Actor Spotlight: Bill Murray

Happy 70th to the comedy legend! Plus: our review of The Devil All the Time

Sep 25, 2020

Does anyone not like Bill Murray? If such a person exists, I don’t think I want to meet them. The legend of legends turned 70 this week, so in celebration of the beloved actor (and his new Sofia Coppola movie On the Rocks coming in October), we’re giving him an Actor Spotlight.

Many of Murray’s classic performances, such as Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day, are not available on the major streaming services, so we wrote about some lower profile Murray appearances that you may not be as familiar with. Try one of these movies out if you haven’t seen it and enjoy this Murray-centric edition of DYLA.

Billy recommends…

Little Shop of Horrors (streaming on HBO Max)

In his early career Bill Murray used his magnetism in eccentric ways. The eccentric quality somewhat defined his early career. It is a side we don’t see much of anymore. Now he has a witty and tranquil presence. Both versions of Murray can lead an iconic film or elevate a lesser movie with very little screen time. Either version is magnificent, but his eccentric quality shines brightly in Little Shop of Horrors.

Little Shop of Horrors is directed by the human muppet Frank Oz and stars the always nerdy and iconic Rick Moranis, a combo that is a match made in heaven. Everything in this weird world is odd and off-putting, but is grounded by the presence of Rick Moranis. Moranis plays a mild-mannered man named Seymour Krelborn who falls in love with the woman who always chooses the bad boy, Audrey (Ellen Greene).

As they fall deeper in love we need their presence to level out the playful horrors that grace the screen. All of the weird imagery and scenarios peak when we cut to a scene inside our main villain’s dental practice, played brilliantly by Steve Martin. He lives to hurt and torture his patients, but finally meets his match in Murray. Murray plays a patient who gets off on the pain the dentist inflicts on him. As the noises get louder Martin hits back harder to the delight of Murray. Their back-and-forth brings this sweet/weird story to peak comedy and that is the brilliance of Bill Murray.

Murray can sit on the sidelines and almost feels comfortable that way. While observing, he is not passive, but always ready to come in and lead the team or play some efficient minutes to get the team the W. In this case Little Shop of Horrors is a top-tier musical, but is elevated by some iconic Murray action. Which is always welcome on my movie screen.

Drew recommends…

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (streaming on Amazon Prime)

After his wild success in comedy throughout the 80s and early 90s, Bill Murray’s career took on a different persona as the century came to a close. Increasingly, Murray transitioned into more dramatic roles and he experienced a resurgence of sorts around the early 2000s by working with more arthouse-minded directors like Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, and Jim Jarmusch. He earned an Oscar nomination for Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003) and he became a mainstay in Anderson’s whimsical and melancholy worlds.

In fact, Wes Anderson built his 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou around Murray, writing the main character specifically for the comedy legend. If you watch the movie, you can’t imagine anyone else playing Steve Zissou with the right combination of hubris, sadness, and obstinacy. The movie revolves around Zissou, a famous (and kind of washed-up) oceanographer that has sworn vengeance upon the “jaguar shark” that ate his partner. Along the way, he meets Ned (Owen Wilson), who believes Zissou is his father, and Jane, a journalist writing a story about him.

I’ve always been so enamored with the style on display in this movie. The bright colors and costumes stay with you for a long time, especially the now-iconic Team Zissou outfits. The soundtrack is filled with Portuguese covers of David Bowie songs, which is just so perfectly Wes Anderson. And, the action and adventure on the sea takes on a strange intensity despite the deadpan humor and laid-back vibe.

However, it’s Bill Murray that dominates The Life Aquatic. It’s one of my very favorite performances of his. Anderson and Murray are such a delightful match since the latter can so effortlessly utilize his comedic gifts to deliver the former’s hilarious straight-faced gags. As Zissou, Murray balances the funny with the melancholy. His hangdog eyes evoke the regret living inside Zissou, even as his prideful demeanor tries to mask it. The Life Aquatic is the story of a successful and stubborn man that has nonetheless ended up broken down by both his choices and life’s twists. It turns out Bill Murray is the perfect actor to take that character in stride.

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man (streaming on Netflix)

The cult of Bill Murray has always been about more than just his roles on screen. He’s now more like a way of life than an actor. Murray’s nonchalant and carefree lifestyle has become aspirational for so many, mostly based on the famous “Bill Murray stories.”

Maybe you’ve heard one of them? Bill Murray joins a random kickball game in the park. Bill Murray serves drinks at an Austin, Texas bar. Bill Murray washes dishes at a college house party. Bill Murray reads poetry to a bunch of construction workers. What may sound like urban legends are, in fact, true stories of Murray showing up unannounced to hang out with total strangers.

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man is not the best documentary you will ever see, but it is mandatory viewing for Bill Murray fans. The filmmaker travels around to meet the various people that have run into the comedy hero over the years. The funniest part is that when Murray shows up, he typically doesn’t make himself the center of attention, he just fits in. That’s the joke.

And yet, Murray’s shenanigans are more than just a joke. Over the 80-minute doc, you gradually realize that Murray’s outlook on life is to take everything as it comes and never sweat the small stuff. (Famously, Murray doesn’t have an agent or manager, just a 1-800 number that he checks sporadically.) Unlike so many people, he has that rare ability to truly live in the moment. It’s that Zen disposition, even more than playing Carl Spackler or Phil Connors, that has endeared Bill Murray to so many over the last few decades.

Recent Release Mini-Reviews

The Devil All the Time (streaming on Netflix)

Drew: After witnessing all of the violence, brutality, and misery in The Devil All the Time, I wasn’t shaken or moved to feel anything. I just felt numb. Which is a shame, because this movie boasts a pretty terrific ensemble cast, led by Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, and Eliza Scanlen. The problem is that this Southern Gothic story never coalesces into anything all that compelling or worthwhile. Subjects like religion, power, and the law are commented upon, but always in a disappointingly reductive way. I usually love a drama that dares to descend into murky depths, but The Devil All the Time unfortunately doesn’t appear to have much lasting insight or impact. - 2.5 / 5 Apples

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