LogFAQs > #971894410

30. Stripes (1981)
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Score: 254

GavsEvans: 16
Mythiot: 22
Suprak: 23
plasma: 24
Poke: 24
Inviso: 27
Karo: 29
fortybelowsummer: 29
Johnbobb: 30
Tangy: 30

GavsEvans
Bill Murray has a really bad day where he loses everything in his life. Luckily, its the 80s and incels havent been invented yet, so he responds in a more constructive manner by joining the army to earn his stripes. See what they did there?

This film isnt terribly original, as the ragtag bunch of misfits struggle through basic training under their hardass drill instructor Hulka. However, what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in charm. Despite Bill being the typical selfish manchild comedy protagonist, hes funny enough to get away with it, and other recruits such as Harold Ramis and John Candy provide the heart.

The third act involving the EM-50 is when the film is at its best. The heavily armed RV converted for military use is the most creative thing here, and the contrast between military and leisure also makes for a funny image. It may not rank alongside the likes of the Delorean, Ecto-1 or KITT as a famous 80s pop culture vehicle, but it deserves to! You can also tell this is an old film because of how much fanservice there is. There are plenty of women in various states of undress throughout, which you may not expect from the subject matter, with the most notable example being the mud wrestling scene. Im not complaining, its simply an observation since you wouldnt see it in a modern film. Finally, the theme tune has been an ear worm since I watched this. Is it sacrilege for me to say I first heard it in an episode of Family Guy, and immediately recognised it when it started playing here?

Plasma
Hey, wanna make a war movie?
Dude, that would be hilarious. Lets do it.
Cool. What should it be about?
I dont know Everything.
But it can only be two hours long.
Thats plenty of time, dude. It can start with these two guys who are bored and they decide to join the army. Then they go to boot camp and meet these girls.
Were putting girls in our war movie?
Yeah, dude. Tons of girls. Naked ones. And they have to mud-wrestle John Candy.
John Candy? Is he our lead actor?
Nah. Make it the guy from Caddyshack.
Chevy Chase?
Nah, the other one.
Michael O'Keefe?
Nah, the other one.
Bill Murray?
Nah, the othoh yeah, him. The guy who nuked the golf course. Dude, hes perfect. He can steal an armored van, blow stuff up, save some POWs, and come home.
Home? Wait, I thought they were in boot camp?
Yeah, but they get promoted and sent to Italy. Or Germany. Or, yknow what, dude? Make it Czechoslovakia.
Why?
I dont know, dude.
But shouldnt there be a reason? Shouldnt we come up with some sort of plot?
Nah.
D

Vis
As I write this write-up, Im trying to remember if Ive seen any other Bill Murray movies before. Groundhog Day is the only one I know that, for sure, Ive seen in its entirety. I know this tangent is just that: a tangent. But the fact of the matter is that Stripes kinda bored me, which is not a great impression for a comedy to leave on a person. I guess Bill Murrays brand of sarcasm and rudeness just didnt appeal to me this time around, largely because it felt like, I dunnohe was a legitimate fuck-up, but kept failing upward in a manner that wasnt particularly amusing or anything like that. The drill sergeant wasnt comically awful enough to root for Bill Murray, the Captain was a bland doofus, and then they randomly blow up a Czech military base to big applause. I get why its SUPPOSED to be funny, but it just wasnt funny for me, and I found myself struggling to pay attention for most of the runtime.

Karo
A bunch of knuckleheads join the army and do dumb shit in what is possibly the most unfunny comedy I have ever had the displeasure of seeing.
Here's a rundown of how things play out. They do basic army stuff. The idiot protagonist mouths off at the sarge and/or commits treason and somehow never faces any serious consequences. They then play the same musical fanfare over and over and over and call it a soundtrack.
The laughs are in very short supply in this two hour long slog, but the cringes just keep on coming. Seriously for fuck's sake having your characters constantly sing at weird times is not funny plz stahp.
And I havent even gotten to the sexism yet. The female soldiers are all portrayed as these bimbos who are done up like some 'G.I. Barbie' dolls and whose sole purpose seems to be waiting around so the boys can fuck them. Jesus Christ.

Fortybelow
Were soldiers, but were American soldiers! Weve been kicking ass for 200 years! Were 10 and 1! I have to admit I dont quite get the love for this movie. I know youre required to suspend disbelief for an 80s screwball comedy, but theres just too much ridiculous stupid stuff that happens here that I couldnt get over. Harold Ramis joining the army for no real reason, the relationships with the MPs, the rag tag group of soldiers being chosen for an all-important mission, etc. Its full of formulaic youre-in-the-army-now hijinks that didnt offer a lot of laughs for me. Also, Im not a big in your face Me Too movement guy or anything, but all the objectifying of women felt pretty weird. However, I do love Bill Murray and although I dont know that hes in his prime here yet, hes at his dry, deadpan, sardonic best. He and the other stars are good, just not enough to save Stripes from dwelling near the bottom of my rankings.

John
Bill Murray definitely has his moments here but this type of pervy, vaguely sexist early 80s comedy just really rarely clicks with me. It started pretty strong, with Murray's down-on-his-luck loser character establishing a certain vibe early on, where things were hopeless to the point of being goofy, but the typical zero-to-hero military story coupled with a pretty flat romance just left it as not my type of movie.

Tangy
Blegh. I really wanted this one to be good. Ive always been a fan of Murray and upon noticing Ramis and Reitman were attached to this I was hoping it would reach the same heights as Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack , etc. It wasnt even close.

I think my chief problem is the lack of characterization. Id say Sgt. Hulka is the only one with a distinct personality and even then hes just a watered down R. Lee Ermey. Every other character exists solely to serve Murrays character. This resulted in him being super unlikable throughout and made the movie an absolute dread to get through.

Then on top of that youve got all the sexism. I can tolerate movies having out of date humor pretty easily, but it was pretty egregious here and frankly was a missed opportunity for some satire. I guess they thought a mud wrestling scene was more important. Oh well, at least the MPs were significantly more competent than Murray here, even if they only actual role was as love interests.

Biggest Laugh: Ziskey Rates the Russians: Theyre Pussies!