cult film freak: john candy

Showing posts with label john candy. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 10/08/2024 / No comments / action , animation , cult , eighties , exploitation , fantasy , future , harold ramis , ivan reitman , john candy , music , neo noir , richard romanus , science-fiction

NAKEDLY INGITING THE ANIMATED CULT CLASSIC 'HEAVY METAL'

<p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheV5gkvmm7SKxgTNhsioZ_Em5Lb5YruyixUkWho-peYe6hcMbmYDFf_cTPianjNUYuR19Pr1X6dCiDrs1AcPCd7-6clEDce3st3tOT7ejzJmnyr9KklVwsx4Dn1TBBsEigSVNjsSwtVOoDnHxkhg7ZdZkQgfgz-toJgB9kjwJY1n0CYix-VU8zrtMWlZTr/s1664/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-07%20at%2011.43.15%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1664" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheV5gkvmm7SKxgTNhsioZ_Em5Lb5YruyixUkWho-peYe6hcMbmYDFf_cTPianjNUYuR19Pr1X6dCiDrs1AcPCd7-6clEDce3st3tOT7ejzJmnyr9KklVwsx4Dn1TBBsEigSVNjsSwtVOoDnHxkhg7ZdZkQgfgz-toJgB9kjwJY1n0CYix-VU8zrtMWlZTr/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-10-07%20at%2011.43.15%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: HEAVY METAL Year: 1981 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The best two stories from HEAVY METAL... producer Ivan Reitman's animated/cartoon anthology with a continuously-pulsating soundtrack of acts ranging from Devo to Sammy Hagar to Don Felder to Donald Fagan to Black Sabbath... have a beginning, middle and end, and either could have stretched into full-length features: starting with a futuristic film-noir homage with modernly-grungy cab-driver HARRY CANYON (voiced by <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/08/goodstreets.html">MEAN STREETS</a> actor Richard Romanus) that includes the usual pulp-signature glib narration, chain-smoked cigarettes, crooked cops, flying cars above grounded savage hoodlums and a luscious backstabbing dame...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p>And the last a fantasy... in the mesmerizing otherworld style of Roger Dean's progressive-rock album covers combined with Ralph Bakshi's animated-fantasy-flicks <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/10/LOTR78.html">THE LORD OF THE RINGS</a> and WIZARDS (while the urban-noir resembles Bakshi's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2024/10/htraffic.html">HEAVY TRAFFIC</a>)... that gave this 1981 cult classic its gorgeous flying-avian-riding poster-girl TAARNA who, sword in hand, violently protects a village like an antihero from a Spaghetti Western...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, animation, cult, eighties, exploitation, fantasy, future, harold ramis, ivan reitman, john candy, music, neo noir, richard romanus, science-fiction

NAKEDLY INGITING THE ANIMATED CULT CLASSIC 'HEAVY METAL'

Title: HEAVY METAL Year: 1981 Rating: **** The best two stories from HEAVY METAL... producer Ivan Reitman's animated/cartoon anthology w...

TOM HANKS & DARYL HANNAH IN RON HOWARD'S 'SPLASH'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UKqM_bM4w0PvCqt8rAuS-qMSLCbHXhE7rQzTz70OIftf_q8lD1qRf_Rh-dQIrTpDfVDSyiI8szRkD00F0ouLJhcBZCunY-s_iUbH0WjjnLcgg-WaeYB2OgXXx6Z9Z2FEFh2AlgNGCHJwzXkNVJ94y7sm1vxk2k2wVf1y7Zw_-glXgStsnJ6ULmpo5w/s2039/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%205.42.57%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="2039" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UKqM_bM4w0PvCqt8rAuS-qMSLCbHXhE7rQzTz70OIftf_q8lD1qRf_Rh-dQIrTpDfVDSyiI8szRkD00F0ouLJhcBZCunY-s_iUbH0WjjnLcgg-WaeYB2OgXXx6Z9Z2FEFh2AlgNGCHJwzXkNVJ94y7sm1vxk2k2wVf1y7Zw_-glXgStsnJ6ULmpo5w/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-14%20at%205.42.57%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: SPLASH Year: 1983 Director: Ron Howard Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>On David Letterman, John Candy got an awkward, giggling reaction from the audience when he described the plot of his upcoming movie, SPLASH, which, to most everyone's surprise, worked so perfectly it didn't seem a stretch at all...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Involving two pairs connected to Tom Hanks...the first and funniest with his older, flaky, black-sheep, scene-stealing brother Candy, passive partner of their family's fruit/vegetable company, hilariously running after any woman around (seeming like a character visiting from his own movie) while Hanks, struggling to keep the business alive and having just broken-up with his girlfriend, is both aloof and brokenhearted...</p><span></span>

