This is part of a small family of comedies that I really love, that are under-appreciated, and don’t get decent video releases. I’ve seen this several times, and it holds up really well, but seems to struggle to find an audience.
Most of the credit for how good this movie is can be attributed to Bill Murray. It’s a little more straight than most of his roles, but he delivers almost all of his jokes with a dryness. Occasionally, a hint of a smirk. It reminds me a little of how he performed in What About Bob?
The story is really solid, but it somehow seems almost understated. The most memorable sequence of the movie is the opening bank robbery, and after that, there’s this calming feeling. Maybe the problem is that the leads don’t feel like they’re any closer to being captured. Even the close calls don’t seem like there’s a real sense of risk. But this brings up another issue that holds this movie back. There aren’t any real bad guys. The cop that’s trying to catch them isn’t a mean guy. He’s a little gruff, and he’s concerned with his reputation, but he doesn’t do anything wrong. In fact, he tells a more aggressive cop to back off later on in the movie.
So the ending makes sense - everyone comes out of this well. But it’s hard to feel like it’s an effective movie.
Oh, it’s good. And I’d suggest that anyone watch it. It’s nice that it’s a bit different. But this might be why it hasn’t attracted the full audience it deserves.
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