Word: murrayism
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...difficult to say exactly what makes Murray such a funny comedian, and what makes his new movie. Stripes, such an enjoyable film. His acting abilities are limited, to say the least, and his juvenile, sarcastic-wiseguy routine is about all he has to go with. And he goes with it relentlessly--often with little subtlety or variation, but it is perhaps more a strength than a weakness. Bill Murray's humor comes at you with the reliability of a Quarter Pounder with cheese--you know exactly what you're going to get when you order it, and you're usually...
...Murray's greatest asset, of course, is that he makes the audience feel like laughing, and that, as any comedian will tell you, is half the ballgame right there. Jack Benny could send his audience into hysterics with one squeaky note on his violin. Johnny Carson can turn a bad joke into a kneeslapper with a single bland stare, and Murray can send up lines so well by just standing there with that bemused, half-dopey smile on his face, that by the time he utters a word, the audience is ready to laugh at whatever he says...
...Stripes screenplay, by Len Blum, Dan Goldberg and Harold Ramis, was tailor-made for Murray, who plays the role of John Winger, a lazy, listless yet lovable failure. After losing his job, his car and his girlfriend in that order. Winger, along with his sidekick Russell Zisky (Ramis), decides to join the Army simply because he is too lazy to do anything else. The problems quickly (and predictably) begin when Winger--an incessant clown--meets up with the brass of the United States Military...
...Stripes could have been edited down to suit any 1940's or 1950's audiences with very little effort. The two scenes of nudity are utterly superfluous to the plot and were no doubt included simply to garner the R-rating needed to be an "adult comedy," as are Murray's throw-away gag lines about kinky...
...Stripes makes little attempt to raise questions about the ethics of war and military service. Racial problems are hinted at but then ignored and quickly forgotten. The question of women in the military is dealt with in similar manner. The writers limply play with that one by making Murray's and Ramis's girlfriends military policewomen, but they might as well be Playboy bunnies in khaki. Hollywood sensibilities prevail...