Stripes (1981)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1981
	Director: Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters 1-2, Kindergarten Cop)
	Actors: Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), John Candy (Home Alone), Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters), Sean Young (Blade Runner), Judge Reinhold (Beverly Hills Cop)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy, War
	Conditions of visioning: 15.07.2016, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs (Murray & Ramis) decide to join the army for a bit of fun.
Review: I found this movie by chance when looking for something else. I had in fact never heard of this Stripes which French title is Les bleus and which seems to me to be the kind of movie more famous in the USA but that doesn't talk too much to Europeans. I decided to watch it to complete my knowledge of Bill Murray's filmography. Moreover, it is the last movie that Ivan Reitman directed three years before the hit Ghostbusters with the same Murray and Ramis, so I was curious to see how he got there. I now can tell that Reitman made huge improvements in those three years. He was already able in Stripes to direct Bill Murray as an anti-hero and value Harold Ramis' peculiar style of humour, but I found the pace definitely too slow, the jokes not coming quickly enough and some transitions a bit rushed. OK it is not intended to be a realistic movie, at least I hope so for the sake of the real US Army, but this lack of realism may keep the viewer too distant from the stakes. On the good side, there are a few noticeable moments of comedy by Bill Murray. And what I will remember most are some totally unjustified nudity scenes, including a memorable 10-min mud wrestling scene which has no place there and couldn't have found its place in any movie made outside of the early 80's. Note the shy appearances by Judge Reinhold in the shadow of the two comedy stars, and Bill Paxton in a role of soldier that he will take again soon after in Aliens (1986) and much later in Edge of Tomorrow and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV-series.
Rating: 4 /10