daryl hannah, eighties, eugene levy, fantasy, john candy, romantic comedy, ron howard, tom hanks

TOM HANKS & DARYL HANNAH IN RON HOWARD'S 'SPLASH'

Title: SPLASH Year: 1983 Director: Ron Howard Rating: ****1/2 On David Letterman, John Candy got an awkward, giggling reaction from the audi...

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER & ELLIOTT GOULD IN 'THE SILENT PARTNER'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpo6EuuPGBZfRkU1Uyu1oFx8MQlpnRe_NRLNP-p5YmC5csOEIpAuQLSBGbC5SJhh-qM8WHZ5LhSATkL8lQpO6k5eneWju8d7XBDnsg9bWi9gEkxl3C9ikEP1iECqAgaqa-oIef7TX_xaAQwvYXPDQCVaQKgYT5h2VJ5Tmn6M5QBsrjTnfr9y3U-rvXg/s1931/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-15%20at%203.42.37%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1931" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpo6EuuPGBZfRkU1Uyu1oFx8MQlpnRe_NRLNP-p5YmC5csOEIpAuQLSBGbC5SJhh-qM8WHZ5LhSATkL8lQpO6k5eneWju8d7XBDnsg9bWi9gEkxl3C9ikEP1iECqAgaqa-oIef7TX_xaAQwvYXPDQCVaQKgYT5h2VJ5Tmn6M5QBsrjTnfr9y3U-rvXg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-15%20at%203.42.37%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE SILENT PARTNER Year: 1978 Rating: ***</u><u>*</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>An almost perfect vehicle for Christopher Plummer, who, playing either nice guys or menacing villains, was always intensely scowling and extremely intimidating... </p><p></p><p>Especially in the Canadian bank-heist thriller THE SILENT PARTNER (made in Canada showing Canadian cash); yet he's a little <i>too</i> silent and needed to be in the picture more, all but vanishing halfway through until a somewhat rushed third act...</p><p><span></span></p>

canadian, céline lomez, christopher plummer, elliott gould, heist, john candy, seventies, stephen young, susannah york, thriller

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER & ELLIOTT GOULD IN 'THE SILENT PARTNER'

Title: THE SILENT PARTNER Year: 1978 Rating: *** * An almost perfect vehicle for Christopher Plummer, who, playing either nice guys or menac...

CAPTURING THE PANDEMONIUM OF STEVEN SPIELBERG'S '1941'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSPe9sVXXftLMWxHNcpQWrGh5TScreklJzpYU-z1sijR7Zc3qUxkbhawj11R5EhAARBD4vn6pOcQcUlleLpnrjugd5CJ1aqcdfCkUna4YpNmpnhy2t-Exju9iQAqJeyFJUgDjFr6lpryrhOziYx5i2y-IQdp97VPKz_FsE6R8ZpHsob_Z4vGXLSwiw/s1936/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-12%20at%209.31.51%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1936" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSPe9sVXXftLMWxHNcpQWrGh5TScreklJzpYU-z1sijR7Zc3qUxkbhawj11R5EhAARBD4vn6pOcQcUlleLpnrjugd5CJ1aqcdfCkUna4YpNmpnhy2t-Exju9iQAqJeyFJUgDjFr6lpryrhOziYx5i2y-IQdp97VPKz_FsE6R8ZpHsob_Z4vGXLSwiw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-12%20at%209.31.51%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 1941 from 1979 Director: Steven Spielberg Pictured: John Belush, John Landis Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While considered by many to be Steven Spielberg's worst film... especially compared to DUEL, JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND... the 1979 blockbuster 1941 is actually his most important motion picture... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For a director whose camera-flowing style REMAINS the prototype for other big budget (including comic book adapted) extravaganzas, 1941... from the warplane dogfight to the climactic rolling Ferris Wheel... moved Spielberg from action-BACKED thrillers to action-PACKED thrills...</p><p><span></span></p>

