Stripes

Rating:
Summary: Bill Murray in the US Army, point made
Review: This lighthearted view of the Unites States Army provides a wonderful few hours of watching. A comedic cast that is full of great actors, check imdb.com to see the full cast.

The whole story of Bill Murray joining the US Army along with Harold Ramis and John Candy made me laugh before I watched a minute of this film. This movie really is funny and will make most audiences laugh. The whole notion of classic Bill Murray vs the Army Drill Instructor is a great idea for a movie.

The story is a bunch of new recruits, Murray, Ramis and Candy included, go through basic training and then get themselves into quite an adventure half way through. Don't want to spoil the story line, so I won't say anything more. This film is rated R, and for good reasons. There are som adult scenes, as well as language. the adult scenes turned me off to the movie, but it was still a good film.

I enjoyed this film because it is Billy Murray at his best. He was enough to make this film worth while. There is a good support cast in addition the bigger names. This film is more comedic than patriotic. I recommend this to people who like to laugh and those who like Billy Murray. If you aren't crazy about Bill Murray, you should probably pass on this title.

Rating:
Summary: Classic of its somewhat undefinable genre
Review: How can anyone not rate this 5 stars? This was one of the classic comedies of the Saturday Night Live alumni association in the early '80s (also including Caddyshack and Trading Places). See it, you won't be disappointed. Classic Murray lines such as "I'm not parking it, I'm abandoning it", "Convicted? No.", "I wannna party with you, cowboy" and "who's your buddy, who's your pal, it's time for the Aunt Jemima treatment". See it and you'll understand. Harold Ramis being understated and bemused, PJ Soles in her only movie anyone will ever remember, and Sean Young before she met James Woods and went psycho.

Rating:
Summary: Be all that you can be!
Review: Tired of your job? Do you not know what you want to do with your life? The view this flick. "Stripes" shows the American man what the army is all about. Teamwork, discipline, and serving your country. It also shows us that anyone can make an impact in the military no matter your age, physical ability, or how many times in life you have messed up. This is one of Bill Murray's first movies and one of his best as well. The character "John Winger" has tremendous heart and determination and influences the soldiers around him. This movie may motivate you to make a difference in your country and would change any negative view one might have against the military.

Rating:
Summary: Classic 80's
Review: Most of plot of the movie doesn't make much sense, and I could do without the mudwrestling, but it IS a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Fun in the Army.
Review: STRIPES is a lot like most early 1980's comedies. However, there are a few things that set it apart. First, there's Bill Murray. Lately Murray has been leading towards a more serious avenue in his career. However, Murray got his start in comedy and STRIPES illustrates why. Secondly, the film has a great supporting cast including Harold Ramis and John Candy. Finally, the film was directed by Ivan Reitman and most things that Reitman writes and directs are at least a par above the average. One last note, the film doesn't have too much foul language and the only violence is the cartoony kind. However, the film does contain a lot of nudity (most of which was unnecessary) which prevents the movie from being much fun for the whole family. Other than that, STRIPES is a comedy "star".

Rating:
Summary: One of the best of all time.
Review: Bill Murray was at his zenith in Stripes. Much like Caddyshack, there are great supporting characters to help Murray. Murray's career started to go south later (although Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day were great efforts). This movie is just plain fun. I would love to see a sequel some day (and Rodney's Back to School), but I don't think Bill could cut it now.

Rating:
Summary: A very funny movie!
Review: When John Winger (played by Bill Murray) finds his life sliding away from him, a television commercial shows him an organization that can help him turn his life around, the United States Army! Dragging his friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis), he joins up, and runs into a stone wall in the shape of Drill-Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates). Together with the other misfits in his outfit (John Candy, Judge Reinhold, John Diehl, and others), Winger games the system and turns the US Army every which way but loose! [Color, released in 1981, with a running time of 1 hour, 41 minutes.]

This is a very funny movie! Unfortunately, it is rated R, and is NOT for younger viewers. The violence is pretty tame, and there are a few swear words used, but the main problem is that there are several nude scenes. So, if you buy this, you will need to watch it when the kids aren't around, just like me. But, it is a hilarious movie, and one that you will enjoy watching over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, but insult to REAL boot camp...
Review: Ok, Ok, This is a great movie because Murray and Ramis make a great team, with either Ramis in front or behind the camera (i.e. Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day}. This film would have received 4 stars except for the lame boot camp scenes. Having been in boot camp myself, this is just plain nonsense. Yes, its funny, but so unbelievable. Boot camp does not consist of the drill instructor(D.I.) sitting around with recruits "getting to know them", EVERYONE has their head shaved, and recruits don't joke around if their D.I. is even within earshot. I know its a comedy, but some things are hard to laugh at. Boot camp is DEFINATELY near the top of the list.

Rating:
Summary: Silly but entertaining
Review: One of Murrays' earlier works, this slapstick military comedy was one of my favorite "high school days" movies. A bit stupid in places, a low class mud wrestling scene (redeemed only by a hilarious John Candy), and some "yeah right" situations still don't ruin this otherwise funny and enjoyable film. Murray does some good "song and dance" stuff with his military unit in basic training, and a few of the other characters become memorable; "touch my stuff, and I'll kill ya". As with almost anything that has Harold Ramis involved this film doesn't fail to be entertaining, but probably scores the highest with the twenty something crowd. A good strong recommendation to Bill Murray fans and those that enjoy meaningless and silly comedy a mild one to everyone else.

Rating:
Summary: Quintessential Murray
Review: Every great comic has developed a screen persona that no one else can emulate. Bill Murray is in this elite league of comic actors, thanks to his trademark sarcasm and keen wit, and no other sequence in any of his films sums up his talents as well as the opening scenes in Stripes. His character loses his job, his girlfriend and his apartment all in one day, which prompts him to join the army with his best friend (Harold Ramis). It's his nonchalant attitude, however, that makes these scenes hilarious. Murray has always winked to the audiences in his films, and that is what makes him the greatest comedic actor of his generation.

The rest of Stripes holds up pretty strongly to these early scenes, at least for the most part. There are great supporting characters played by Ramis, John Larroquette and especially Warren Oates as the token drill seargent. But this is Murray's show from beginning to end. He's a genius with verbal comedy, which is in full display here. And Stripes itself remains one of the cornerstones of slob comedy. Like the best of these films (Animal House, Caddyshack), the writing and dialogue are a lot sharper and more satirical than they need to be, and that is what separates Stripes from the likes of Porky's and Police Academy.

The film eventually falls flat, though, in its final scenes. There was no need to place these band of misfits well inside the frontlines of the Cold War, making them superheroes. Just getting through basic training was accomplishment enough for them, and the movie should've ended there. The ludicrous finale doen't dampen the rest of the film much, though, and Stripes remains one of the funnier comedies of the 1980s.