“No, if it were our plane, it would be crashing.”

The Scoop: 1990 R, Directed by Howard Franklin and Bill Murray and starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis, Randy Quaid and Jason Roberds

Tagline: The bank robbery was easy. But getting out of New York was a nightmare.

Summary Capsule: Three robbers find NYC harder to get out off than a telemarketer’s calling list.

Justin’s rating: One million dollars… BEFORE taxes

Justin’s review: Every time the subject of New York City comes up in conversation, it never fails that there’s always one person who’s madly in love with the town. They start gushing about how wonderful, how dreamy, how transcendent of an experience it is to foot it around a town that has the smell of urinals — only outside! — and all I can do is sigh and roll my eyes. Maybe you like NYC. Maybe you will describe your love using words like “culture” and “fast-paced” and “five thousand dollars a month for a 150 square foot loft.” Maybe (and you might really want to consider this) you’re a little touched in the head.

Coming straight from his pro-NYC stance in Ghostbusters II, Bill Murray does an about-face and joins the ranks of sane people everywhere when he says “I hate this town!” It’s a love-hate homage to NYC, then, to have an entire movie set about a trio trying to escape from it. Singing Statue of Liberty, this ain’t.

The thing about Bill Murray is that he doesn’t even seem like an actor; he just comes across as a very funny uncle that happened to wander onto the set one day and refused to leave. The man’s innate sarcasm (as registered on the Sarcasmo Meter) is off the charts, and in any movie, even Quick Change, a mere look from him says more than Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and (why not) Tom Arnold can project in an entire film. While not as unleashed as Venkman or Phil in Groundhog Day, Murray’s sarcasm here suffers smart people lightly and fools not at all.

The climax of Quick Change comes in the first twenty minutes during a witty and smart bank robbery. Maybe I’m dipping into the punch bowl of the obvious here, but a movie simply CAN’T be bad if you start out with Murray decked out in a clown costume, looking for all the world to be one of those evil, Stephen King-tpe clowns. You don’t think so? Then try this exercise: Think of any better way to start a movie. Anything. Wait… time’s up!

As good as the bank robbery is (and this whole movie reminded me a lot of A Fish Called Wanda in terms of plot set-up), the rest of the film is no slouch either. Grimm (Murray), Phyllis (Geena “Secret Assassin” Davis) and Loomis (Randy “Plate In My Skull” Quaid) have gotten away with the crime, but they haven’t gotten away entirely. Through many contrived comedic booby traps, the team is held back from their getaway by sour road workers, carjackers, Mexican jousters (best, BEST line: “It’s bad luck to even SEE a thing like that!” after witnessing the strange event), a very foreign cabbie, the mob, an extremely punctual bus driver, and a desperate cop on their tails. It’s all well and good, for it gives Loomis a chance to continually freak out and Grimm the opportunity to strut his stuff as a man who can think on his feet.

As far as Murray movies go, I’m comfortable putting this in his Decently Funny But Relatively Unknown category, nestled between Big Failures and Famous Flicks. Contemporaries of Quick Change might include The Man Who Knew Too Little and Scrooged, all safe bets for a rainy afternoon. So if you’ve ever been trapped in a town that you were absolutely desperate to escape from, you’ll nod many a minute to the wisdom and proverbs of Quick Change.

Intermission!

• Hehe… only Murray can point a gun at a little dog and make it very funny
• Quaid’s ongoing breakdown in the bank makes me laugh every time he utters a moan
• NYC loves their hot dog vendors, even at bank robberies
• Mexican bicycle jousters!
• Phil Hartman!
• Tony Shaloub as the cab driver who doesn’t even understand colors
• Randy Quaid character name is Loomis, the name of a character he played in The Wraith
• To date (2003), this film marks Bill Murray’s only directing credit (he also produced).

Groovy Quotes

Bank Guard: What the Hell kind of clown are you?
Grimm: The crying on the inside kind, I guess.

Phyllis: A real man? Who has to use a gun and hold people prisoner? You’re not a man. You’re a coward.
Hostage: She does not speak for the rest of us, Mr. Clown. We think that you are quite brave and manly.

Phyllis: Is that our plane?
Grimm: No, if it were our plane, it would be crashing.

Flight Attendant: Do you think you’re late enough?
Grimm: Oh, you must be from around here.

Loomis: Are you gonna hit me now?
Grimm: No, but if your leg is broken, we’ll have to destroy you.

Loomis: It’s bad luck just SEEING a thing like that!

[Hispanic woman is shouting on a deserted street corner]
Grimm: There must be a lot of competition for that corner.
Phyllis: It’s a good thing she’s not too symbolic or anything.
Loomis: What does that mean anyway? Flores por el muerte?
Grimm: I sure couldn’t tell ya.
Phyllis: Aw, you know Grimm, it means flowers for the dead.
[Grimm shoots her an angry glare]
Loomis: Oh! We’re all gonna die! We’re a-a-a-ll gonna d-i-i-e!

Phyllis: Grimm? You’ve got a gun, shoot them.
Grimm: I want to, but shooting fur-brained idiots would require a permit. [to construction workers, sarcastically] I want to thank you. You could’ve given us help, but you’ve given us so much more.
Street Sign Worker: [cheerfully] Hey! What’s what we’re here for, huh?

Loomis: It was an accident, Phyllis.
Phyllis: Oh, you know? So was Chernobyl.
Grimm: True, but Loomis didn’t irradiate anybody.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Ghostbusters
• Groundhog Day
• Scrooged