bobby di cici, comedy, dan aykroyd, dianne kay, ensemble, john belushi, john candy, mickey rourke, murray hamilton, nancy allen, ned beatty, seventies, steven spielberg, treat williams, world war II

CAPTURING THE PANDEMONIUM OF STEVEN SPIELBERG'S '1941'

Title: 1941 from 1979 Director: Steven Spielberg Pictured: John Belush, John Landis Rating: ***1/2 While considered by many to be Steven Spi...

JOHN CANDY GETS HIS OWN FLETCH IN 'WHO'S HARRY CRUMB?'

annie potts, barry corbin, comedy, eighties, jeffrey jones, joe flaherty, john candy, neo noir, shawnee smith, tim thomerson, valri bromfield

JOHN CANDY GETS HIS OWN FLETCH IN 'WHO'S HARRY CRUMB?'

VHS/DVD Slip-Cover YEAR: 1989 Score: ***1/2 This underrated comedy, with the title-character going from place to place to figure out who...

JOHN CANDY IN 'SUMMER RENTAL' WITH RIP TORN & KERRI GREEN

beach, carl reiner, comedy, eighties, joey lawrence, john candy, karen austin, kerri green, richard crenna, richard herd, rip torn

JOHN CANDY IN 'SUMMER RENTAL' WITH RIP TORN & KERRI GREEN

Kerri Green and John Candy in SUMMER RENTAL Year: 1985 John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller ...

PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQQzQhoJ4Oim5FcIJtgexPly05VSC9uZ4ALehTc41FJ9OWlBwkCVThvjWoUVNtSFSq19NBqZu42m-0bNK1cH5oMkU7A3qf3kdGtw128WGDgpniql7sh0UacJibWwm7gWH70mpoK4z7i0/s1600/Planes_trains_and_automobiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQQzQhoJ4Oim5FcIJtgexPly05VSC9uZ4ALehTc41FJ9OWlBwkCVThvjWoUVNtSFSq19NBqZu42m-0bNK1cH5oMkU7A3qf3kdGtw128WGDgpniql7sh0UacJibWwm7gWH70mpoK4z7i0/s200/Planes_trains_and_automobiles.jpg" width="118" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1987</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Those in the know, know already, that John Hughes wrote the original VACATION. Based on his childhood, the story, originally published in National Lampoon magazine... hence NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION... is a pure road movie. So perhaps, as John became the king of high school teen flicks, catapulting the Brat Pack phenomenon, he decided to write and direct his very own road picture... but the family stays at home.<br />
<br />
Steve Martin goes outside his usual likable funny guy box and plays the uptight victim of a journey through hell, trying to make it from a business trip meeting to the outer Chicago suburbs in time for Thanksgiving, caught within the unpredictable constraints of all the titular vessels with the kind of boob you never want to be stuck with...<br />
<br />
But no surprise that John Candy plays the part of the nightmare bad luck charm with such cuddly perfection, Martin winds up seeming like... a <i>real</i> jerk. Thus the only drawbacks occur when suddenly, intruding upon the hilarious team-up, Hughes provides unnecessary PRETTY IN PINK style synthesizers, giving Candy too much pathos for his own good and slowing down the hilarious, and nearly perfect, double whammy comedic rhythm you won't be able to experience just once.<br />
<br />
RATING: ****

comedy, eighties, john candy, john hughes, road movie, steve martin, team-up

PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES

year: 1987 Those in the know, know already, that John Hughes wrote the original VACATION. Based on his childhood, the story, originally ...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/24/2014 / 1 Comment / army , bill murray , comedy , eighties , harold ramis , interview , ivan reitman , john candy , pj soles , warren oates

