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Visitors Review

wmpcarrick 2012-05-22 17:19:52

A perfect vehicle for Bill Murray

This poorly worded title is a wonderfully absurd farce. London is aperfect backdrop for Bill Murray to perform his shtick as WallaceRitchie. The supporting cast play to their purposeful stereotypes andmost importantly don't get in Murray's way. Peter Gallagher (of 'OrangeCounty' fame) plays a very good straight man as Murray's brother, andJoanne Whalley seems to be playing her part and enjoying watchingMurray's performance at the same time. There is a generous supply ofdouble entendres, predictable, but well written and funny. This moviecan be enjoyed by families as well as 'adults only'. Don't expect alife changing event, just enjoy a fun movie.

Aaron Headly 2012-05-22 05:48:11

Underrated when released, actually a lot of fun.

While the main character is clueless and the plot will not hold up tocareful - or even casual - examination, the humor is often smarter than thematerial. It doesn't really drag anywhere, and all of the acting is betterthan average. If you like movies with Bill Murray in them, you will like this movie. I recently picked it up on DVD for less than ten bucks (new!), and enjoyedwatching it again (and look forward to getting some of my friends to watchit).

planktonrules 2012-05-21 21:33:13

BRILLIANT and overlooked

Although this movie is not quite as funny as What About Bob, I thinkthis is probably Bill Murray's second funniest film, though I stronglydoubt if it will be enjoyed as much by the average viewer. That isbecause, I hate to say, the "average viewer" often is a teenager oradult who likes their comedy very broad and simple. No, this will notappeal to fans of Porky's or Little Nicky because it requires theviewer to have a reasonable attention-span and the ability to enjoy acomedy that doesn't telegraph what will happen next (just how manymovies these days are hard to predict anyways?).The movie is a screwy, difficult to describe spy adventure whereeveryone knows just how deadly the stakes are---except for BillMurray's character. He mistakenly thinks everything that is happeningaround him is a type of performance art (sort of a Theatre of theAbsurd). You MUST watch it.

gridoon 2012-05-21 15:46:49

Clever and amusing comedy.

In "Groundhog Day", Bill Murray was the only person who knew what wasgoingon; here, he's the only one who doesn't. And this movie, just like"Groundhog Day", is not recommended to those searching for belly-laughs.Youdon't so much laugh, as you admire the cleverly conceived and constructedstory, where almost every spoken word has a double edge. The ending is abitoverextended, though; after all, it IS an one-joke comedy.(***)

John Taylor 2012-05-21 06:28:30

The film that entertained too little

Why is it that Bill Murray makes either Hilarious Movies such as "GroundhogDay", "Stripes" and"Scrooged" or absolute Turkeys like "GhostBusters" andthis film ? He never seems to be in film that sit in the middle, films thatare Ok or just alright.The man who knew too little really is bad , it's not funny (which must bedown to the script as there is some very funny actors in it). It is one ofthem comedies where after 10 minutes you start to look down at the VideoRecorder clock to see how long there is to go .This film is patronising toall the nationalities that are portrayed in it , which i could quite easilyput up with if done in a funny manor but i'm afraid there is not one funnymoment that i can think of.3 out of 10.

ListerUK2001 2012-05-21 04:54:50

Contrived but brilliant with it

The Man Who Knew Too Little may have a contrived premise, but this hardlymatters as once the plot gets going it is very very funny.Bill Murray hasyet to give anything less than a hysterically funny performance in a filmand although no-one comes close to providing as many laughs than he,RichardWilson makes a very funny villain. It is sad that this film wasn't a bigsuccess because it deserves to be.

Rumples-2 2012-05-16 04:55:08

Funnier than expected

While this movie is neither unique nor intelligent, it is good for achuckle.Murray plays a wonderful role as the good-hearted bumbler, and JoanneWhalley makes for a great femme-fatale.Turn down your brains (there is the odd witty bit) and enjoy a bit of alaugh.My vote 7/10

dlaniado-1 2012-05-15 06:38:15

The sheer joy of innocence; one of Bill Murray´s best

I don´t want to comment a lot, but this movie is sheer joy. Bill Murray´sacting is one of the best in all his movies. The way he manages to actlikehe is acting is one of the best concepts in movie making I´ve seen.Definitely worth the time and attention. Don´t miss it.

Jeremy Emerman 2012-05-14 12:27:19

Original Scripting made this a winner

I saw the film a few days ago I thought that it was a little cooukie atthe begging and was sort of a churn off type of film. But once the filmgotunderway I got really hooked. All I thought when watching the film iswhatawesome scripting this was. When I got to thinking I thought thisactuallycould happen to someone if they were not really into the "show," BillyMurray character was portrayed as the perfect type of person who would getto be in such a manner.My favorite part in the movie was defiantly at the end with theRussiandancers. I am someone who is never really suspenseful but I could notstoplaughing see white boy bill Murray doing these Russiandances.To sum it up the film is a great success and i loved it. i give it a8out of 10 and a 10 out of 10 for the script. very goodmovie

ddrucker 2012-05-14 08:27:32

One of the Greatest Comedy Tour De Forces in Film History!

How could so many people miss this amazing performance? Bill Murraypulls off something that hadn't been done since the days of HaroldLloyd: a character who always succeeds despite the fact that he thinksthat everything is a game. Like Lloyd's blindfolded wanderings onsuspended buildings many stories in the air where he never falls downor gets hurt, Murray triumphs as a super-secret-agent when he thinksthe entire thing is a parlor game, a bit of 'real life theatre'. Thetwists and turns of the plot, the misunderstandings andmisinterpretations by everyone around him just add to the giddiness ofthe whole film. I have rarely been so disappointed when I had tofinally concede that it was the end of the story. Give this a secondlook if you dismissed it as just a silly movie. It's a classic, and oneof my 10 best movies of all time.

RNMorton 2012-05-13 16:27:50

Really bad Murray

I can't claim to have seen every Bill Murray movie, or even everyminuteof this disaster, but I'll bet it marks the low point of Bill's movieportfolio. It's really really not funny, and it must take a seriouseffortto make a comedy starring Murray not funny. I suspect about 98% of theviewers tuned out way early with me, leaving the remaining 2% to finish upand write unbelievably positive reviews of this dog on Imdb.

Kris Earle 2012-05-12 20:29:01

I've seen better...

I love Bill Murray, but this movie was pretty lousy, mildlyamusing at best-- there was only one scene where I genuinely laughed. Rent"What About Bob" again, or even "Quick Change."

sarastro7 2012-05-12 16:46:18

Great overlooked comedy

He's a bumbling fool who's ungodly lucky. He's a brilliant secretagent, and he thinks he's part of a reality show. He saves the world,and he hasn't got a clue.It's a superb comedy concept, and one which Bill Murray was born for.What a crime that this did not turn into a series of multiple movies.And what a shame that many people probably don't even know this oneexists. It's a true gem.Also featuring other great actors like the delicious Joanne Whalley (afavorite of mine since The Singing Detective), and the great, greatAlfred Molina in one of his best roles ever, as the good-natured buthard-boiled Russian agent Boris the Butcher. Alfred Molina isfantastic. He can play anything; good or evil, handsome or ugly,dignified or foolish. The man is a genius.But as for Bill Murray; this movie is one of his best ones, and willcertainly go down in history as a major comedy classic. When I noticedthat the movie is based on a book, I tried to find it, butunfortunately it seems the book is unpublished. Which also means thatthere weren't any sequels... :-(Anyway, we have this movie, and it is virtually perfect. Great fun.

JackReese 2012-05-12 00:30:12

Who Knew? The Little Man

Okay, so I didn't see this one until video. Let's be honest, the trailersdidn't look all that great. So I said, "Hey skip it, come back to it."Well, I am glad I did come back to it because I would have missed something.This movie is just wonderful. It is charming and hysterical. The firsttime I saw it I laughed. The second time I saw it, I laughed harder becauseI realized how much I had missed the first time. The humor is engrossingand if you're not careful, YOU WILL LAUGH!! So don't think about this one.Just let it take care of you and cure what ails you. Whatever thatmeans...

ahmed elshikh 2012-05-04 07:28:06

Dazzling at Heart !

This is one enjoyable comedy for sure. "A" for that script. It managedto create a long chain of nice misunderstandings, including the manydouble-meaning words. And I liked intensifying all the hot events inabout 2 hours of one night.The thing about the anti-James Bond is that he represents us; all theclumsy wanna-be heroes out there. So when the movie celebrates hisalways accidental victory, winning the respect and the fear fromeverybody, we feel so relieved, turning into heroes ourselves, sinceone of us DID IT, and purely by his / our clumsiness, to leave themovie a bit proud of our low capacities and sheer innocence, believing– even if spuriously – that someday we'll save the world as much as godis on our side, and some scriptwriters as well ! However, the script forgot to explain what the fact around the woman /the minster's mistress was ? What the need for those letters could be ?And I thought the relationship between the lead and his brother couldhave been rooted better, to present some kind of a meaning at last,concerning the importance of being careless and adventurous more thanuptight and narrow-minded.Speaking about "careless" pushes immediately to (Bill Murray). I lovesuch a guy. He plays everything with a trademark sweet coolness. Lookat him fooling around as a Russian dancer who, by his axiomatic fun,excels the rest of the serious authentic dancers. No one I remember cando such a scene with a serene lovely sense but (Murray). He's theeasygoing friend that everybody wishes for. So, another "A" for thelead actor. The minor parts weren't done as good. I mean (Peter Gallagher) as thebrother ?! Where was (Jon Lovitz) for god's sake ? Then (JoanneWhalley) ?? She's totally miscast. I don't know how they didn't come upwith any funny, any sexy other actress ?! It's only (Alfred Molina) whowas great as the professional "butcher"; with the double meaning of theword !The movie suffers from a small size budget. With another sum of moneythis should have been more powerful and dazzling. And (Jon Amiel)'sdirection didn't help much mastering a powerful and dazzling image inthe first place. Well, this is a kind of James Bond spoof, so be atleast a bit big or colorful instead of looking like something shot in avery tight rooms ! This is dazzling at heart movie. Because outwardly it's near to poorTV. But anyway, with that script and that lead, not much can go wrong.

Lee Eisenberg 2012-05-03 17:56:02

vintage Bill Murray

Bill Murray plays goof-ball Wallace Ritchie in London to visit hisbrother Jimmy (Peter Gallagher) for his own - read: Wallace's -birthday. Since Jimmy is having guests over, he knows that he needs tokeep Wallace out of the way. The only problem is, Wallace accidentallygets mixed up in an espionage ring, leading to some embarrassingsituations for everyone - mainly because Wallace believes the wholetime that it's a play.As with most of Bill Murray's movies, the plot isn't totally important- it's an excuse for Bill Murray to act crazy. And he does just that in"The Man Who Knew Too Little". Joanne Whalley co-stars as secret agentLorelei.

chertzy 2012-04-26 10:28:05

Bill Murray's 'The Party'

For anyone who loves Peter Sellers you know that one of his bestperformances and least known films is 'The Party'. The movie itself ifodd, but you love it because it is showcases the quintessential PeterSellers.In a like-manner, The Man Who Knew too Little is Bill Murray in hispurest form. It too is a bit of an odd movie - the main character iscompletely out-of-his element (whatever element that is). The more youwatch the movie the more of a classic it becomes and the moreintriguing the relationship between the comedian and the world becomes.It is the point at which art and comedy become one.Love it or hate it, The Man Who Knew too Little is brilliant.

MonCol 2012-04-25 15:31:29

if you like Bill Murray, mysteries, fun, and unpredictable flicks

Bill Murray at his best, leading his fellow actors to believability!The genius of this film is that it is the inverse of Groundhog Day -where his character knew the day was replaying over & over & no oneelse did. In this film, there is European flavor, espionage, politicalintrigue, all the while everyone else understands reality, and becauseof trusting circumstances his character determines that they are allplaying along to celebrate his birthday. He walks unscathed throughtruly dangerous scenarios, but brought to humor by the incredulity ofit all!!! The dancing Cosack scene was a highlight! This movie istotally fun and as planktonrules says, very overlooked. A very specialfilm on Murray's resume!

michelle_johnson_76180 2012-04-21 10:55:09

Laughter is so healthy for you, watch this movie.

I've read all the other comments and ditto on the positive ones. Poo-pooonthe negative ones. I generally wouldn't say that about another person'sopinion but geez, it's just a movie, let alone one that is hilarious andmakes you forget that you have rent to pay. Bill Murray is one of thefunniest Americans to this date, in his own right, no doubt.Wallace had an innocence and naivety about him that you don't see in toomany movies, anymore. I felt comfortable watching this movie and notthinking that it differed, dramatically, with my belief system. I don'tthink there are too many movies these days that can saythat.Anyhow, Viva la bill!

Eric Borgman 2012-04-21 02:58:40

This is a classic comedy film!

This film was a classic the moment it was put together. Bill Murray hasnever been funnier. He plays his character flawlessly. The supporting castdown to the extras are perfect. It brings to life a type of comedy that hasfaded in recent years. It is a perfect film. If you like Bill Murray, orthePink Panther movies, or even good old fashioned comedy, this is the movietosee!