THE BILL MURRAY REVIEW

by Nate Lee

BEST FILM: Groundhog Day... This is one of anyone’s best films. Bill plays an egocentric weatherman, stuck in a small town to cover its Groundhog Day festivities, and must live the day over and over and over again until he gets it “right.”

 

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

Where the Buffalo Roam (as Hunter S. Thompson)

Tootsie (brilliant and understated as Dustin Hoffman’s somewhat level-headed roommate)

Little Shop of Horrors

What About Bob? (one of his best outside of the wacky stuff, here he is seriously crazy, annoying and loveable)

Ed Wood (as the very gay Bunny)

Rushmore

The Royal Tenenbaums

Scrooged

City of Ember (the Mayor)

BLOCKBUSTERS:

Get Smart (hilarious bit as the very unlucky Agent 13)

Caddyshack

Ghostbusters

Stripes

THE REAL BILL:

Stripes - Well, it could have been Tootsie or Ghostbusters. Though the moron got him into Hollywood, it’s the insincere patter, coming from a really grounded dude, that is the natural Midwestern boy.

ACTING STYLE:

Like his pal Steve Martin, Bill Murray started out playing loser morons. Also like Martin, Murray keeps venturing outside of comedy in some misguided attempt to be taken as a “serious dramatic actor,” whatever that is.

At his best, though, he fuses a smart-ass, often self-absorbed jerk with a puppy-dog sensitivity. Rarely has he played someone you could trust or even want to spend five minutes with. Nonetheless, he somehow wins over the other characters as well as the audience.

BITS AND QUIRKS

Trained first as an improv actor, Bill Murray hides his horde of bits well. There is the wide-eyed surprise, often accompanied by a slight slump. In his serious turns, he just stares, exhausted, for long takes, not even seeming to breathe.

Of course, there are the sarcastic asides, or the mock sincerity, amped up sometimes to mocking sincerity.

GREAT SCENES:

GROUNDHOG DAY:

Stealing the groundhog. > The suicides. > The perfect day: rescuing the boy falling from the tree, the old man, (his brother) choking on the steak, etc.

WHAT ABOUT BOB?:

Taking over the tv interview for Richard Dreyfuss as the uptight psychiatrist.

CADDYSHACK:

The sexual entrendres with the hose and the ball-washing machine. > The dialogue with Chevy Chase in his hut/home.

STRIPES:

Leading the rest of the squad of misfits through perfect drills in front of the general. > Seducing P.J. Soles with kitchen implements.

ED WOOD:

Talking about getting a sex change in Mexico, then coming back with a Mariachi Band.

TOOTSIE:

Brilliantly understated as the sidekick and roommate of Dustin Hoffman, discussing Hoffman’s continuing problems at “playing” a woman.

GHOSTBUSTERS:

Giving electric shock to a student while putting the moves on a cute coed. > Chasing after the ghost in the hotel.

IF YOU REALLY LIKE HIM, YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T LIKE:

Lost In Translation. (Too slow. Too serious. Bill trying be “dramatic.”)

Garfield (Well, it wasn’t too serious.)

Broken Flowers. (Again, Bill thinks he will get an Oscar for just standing around.)

The Razor’s Edge (early attempt at being too serious)

Mad Dog & Glory (he and DeNiro switched stereotypes; it was courageous but wrong)

 

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