BILL MURRAY & HAROLD RAMIS WITH PJ SOLES IN STRIPES

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23Aky-sR9O1cJUWVoo0pv9pvkCp70QP1IgE21RVSLJx4lozKnLks-N9xuNH9Z4OEJBRNqWmgUNJYNXpBQB6wngnGD86ot4EjgpsxW6hulxYegS-YxHUQfXFPH_qcg6FYlueSf7jDF1QU/s1600/d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23Aky-sR9O1cJUWVoo0pv9pvkCp70QP1IgE21RVSLJx4lozKnLks-N9xuNH9Z4OEJBRNqWmgUNJYNXpBQB6wngnGD86ot4EjgpsxW6hulxYegS-YxHUQfXFPH_qcg6FYlueSf7jDF1QU/s320/d.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harold Ramis as Zitsky</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<i>"That’s my favorite kind of acting," PJ Soles said in a Cult Film Freak interview, "when something’s real and the responses are real and, you know, Bill led the way and I followed."<b> </b></i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pJflK_NnrAMTgPc0JR364DPooDPPf47x92u73ZOovArIhKihRp4vuEu2eBX33xbTjhU0bFb44lG1UdPyVIrzE7qHeBKMr66LQ_qWxcAYT_jothyzSiwd-mXJ-nAGF_iR5ecmLDwRMzc/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2pJflK_NnrAMTgPc0JR364DPooDPPf47x92u73ZOovArIhKihRp4vuEu2eBX33xbTjhU0bFb44lG1UdPyVIrzE7qHeBKMr66LQ_qWxcAYT_jothyzSiwd-mXJ-nAGF_iR5ecmLDwRMzc/s320/1.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Bill Murray as Winger</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After
 MEATBALLS, director Ivan Reitman and Bill Murray filmed 
STRIPES, starring Murray and Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the summer camp 
comedy and between both films directed Bill in the now legendary golfing
 venture CADDYSHACK…<br />
<br />
In STRIPES, when Bill Murray’s 
John Winger, attempting to prove to his best friend Russell Ziskey, 
played by Harold Ramis, that he isn’t too old and/or out of shape to 
join the military, after completing only several trudging sit-ups, Ramis
 quips: "I think you're ready for the Special Olympics!” Well
 if not that, the Army, where Winger decides to go after having enough 
of a nowhere existence, and being dumped by his hot blonde girlfriend, 
who feels John’s antics just aren’t “cute anymore.” One of the funniest 
scenes (embedded below) involves the two friends in the recruitment 
office, awkwardly answering a particular question long before the <i>Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell</i> era… "We're not homosexual... But we are willing to learn."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwEtKDX_1F3fYa8cBmo75cPfUWof1IhRZRq7ilFWWyTwfml4-bKom8qoKThfXcUGlP3_q1CGeL5NY2MiZejMkHBrBLahB8bbg1F6i7JAk9s3pL2KVwMz9qgGeL_xrfaQiPfGOjQhOtk_X/s1600/87496_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="204" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwEtKDX_1F3fYa8cBmo75cPfUWof1IhRZRq7ilFWWyTwfml4-bKom8qoKThfXcUGlP3_q1CGeL5NY2MiZejMkHBrBLahB8bbg1F6i7JAk9s3pL2KVwMz9qgGeL_xrfaQiPfGOjQhOtk_X/s400/87496_full.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Damn we love PJ</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
Since
 Bill Murray is usually the endearing, independent rogue, it’s often 
missed that STRIPES really is a bonafide buddy comedy. Throughout the 
boot camp classic, Ramis is right by Murray’s side – they even hook up 
with two lady MPs together. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nVdBx569LmtO3qFmyAok3zIzZscjeW1IJlPBf5x0Dwkc6U5sMr0Zs6sT7ywKY48yaLkMPSI9T8roGaBaYliyudC-8Ej7cTX9q8J_jC0slYX62xbRmUaatndL39VIn0YwaFJdYkCyJX4/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8nVdBx569LmtO3qFmyAok3zIzZscjeW1IJlPBf5x0Dwkc6U5sMr0Zs6sT7ywKY48yaLkMPSI9T8roGaBaYliyudC-8Ej7cTX9q8J_jC0slYX62xbRmUaatndL39VIn0YwaFJdYkCyJX4/s1600/2.jpg" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>PJ Soles recalls STRIPES with Bill Murray</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white;"><u>Winger’s girl, Stella, is played by ROCK N' ROLL HIGH
 SCHOOL and HALLOWEEN starlet PJ SOLES, who recalls a sequence with 
