Stripes - Un plotone di svitati

Bill Murray, John Candy, Harold Ramis. Those guys were a sure guarantee for some good laughs during the eighties and nineties. And this is one of the funniest films they made.

The good: Bill Murray and John Candy.

The bad: the story is ridiculous and the first hour of this movie is good (basic military training), but the second hour of this movie starts to get a bit longwinding. 2 hours for comedy is a bit too much. Still an enjoyable watch, BUT only for the first hour or so...

Highly recommended for any youngsters who dont yet know Bill Murray and John Candy. Have a laugh!

Bill Murray and Harold Ramis join the army and get involved in a plethora of shenanigans.

A weak story is saved by the great performances of Murray, Ramis, John Candy, Warren Oats and John Larroquette who are all on madcap top form.

There are great scenes prior to enlistment and during basic training. Murray and Ramis are absolutely brilliant in the scene where they sign up. They don't even have to say much more than a few words or just look at each other a certain way and it's hilarious. Also the sequence where John Larroquette sees his platoon for the first time as they charge, screaming through the muddy assault course is fantastic.

The film works well in the first two acts, but unfortunately when the focus shifts from basic training to the final sequence it goes down hill quickly. The reason for this is that all the comedic talent is then wasted on a sequence that does not showcase it at all.

The humour itself is a product of its time and not something that would see the light of day in the modern age. It is heavy on sexism, there is some racial stereotyping and one character with a learning disorder gets targeted on more than one occasion.

This is classic example of irreverent 1980s humour all the way from the Animal House inspired misfit protagonists to the Second City alumni cast. All this tinged with a hint of Cold War propaganda.

I loved it as a child in the 80s and it holds up a lot better than other similar films of that era (Caddyshack, Police Academy) on a rewatch in 2020. I do think you have to be fans of Murray, Ramis and Candy and the humour of the time to appreciate it if you are watching it for the first time.

Stripes is a great movie with a well written storyline and a brilliant comedic cast. It's simply a fun comedy and it dosen't need to, nor does it want to, be looked at beyond that, it's very funny and there are a ton of scenes where you can tell the cast was improvising and having fun together. It's definitely much longer than it needs to be, running for nearly two hours, I found that unnecessary and there were definitely several parts that could have been trimmed to be make this a more suitable ninety minutes, that's as long as I feel a movie like this should be. Bill Murray shines in the lead role, this is very early in his career but it is clearly evident that he already had the confidence and charisma to play the main character and was very capable of holding the whole movie. It's not a flawless film, but Stripes is very enjoyable to watch and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good comedy.

A pair of slackers join the US Army with the hopes of getting their act together.

Best Performance: Bill Murray

After a terrible day when the taxi driver John Winger (Bill Murray) loses his job, his car and finally is dumped by his girlfriend Anita (Roberta Leighton), he convinces his best friend Russell (Harold Ramis) to join the army to travel and have fun. They team-up with a platoon of outcast and misfits, and John has problems with their tough Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates). John and Russell get into successive troubles, but they are always rescued by the Military Police Officers Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young).

Near the graduation, the clumsy and imbecile Captain Stillman (John Larroquette) provokes an accident and Sergeant Hulka is wounded; however, John uses his leadership and the general is impressed with the platoon and assigns the group to go to Italy with the prototype of an armored car. John and Russell are responsible to take care of the prototype, but they date Stella and Louise. Meanwhile Captain Stillman believes that they have stolen the vehicle and crosses the Iron Curtain with Hulka's platoon and they are captured by the communist. Sergeant Hulka escapes and releases a distress signal and John, Russell, Stella and Louise decide to help to rescue their friends from Czechoslovakia.

"Stripes" is a silly and funny comedy, but what else could I expect from a cast with the names of Bill Murray, John Candy, John Larroquette and the other comedians. The extended cut is long and most of the jokes are "politically incorrect" or sexists, but also hilarious. This is the first time that I see this 1981 comedy on DVD and I laughed a lot. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Recrutas da Pesada" ("Rough Recruiters")

Stripes is a fun movie along the same stylings of Caddyshack and Ghostbusters. It doesn't quite live up to those for me but if you're a fan of these 80s comedies then this is likely going to be a fun time for you.

It's worth checking out just for Murray, Ramis and Candy alone.