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Why are one crazy night movies so much fun? Is it their unpredictability? Is it because the contact high of watching one is so close to the fun of having an actual crazy night? Is it because they double as travelogues? Whatever the reasons, all those sensations - not to mention plenty of laughs - are found in this movie, which does double duty as a one crazy day movie. The lead cast of Bill Murray (who also co-directed), Geena Davis and Randy Quaid are bank robbers trying to make a clean getaway from Manhattan to JFK airport and then on to Fiji. Unfortunately, everything from the Mafia to police chief Rotzinger (Jason Robards) to Quaid's unstable and none-too-bright Loomis complicate this plan.
I'm all for movies that write love letters to New York City like Woody Allen's or Martin Scorsese's, but it's a nice change of pace to see one with an attitude towards it resembling Homer Simpson's in "The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson." From the commentary about gentrification ruining the city's identity to a recurring joke about the Mafia owning every business, I can understand why Bill Murray said "everyone will enjoy this movie...but New Yorkers will enjoy it especially because they know how bad their city really is." Like Scorsese's one crazy night movie After Hours, it also makes a point to show how weird the place is and in the funniest ways (I've got three words for you: shirtless bicycle jousting). Moments like these and the trio's constant and escalating haplessness are such a good fit for Murray's comedic talents that it's a shame he didn't direct more. He's not pulling all the weight, though: Quaid's the trio's perfect chaos agent while Davis's straight woman adds the right amount of sense and heart. The scenes where we're supposed to take Murray's character seriously, especially those involving his romance with Davis' character, are less successful, however. Also, the movie holds up for being over 30 years old, and as nice as it is to see a young Tony Shalhoub, his stereotypical non-English-speaking cab driver seems like he belongs in the typical Adam Sandler movie instead of this one. It's still a worthy addition to the one crazy night, err...one crazy day and night genre and it's a crime (no pun intended) that it slipped through the cracks. Oh, and this movie adds another reason why movies like this one are so much fun: there's the joy of spotting all the "that guys" and "that girls," which besides Shalhoub include Stanley Tucci, Kurtwood Smith and the late, great Phil Hartman.
Why are one crazy night movies so much fun? Is it their unpredictability? Is it because the contact high of watching one is so close to the fun of having an actual crazy night? Is it because they double as travelogues? Whatever the reasons, all those sensations - not to mention plenty of laughs - are found in this movie, which does double duty as a one crazy day movie. The lead cast of Bill Murray (who also co-directed), Geena Davis and Randy Quaid are bank robbers trying to make a clean getaway from Manhattan to JFK airport and then on to Fiji. Unfortunately, everything from the Mafia to police chief Rotzinger (Jason Robards) to Quaid's unstable and none-too-bright Loomis complicate this plan.
I'm all for movies that write love letters to New York City like Woody Allen's or Martin Scorsese's, but it's a nice change of pace to see one with an attitude towards it resembling Homer Simpson's in "The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson." From the commentary about gentrification ruining the city's identity to a recurring joke about the Mafia owning every business, I can understand why Bill Murray said "everyone will enjoy this movie...but New Yorkers will enjoy it especially because they know how bad their city really is." Like Scorsese's one crazy night movie After Hours, it also makes a point to show how weird the place is and in the funniest ways (I've got three words for you: shirtless bicycle jousting). Moments like these and the trio's constant and escalating haplessness are such a good fit for Murray's comedic talents that it's a shame he didn't direct more. He's not pulling all the weight, though: Quaid's the trio's perfect chaos agent while Davis's straight woman adds the right amount of sense and heart. The scenes where we're supposed to take Murray's character seriously, especially those involving his romance with Davis' character, are less successful, however. Also, the movie holds up for being over 30 years old, and as nice as it is to see a young Tony Shalhoub, his stereotypical non-English-speaking cab driver seems like he belongs in the typical Adam Sandler movie instead of this one. It's still a worthy addition to the one crazy night, err...one crazy day and night genre and it's a crime (no pun intended) that it slipped through the cracks. Oh, and this movie adds another reason why movies like this one are so much fun: there's the joy of spotting all the "that guys" and "that girls," which besides Shalhoub include Stanley Tucci, Kurtwood Smith and the late, great Phil Hartman.