Murray, along with Sean Young and Harold Ramis, when they use the 
general’s house for their own personal enjoyment… </u></span><br />
<br />
<i>Our
 scene that ended up being in the kitchen was outside, on a hill, 
looking at fireworks, and we were supposed to be going into the big kiss
 but instead, it was three o’ clock in the morning… </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>We were in Westwood. It was getting late. They shot Harold and Sean’s
 scene… their little love scene. And Ivan was, “Uh, I don’t know, we 
have to show somehow that you guys like each other. We’re gonna have to 
do something inside because we can’t go outside now, it’s too late. We 
can’t have lights outside. It’s a neighborhood.”  </i><br />
<br />
<i>We
 were talking in the kitchen… And Bill opens the refrigerator and takes 
out a carrot. And I just looked at him and said, “What are you gonna do 
with that?” And Ivan just said, “Bring the camera in here. Let’s roll 
it.” And we shot that in literally twenty minutes. With coverage and 
everything. And I love that. It’s one of my favorite all-time scenes and
 because of the fact it just happened so automatically.</i><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgSOjhqbUpg2HXcYR_DNS6Q_O8NkiAlIwpHIBqTBgE2fgzF4qPhIy9XgSiVcp9n5rv3J5-VfjXjK0mhviigvIBc4JpHwp9Ncdm4zzicLg-Rk1gdbPl240typMwImKhGjLmbOUqxehmAM/s1600/bill_murray-stripes1981-1340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgSOjhqbUpg2HXcYR_DNS6Q_O8NkiAlIwpHIBqTBgE2fgzF4qPhIy9XgSiVcp9n5rv3J5-VfjXjK0mhviigvIBc4JpHwp9Ncdm4zzicLg-Rk1gdbPl240typMwImKhGjLmbOUqxehmAM/s320/bill_murray-stripes1981-1340.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Conrad Dunn at Psycho</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And yet, STRIPES is not all fun and games. The opening twenty minutes, 
showing Murray’s downfall as a taxi driver, his breakup and the 
enevitable game-changing decision, has the somber cadence of a movie 
that’s not relying on joke-a-minute laughs. Winger is a real guy with 
real troubles, and has no idea what he’s getting into…<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fsRbgycrRE9tQgHmXXZV7D1Vx11-mbLJLO8Jip4jUm6o-roDtJI9SdMX9inHA44C2aMaFfc0jkvOAD9T2fg-fbArSxQ8cV_Qw5-Ap6pHzFRuOgM4YdIXx2semsNrIhA4PEJq7o_XrYjG/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="150" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6fsRbgycrRE9tQgHmXXZV7D1Vx11-mbLJLO8Jip4jUm6o-roDtJI9SdMX9inHA44C2aMaFfc0jkvOAD9T2fg-fbArSxQ8cV_Qw5-Ap6pHzFRuOgM4YdIXx2semsNrIhA4PEJq7o_XrYjG/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="122" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>HulkaMania!</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some great performances came out of the dire 
situation of two completely inept friends stuck in the hellish Boot 
Camp, including one scene leading up to the romantic tryst PJ Soles 
recollected...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
When Winger attempts to go AWOL and 
Ramis’s Russell chases him outside the barracks, the two have it out, 
arguing intensely surrounded by ominous tanks...<br />
<br />
Murray
 and Ramis are quite funny together, but they can get down and dirty 
too. There’s a real edge to their chemistry here... And in films before 
and after, Ramis wrote many of the characters that made Bill Murray an 
icon.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhmp4HP9eFvreV-kQbKxldJSIpwQ-uUpJ3E0hiXeT5Xdhs8jBug86ufCdD5-RSgCVGjuaUiWLLyqr7y3JcLcyjc-U9GKDwy2Qa-DVNA0yx05qwjpI8JwkKku8wXuIU1yjdI7ITqc5Os6U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-26+at+12.21.28+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhmp4HP9eFvreV-kQbKxldJSIpwQ-uUpJ3E0hiXeT5Xdhs8jBug86ufCdD5-RSgCVGjuaUiWLLyqr7y3JcLcyjc-U9GKDwy2Qa-DVNA0yx05qwjpI8JwkKku8wXuIU1yjdI7ITqc5Os6U/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-26+at+12.21.28+PM.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>This should be real!</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the great character-actors from the 
