Memorable, crazy movie

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This movie has some funny jokes here and there, but that's about it. I was really confused about this movie, because a lot of the characters just walked around saying "funny" things, often without any context, and without a normal or funny response from the people the characters were talking to. I'm not a movie expert, so I'm not sure if the clichés in this movie were just clichés, or if this movie is actually the one responsible for the making of these clichés. That does not change the fact that they are indeed clichés. An over the top drill sergeant that has no humour, but in the end becomes friends (kinda) with the person he hated the most. A fat guy who is, well, fat. A psycho, a no- brainer and so on. I also found myself very puzzled about the main characters best friend. I simply could not see him as a real person for some reason. Bill Murray plays the same role he always has, but it just doesn't work in this movie.The plot is pretty thin and dumb, which would be fine if the movie didn't take itself that serious. But it does. None of the events, make any sense and it is really annoying when the movie is so often humorless. There is not any kind of consequences for the characters, no they actually get awarded for screwing up so many times. The movie could have used this contradiction as a comedic effect, but it instead implies that these guys have done something good, and that they deserve the praise. This movie should have been waaaay more goofy for the plot to work.This movie seems to have gotten a lot of praise from both critics and regular viewers, but I can only understand that if it is because of its importance. I would have to disagree strongly that this is a good comedy movie.

If you haven't seen it and you're not sure if you want to, stop reading right now and sit down for an evening of silly nostalgic humour.For those of you have seen it, you know how much this film has to offer in hilarity. Filmed just a year before I was born, this movie was always on the shelf at home, and when the parents were out, my brothers and I would put this on and laugh our butts off! Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and plenty of other well known actors started their cinema roots with this off kilter homage to a military that was still pristine in image and was known for making men out of even the most wimpy souls in America.If you had nowhere else to go, no ambition, or nothing better to do, the army would put you through basic and make a man out of you! It was the perfect stage for a comedy like this one. A bunch of life's miscreants join up for their own individual and mostly stupid reasons, and come together to form one of the worst, miss-guided and downright terrible troops the U.S military ever produced. Not for lack of trying however, it's just... when you get bunch of lemons, it's hard to make champagne.The jokes are silly of course, some fall flat, and most are out dated by most comedic standards, but that is what makes it so damn good! And for some reason this movie has like... 6 acts (It's a bit like 2 movies in one to be honest, the original in the first half, and a sequel covering the second half of the film). Yet it still holds its edge and lightheartedness against the rude and crude comedies of the 2000 era.Grab a few beers, sit down, and try to remember that there was life before terrorism, mortgage bubbles, and Justin Bieber.6/10

To me I feel that "Stripes" reminds me a lot like the classic Army comedy "Private Benjamin" with Bill Murray taking the place of Goldie Hawn with only a few distinctive differences. Hawn didn't really know very much about the Army or the many regiments and training you have to go through to make it in the Army. While Bill Murray's Pvt. John Winger seems to know a lot about the Army protocols and the many ways he could outsmart and outwit his superiors. To me, his sardonic humour is played quite effectively and might be one of the reasons why this movie is really good. Back in 1981, Illinois native Bill Murray was pretty much in his third year gracing the silver screen with witty charm, cynical humour and manipulative tactics to outsmart practically anyone crossing his path. After donning his craft on sketch comedies like "Saturday Night Live" and the Canadian equivalent "SCTV", Murray has churned up a string full of off-the-wall comedies like "Meatballs", 'Caddieshack" and "Stripes' being his third one shows that his flair for slapstick comedy is just a natural thing for him. Why spoil a good thing? Right?The opening scenes features Winger who after a few hours loses his job as a cab driver, his girlfriend dumps him and a basketball ricochets through his window. Feeling like there's nowhere to turn to, he enlists in the Army. He also tries to persuade his brilliant friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) who's an English teacher to foreign students. The duo collaborates and writes their own set of Army protocols much to the chagrin of the hard-nosed Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates who hasn't acted in while due to poor health). Murray seems to be permanently liberal in points of view towards the people surrounding him, both superior and inferior to him. He's not afraid to speak his mind out about you, even if it's not very flattering. When Hulka get shot, Winger arbitrarily steps up to the plate and commands the other recruits and these are where the funny bits of the movie comes to effect. Unfortunately, like "Private Benjamin", "Stripes" gets lost out of focus near the middle of the film. In "Private Benjamin", the film lost its charm once the feminist message comes across while they were in Europe. In "Stripes" the film gets bogged down one he goes on a mission in Europe. If they would've stuck to the slapstick elements it was intended for, the movie would've been much better. Winger's initiative was to operate on the very first mechanized armoured vehicle, before it gets underway, Winger and Ziskey hijack the RV and goes behind the Iron Curtain and they become lustful towards two female MP's (Sean Young and P.J. Soles). If the focus was on these four characters, it would have worked out in the long run. Instead it concentrates on the ridiculous mud wrestling scenes and the RV hijacking. The final product becomes deplorably infantile and takes away the intrigue that both Murray and Ramis carry throughout the film as likable obnoxious characters. I liked it when Pvt. Winger verbally lashes down at the recruits and belittles their background upbringings.The late John Candy a long-time alum from "SCTV" fame comes here on his own as Pvt. Dewey Oxberger and he's more than just a friendly heavy- set guy, he's an ally of Winger's and his comedic wit is equally effective and rivals nice with Murray's.

I'm guessing this movie worked better in 1981, for this is my first time seeing it and I fell asleep twice since yesterday trying to get through it. Not that it was terrible, though it was terribly long. It had its funny moments, but not the laugh-out-loud funny Bill Murray I was hoping for. And I can see which audience this was perfect for and in the early 1980s, it was probably perfect for them…just not in 2015.(I really didn't have much more to say, but I guess I have to pad this review for this site.)