A perfect movie for those times in your life when you could use a little Bill Murray to get you through the day. NOT the sad sack serious actor Bill Murray, but the smartass younger Bill Murray. The Bill Murray whose characters would have made fun of Wes Anderson’s velvet suits. We’re all getting older and there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing now, but for those of us of a certain age, when we hear Murray’s name we instantly think of his 70s and 80s goofball sarcasm machine characters.
In his films directed by Ivan Reitman, in particular, Murray was simultaneously the funniest and smartest guy around, even if he didn’t have the authority or book smarts of some of the others. In the whole of comedy, there are bumbling funny guys, pathetic funny guys, determined funny guys, weirdo funny guys and there are cool funny guys—and Murray had the cool thing down cold. Murray’s characters got laid. If they got rejected, they bounced right back and kept trying in ways that would be considered harrassment today. Murray made more powerful men look small simply by being such a wisecracker, never frustrated, never angry to the point of indignation, never giving anything away beyond his effortless jokes. Funny is not something that Murray’s characters turn on and off. It’s what they are. It’s how they communicate. Funny is the language that they speak. And when funny is natural it’s often dry and deadpan.
Funny is never uncomfortably needy for the laugh. Funny simply spits it out and then moves on—or it at least makes it look as simple like that.
In his first starring role, Bill Murray is already good at it. He’s the head counselor at a summer camp. The kids are randy and aggressive, but Murray is still the wacky one. The film doesn’t let much plot get in his way, but it’s the usual stuff. There are romances abloom that nobody cares about. A sports competition rages with a richer rival camp. The most engaging story line is about shy kid Chris Makepeace’s struggle to fit in, but even that’s more concerned with Murray. He takes the kid under his wing and is the funniest, wisest mentor that a boy could ever want. Not only is Murray a champion practical joker and a brazen ladies man, but he’s also a darn nice guy. You couldn’t ask for a better star vehicle for him.
This low-budget Canadian movie was a hit, as was every other film that involved some combination of Murray, Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis, who was one of the writers. They didn’t work together all of the time, but when they did, they made sure it was a good one (well, except for Ghostbusters II).