1970’s, Warren Oates, playing the gruff Sgt. Hulka, inserts an edgy 
brand of realism throughout the comedic proceedings. One scene that 
brings out intense acting on Murray's part has Hulka and Winger meeting 
alone in the barracks bathroom... Hulka takes off his helmet and 
challenges Winger to punch him in the gut, off the record. In this scene
 a subliminal connection occurs between the two loggerheads. Meanwhile, 
Oates' edgy dynamic is countered by John Larroquette who, playing the 
doofus Captain Stillman, is truly the unlikable antagonist and plays 
more for the zaniness of the picture.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OMjys8TI0pHhjaHSP3QAsECJLRIcQIMJjrrBqzwJXl4sd0S-U95hTgOExOIuUSk0IKCtFt_YDIG8mabMRNuoAUyyxjoV-j8lMqK1SOHX-0Zc1tBGTDZs-x41zJ-NshvKzBlbWZihqZ4/s1600/bill_murray-stripes1981-2210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4OMjys8TI0pHhjaHSP3QAsECJLRIcQIMJjrrBqzwJXl4sd0S-U95hTgOExOIuUSk0IKCtFt_YDIG8mabMRNuoAUyyxjoV-j8lMqK1SOHX-0Zc1tBGTDZs-x41zJ-NshvKzBlbWZihqZ4/s320/bill_murray-stripes1981-2210.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>RIP for Harold Ramis on 2/24/2014</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
John Candy’s Ox is the endearing scene-stealer, and 
winds up, during the troop's night out, mud wrestling a bevy of babes...
 But let’s shed some light on a few wonderful character actors, 
including John Diehl as the dimwitted Cruiser, who has played everything
 from a vice cop to a psychotic… Speaking of which, one of the most 
memorable rants comes from Conrad Dunn's Francis <i>Psycho</i> Sawyer: 
“Now, any of you homos touch me, and I’ll kill ya,” he growls during the
 troop's initial introduction. Leading to Hulka’s now iconic reply, 
“Lighten up, Francis.” <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQABHmSVdN9Ln6LumJECiFcCZxPcLk_XJNgH5pb3l4Qmg-gaD4VU6r9spi8mvo5gL34QNfFo6HCDugNJCbgi2juId0QP4iaNcQ35oHlrYu0OWqOGFMgeuc-t-TFpJJNA9qKYYncKJ3mvi3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-10-26+at+12.14.55+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="418" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQABHmSVdN9Ln6LumJECiFcCZxPcLk_XJNgH5pb3l4Qmg-gaD4VU6r9spi8mvo5gL34QNfFo6HCDugNJCbgi2juId0QP4iaNcQ35oHlrYu0OWqOGFMgeuc-t-TFpJJNA9qKYYncKJ3mvi3/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-10-26+at+12.14.55+PM.jpg" width="121" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>StripesScore: ****</u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While a majority of the film occurs at Boot Camp, the film suffers <i>after</i>
 the troop passes a last-minute drill test, and, being sent overseas, 
Winger and Ziskey, along with Stella and Sean Young's Louise, steal an 
all-terrain recreational vehicle and wind up having to rescue their 
fellow soldiers, who had gone after them (mind you, Hulka <i>never</i> 
gets captured). This segment is awkward, way too long and not very 
funny, but STRIPES is the quintessential military comedy no matter… Even
 the flaws pass muster… And “That’s the fact, Jack!”<br />
<br />
Like
 ANIMAL HOUSE, Elmer Bernstein's music plays for theme more than 
laughs. The piano bar riff embodying Winger's lazy countenance aside, a triumphant score blares throughout, as if part of a genuine 
gung ho war feature (yet also reminiscent of Berstein's patriotic marching romp from 
Steven Spielberg's zany 1941)...<br />
<br />
This allows the humor to subtly intrude 
upon the gritty location, which is a character in itself: Harboring two 
buddies (and real life creative partners continuing in GHOSTBUSTERS and 
GROUNDHOG DAY) who will always be remembered within the high ranks of 
cinematic glory.

