Quick Change (1990)

Directors:

Howard Franklin
Bill Murray

Writers (WGA):

Jay Cronley (book)
Howard Franklin (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 July 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

The bank robbery was easy. But getting out of New York was a nightmare.

Plot:

Three thieves successfully rob a New York City bank, but making the escape from the city proves to be almost impossible.

Plot Keywords:

Quirky | Phone Booth | Bicycle | Airport | Airplane

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Grimm
Dale Grand	...	Street Barker (as Dale Grand Esq.)
Bob Elliott	...	Bank Guard
Geena Davis	...	Phyllis Potter
Randy Quaid	...	Loomis
Kimberleigh Aarn	...	Bank Teller
Ron Ryan	...	Bank Customer
Brian McConnachie	...	Bank Manager
Jack Gilpin	...	Yuppie Hostage
Jordan Cael	...	Hostage
Rhe DeVille	...	Hostage
Marya D. Dornya	...	Hostage
Barbara Flynn	...	Hostage
Elizabeth A. Griffin	...	Hostage
Connie Ivie	...	Hostage

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Devoted Productions

Trivia:

Based on the novel by Jay Cronley which was also filmed 4 years earlier as "Hold-Up" with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Kim Cattrall.

Goofs:

Continuity: Grimm shoots out the first camera from the left side of the camera yet we see the right side of the camera exposed after the gunshot.

Quotes:

Grimm: If I can sleep ten days and nights in a rice patty, I can certainly last in this lousy bank!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Midnight Runaround (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

L-O-V-E

Good Mix Of Clever and Silly Comedy

This is a clever and entertaining comedy that has some dramatic and romantic touches as well. It's almost two movies-in-one: a dramatic holdup and a comic getaway. The holdup scene does has comedy but is more dramatic. It reminded me of the '70s classic "Dog Day Afternoon" in which the hostages are kept by a couple of robbers and the crooks demand the normal assortment of getaway vehicles. Except in here, ringleader Bill Murray wants a "monster truck" along with everything else. You know with Murray you are going to get outrageous humor and satire.

Anyway, the bulk of the film concerns what happens after the trio - Murray, Randy Quaid and Geena Davis - after they successfully escape the holdup. The bottom line is that they just can't get out of New York City. One disaster after another keeps happening, and it's all kind funny (and frustrating!). The ending I won't spoil.

Murray plays his normal wise-guy role and Quaid is good as the emotional slapstick-type buffoon. For some reason, the scene in which Quaid runs full-tilt into a newspaper stand and knocks himself out almost had me in tears laughing. Davis complements the two with her coolness and eye candy for the male audience. Veteran Jason Robards plays the chief detective on the case, and shows comedic touches of his own.

What also is fun to watch nowadays is Tony Shalhoub. When this film came out, hardly anyone knew him. Now he's famous as "Monk" on the television series of the same name. In this film, he plays an Arabic cab driver and you have to see this performance to believe it! A couple of other familiar faces also show up in here, including Bob Elliot from the old radio duo of "Bob and Ray."

There is no sex, no bloodshed, just a lot of jokes but the "R" rating ought to tell you something about the language in here. The jokes and story were good enough on their own and didn't need all the profanity.