Delayed Reaction: Stripes

The Pitch: Bill Murray should be in a new MASH, but with even lower stakes.

Being from Louisville, the main thing I know about Stripes is that parts of it were filmed in Louisville. I know this because not a lot of movies are filmed in Louisville, so when one is, people never stop talking about it. In case you were wondering the list of movies shot in Louisville is Stripes, Elizabethtown, and anything with a horse in it.

Stripes isn't an inspired comedy but it is pretty fun. Slacker Bill Murray is one of the greats and Harold Ramis is underrated. The whole cast is surprisingly stacked. The basic training part of the film is easily the strongest. It's a shame the film couldn't be designed to climax with the drill routine they come up with. I didn't care for much of the movie after that. One of the big problems with comedies in general is that the first 2/3s are funny and lively, then the last 1/3 remembers that it's supposed to have a plot and drops a lot of the jokes. That's almost exactly what happens with this.

The big issue with comedies of this era is the straight-up misogyny. Stripes is in that golden period between Animal House and Porkys and is largely able to stay away from that, which is nice. Sometimes it's nice to scratch the slacker comedy itch without having to feel bad about it. 

It's not a perfect movie, but it's quite enjoyable.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend