Bill Murray's directorial debut is, surprisingly, one of his poorer outings, as a world-class bank robber trying to get out of New York City.
In the opening sequences during the bank robbery, Murray is at his dead-pan best, and is genuinely hilarious as he orders everything from a motor-cycle, to a helicopter and monster truck as part of his hostage ransom and diversion.
However, once Murray leaves the bank, the film appears to lose direction, and at times slows down to a crawl, and causes Murray's character to come across as merely arrogant and selfish, and nowhere near the hero, rebelling against the monotony of everday life, that the script wants to portray him as.
This part of the movie is only ocassionally enlightened by a good performance as ever from Randy Quaid, and a very funny cameo from Phillip Bosco as a time obsessed bus driver. Of the other main characters, Geena Davis' talents are completely wasted, and Jason Robards is rarely allowed to show his true ability.
Generally I am a big Bill Murray fan, but he has certainly made better movies than this, which just suggest that his true talent is shown on screen, and not behind the camera.
In the opening sequences during the bank robbery, Murray is at his dead-pan best, and is genuinely hilarious as he orders everything from a motor-cycle, to a helicopter and monster truck as part of his hostage ransom and diversion.
However, once Murray leaves the bank, the film appears to lose direction, and at times slows down to a crawl, and causes Murray's character to come across as merely arrogant and selfish, and nowhere near the hero, rebelling against the monotony of everday life, that the script wants to portray him as.
This part of the movie is only ocassionally enlightened by a good performance as ever from Randy Quaid, and a very funny cameo from Phillip Bosco as a time obsessed bus driver. Of the other main characters, Geena Davis' talents are completely wasted, and Jason Robards is rarely allowed to show his true ability.
Generally I am a big Bill Murray fan, but he has certainly made better movies than this, which just suggest that his true talent is shown on screen, and not behind the camera.