastered his name and face all over the advertising but which ironically graced him with a superlative supporting cast and a genuine sidekick of equal screentime and stature in one Harold Ramis. The film was originally conceived as a starring vehicle for the legendary Cheech And Chong (titled Cheech And Chong Join The Army) but when the bottom fell out on that arrangement, it was completely overhauled to make room for Murray and Ramis (with Ramis doing his own take on the script as he was prone to do) and also to make way for a hell of a lot of improvisation from just about all of the actors. Murray and Ramis play two best friends in New York (actually Louisville, KY) whose lives are going nowhere. Murray is a slob of a cab driver who picks up a snotty old woman that pushes his buttons hard enough to make him drive erratically on purpose and then leave her stranded on the side of a bridge before his own car gets repossessed and his very hot girlfriend leaves him. Ramis (ostensibly one of those very smart guys who never really did anything worthwhile with it) is starting a course to teach Basic English to a roomful of immigrants only to look out at their blank expressions and wishing he could do better. With both guys realizing that their lives suck, they make a decision to join The U.S. Army thinking that they could get some kicks out of it figuring that at the very least itâd be different than what theyâre doing now. Apart from Ramis realizing that the only English the immigrants in his class know are cuss words (âson of bitch! shit!â) in arguably the filmâs funniest bit, it is not until they get to boot camp that we start piling on that amazing supporting lineup, most notably John Candy as Ox, with Candy showing his uncanny ability to shine in supporting roles in classic comedies even as most of his lead roles failed to live up the same way; P.J. Soles and Sean Young looking cute as the two female MPs who take up the comedic love interest roles for Murray and Ramis (even as Young feuded with Murray on the set); John Larroquette (an underrated comic talent who was incredible on Night Court) as the uptight and extremely prissy (gay?) captain whom it turns out is so clueless that he is the last thing that resembles a real soldier much less a commanding officer; Judge Reinhold as the spaced out stoner of the recruits (of whom it was said that much of the original Cheech And Chong material was transferred to his character); and best of all Warren Oates (in one of his last roles) stealing the movie outright from everybody as the drill sergeant for this outfit, slyly playing off of Murrayâs goofiness with his own brand of gritty humor and scoring major points as a result while more importantly (with the help of the others) not really allowing Murray to take over the whole movie completely since Murrayâs character here (and his basic persona) can be construed by many people as being unlikable. This was said to be a VERY informal set with filming even shutting down for two weeks so that the cast could all get drunk upon learning about the death of John Lennon. Murray and Oates were said to have gotten along fabulously in real life and went for many drinking binges of their own. And Candy had to be rigorously coached through the movieâs main setpiece, a mud wrestling match between he and several beautiful girls in a strip club establishment. There is a very contrived and hard to swallow bit of business concerning Oatesâ Sgt. Hulka being removed from the story (although he does come back later on) and the idea that Murray and the others somehow manage to complete basic training on their own without him, leading to the filmâs low point, an unfunny graduation performance in front of a general where Murray in particular is particularly obnoxious and hard to watch, but it sets up the filmâs main conflict with the platoon (having impressed the general with their âperformanceâ) being assigned to test out some sort of new superweapon disguised as a Winnebago RV, only for Murray and Ramis (assigned to guard it on shit detail by Oates) deciding to take it for a spin around Europe instead, which in reality should seal their fate but instead they manage to become heroes when the platoon (led by the bumbling idiot Larroquette) go looking for them and wind up in Soviet controlled Czechoslovakia by accident, prompting Murray and Ramis (having a romantic getaway with Soles and Young in Germany) to launch a rescue mission since the circumstances of the platoon being captured dictate that The Pentagon wonât do anything with it being their incursion was highly illegal, so they take the doomsday Winnebago and steer into the Czech territory to have some poorly staged battle scenes with The Russians, a plot development that director Ivan Reitman would later admit that he was ashamed of, a lame attempt to depict the characters âin combatâ so that he could justify calling it a War Comedy. In truth though, this whole portion of the movie isnât really all that bad, but it sure is implausible, with Oates (who manages to escape and then plays recon until the Winnebago shows up) in particular being a lot of fun here, but then again it was obviously decided early on that the conflict between Murray and Oates over Murrayâs slacker attitude was the heart of the movie and they certainly ran with it all the way, as seen in what is both the best acted and most serious scene of the movie, a confrontation between the two that turns physical even as Oates makes it clear that it is for Murrayâs own good and to teach him about honor and respect as required values for this way of life. In contrast to this is a strange sequence (only recently put back into the movie on newer releases) where Murray and Ramis take heavy doses of acid and wind up on a plane bound for South America, briefly getting involved with the natives having their own little guerilla rebellion. Much of this part feels like pure Cheech And Chong with Murray and Ramis now filling in for them, but it also shows some of the chances that they were willing to take with the material despite Reitman initially winning the struggle to cut it out of the movie back in 1981 while the executives reportedly felt that it was the single funniest part. Other bits making it back in include a gratuitous amount of nudity on Solesâ part during her goofy love scenes with Murray and an extended argument between Murray and Ramis about the wisdom of going into Soviet occupied territory. Even as Murray and Ramis manage to avoid being court martialed for their actions (although they should have) due mostly to also having exposed Larroquette as being an embarrassingly incompetant commanding officer, the movie still managed with its box office success to increase Army recruitment at that time (which must have been made even easier by there being no war going on either) even as one canât help but place this in the category of dumb crowd pleaser, nowhere near the epic thunder and fury that was Murray, Ramis, and Reitman joining forces with Aykroyd, Hudson and Moranis in Ghostbusters or even the seamless 4 man comedic wrecking crew of which Murray was a part of in Caddyshack. Much of the appeal is based on just how much one enjoys Murrayâs basic wisecracking slob schtick (brilliant in Caddyshack, not so much in Meatballs and just okay here) where he talks out of the side of his mouth while his lips become all contorted as if heâs partied too much, but at least here they give him a good sidekick, a top notch supporting cast and a rock solid anchor in Warren Oates who helps keep it all real and doesnât allow Murray to get too far out of handâŚ
8/10