army, bill murray, comedy, eighties, harold ramis, interview, ivan reitman, john candy, pj soles, warren oates

BILL MURRAY & HAROLD RAMIS WITH PJ SOLES IN STRIPES

Harold Ramis as Zitsky "That’s my favorite kind of acting," PJ Soles said in a Cult Film Freak interview, "when somethi...

Written by James M. Tate / 7/01/2011 / No comments / comedy , ed lauter , ellen greene , john c. mcginley , john candy , nineties , richard lewis , road movie , robert picardo , spoof , western

JOHN CANDY WITH RICHARD LEWIS TAKING THEIR 'WAGONS EAST'

<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_OBamgtQr7kedN8oUIyc8S9JuRhqrVHPDDs2AJhRpuN7I4IDEBUGnq8q02QX5qcyfS4vijTFiyBSTzzd0U3xkbQL8fNQSYDlkae7rwZSmjlrMOdBZJ9N5mLpH9bfFuExp2sxuwOd1Dkp/s1600/wagons-east-poster.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="206" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624495723906864066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_OBamgtQr7kedN8oUIyc8S9JuRhqrVHPDDs2AJhRpuN7I4IDEBUGnq8q02QX5qcyfS4vijTFiyBSTzzd0U3xkbQL8fNQSYDlkae7rwZSmjlrMOdBZJ9N5mLpH9bfFuExp2sxuwOd1Dkp/w251-h206/wagons-east-poster.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 164px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px;" width="251" /></a></div><p>Legendary and universally-likeable John Candy's final film, in which he died on location, isn't completely awful. A comedic Western about a group of disheveled citizens in a desolate Western town who, realizing their dreams have, thanks to rowdy locals, become a nightmare, decide to head back East...</p><p>A clever premise, and for the most part, an involving "Road Movie" as John Candy, playing a weathered wagon master, leads five stage coaches, which includes Richard Lewis as a whiny doctor, Robert Picardo as a doubting banker, Ellen Greene as a hooker with a heart of gold, and scene-stealer John C. McGinley as a gay librarian, into Indian territory, dry riverbeds, and a winter storm. The humor relies on the perilous situations and how the neurotic characters, especially Lewis, reacts to each. A bland finale for Candy, not only because it's not very funny, but as a frustrated, sulky drunkard his endearing sweet-natured underdog humor is absent, so anyone could have played the part. And since most of his scenes were filmed there's not much missing except a funnier script, which the late icon deserved to go out with. Perhaps fans should consider UNCLE BUCK as his last truly classic swan song. <u>Year: 1994 Rates: **1/2</u><br /></p>