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67 comments in total

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15 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Mix Of Clever and Silly Comedy, 29 May 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

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.

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17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Smart, witty comedy, 17 September 2002

Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ

I've seen this movie a few times, and I always get some good laughs out of it. It's not a genuinely hilarious comedy, yet it earns its laughs honestly, unlike most of the silly fluff that comes out recently. Bill Murray is in top form. Randy Quaid steals some scenes, and Geena Davis and Jason Robards top off a fine supporting cast. I liked the way the movie poked fun at New York City, being that 90 percent of the bystanders in each scene are complete wackos. Don't get me wrong, New York is a great city, but anyone who has lived in or spent a lot of time in NYC should have a good time with the little inside gags. I loved the theme song, and the little surprise at the end was pretty nifty. If you want good, solid comedy that you can laugh with, rather than at, "Quick Change" is the film for you.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

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16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Consistently funny for the most part, although the end sort of drags along..., 26 February 2004
Author: MovieAddict2008 from UK

Funny remake starring Bill Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid as down-on-their-luck thieves who rob a bank and then have a hard time getting out of NYC. Funny from beginning to end. Well, almost. The last twenty minutes or so seem to drag a bit. But I loved the first 3/4, and the opening sequence is tremendous!

Bill Murray is very funny and Randy Quaid is a likable goofball. Geena Davis manages to impress but the real star is Murray, as always. All in all a pleasant way to spend an evening and certainly a memorable comedy--if a slightly uneven one.

4/5 stars.

- John Ulmer

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15 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie with Bill Murray doing what comes naturally, "being funny"., 2 May 1999

Author: Kyle Milligan (toldyaso@planeteer.com) from Toronto, Canada

Not many people I've talked to have seen "Quick Change". It wasn't really a hit, which is what makes it such a nice surprise when you see a film like this which is very funny. Maybe that's partially why I enjoyed the film so much, as it makes me feel a little bit like a pirate who's discovered lost treasure, or like an explorer who's conquered uncharted territory.

It may not be Bill Murray's best, but it's pretty good. But make no mistake, this is a Bill Murray movie, he even co-directed it, and if you don't like him in general, then this film isn't likely to make a convert out of you. I've always been a fan, and try to forgive certain transgressions like "Larger Than Life" or "The Man Who Knew Too Little" which are the kinds of films I avoid completely for fear that it will taint my high regard for Mr. Murray. They might be good, but I'm not taking any chances without some seriously reliable source that assures me they aren't merely "paycheques" for those involved. But in case some of you think the man has lost it, never to recapture any of his past glory, probably you should check out "Rushmore," and see a true master at work.

"Quick Change" has a story that is fun and the lines are executed with razor sharp comic timing. So what if some of the characters are one-dimensional? It gets the job done and sets up the bits and not in a low-brow kind of way.

I'd be interested to hear what New York residents think of this film, as its story revolves around three people who just want to escape New York forever and find that robbing a bank is easier than making it to the airport.

So if you consider yourself a member of the Bill Murray fan club, check this one out and you'll probably enjoy it. He's got plenty of support from some talented comedic actors including Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Phil Hartman, Jason Robards and of course Randy Quaid and Geena Davis.

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10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
BOZO THE CLOWN WITH A TWIST, 14 November 2002

Author: BRIAN SMITH (brianlion) from 76

I'm surprised "Quick Change" is not rated higher by the voters of IMDB because I found Bill Murray at his best. Some of his quips and retorts are great. My movie group found this a very funny movie. And what a great idea for robbing a bank.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A brilliant comedy in 80s style, 12 December 2002

Author: Giuseppe Giannì from Milano, Italy

Bill Murray is a great actor, his interpretations in movies which "Ghostbuster" or "Scrooges" are memorable. Quick Change represents his first and unique directional proof with the coo-direction of Howard Franklyn. The movie remembers the demential comedy of late 70s and middle 80s and even the picaresque genre consacrated by Martin Scorsese in "After hours" or John Landis in "Into the night". The special confluence of this two genres creates comic effects in chain reaction. The scenes with the taxi driver and the mobster are very hilarious and Geena Davis confirmed her special comic talent, while Randy Quaid is very funny in the role of the good-dumb. But the very director of the scene is Bill Murray, the movie is constructed for his particular way of acting. He is one of the American actors who knows very well Buster's Keaton lesson: make laugh without laughing. His comic style is a little bit more surrealistic and absurd of the one of the master, but Bill Murray his an actor of our times and the comparisons are always not possible. The only defect of this movie, and it's not a little thing, is to resemble to the story of many other movie. It's all so predictable that the only stuff we see is the speeches: it could be a programmed decision but in the long run it can also bore.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't miss out on this hilarious movie!, 14 May 2001

Author: beckmgt1

This movie is really great. It's got a great cast, a very funny story, and some clever writing. But it's been so ignored; and I can't understand why! I never see it on TV, and it's not available on DVD; it's hardly ever mentioned anywhere! Every time I go buy DVDs, I look for this one, hoping that maybe this time it'll be there. It hasn't been so far, and it's always a let-down. It's a tremendously funny movie, which I'd love to have in my collection! And if you like to laugh, then you'd be doing yourself a favor to pick this one up! Especially if you're a fan of Murray or Quaid. But even if you're not, you couldn't watch this one and not laugh. As someone else commented, this is a shamefully "underrated gem."

So here's my plea to the people who decide such things: PUT QUICK CHANGE ON DVD!!! PLEASE! I WANT IT!

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Unappreciated Gem of a Comedy, 22 May 2002
Author: jclinard from las vegas, nevada

Bill Murray stars as a bank robber with a unique plan - he'll rob the bank dressed as a clown, but carry out the money taped to his body - and those of his two accomplices - "hostages" who have been released as a sign of good faith as certain potential getaway vehicles (2 helicopters, a motorcycle, a city bus, and a monster truck) are provided. The plan works perfectly as the gang makes their escape from the bank in plain sight.

Then things go wrong.

The movie contrasts the perfect execution of a difficult task - robbing a bank, and then getting out and past the police, with the terrible execution of a simple task - getting to the airport in time to catch a flight. In both stages, Murray provides the kind of humor associated with him, taking nothing seriously even in the tightest of situations.

Jason Robbards provides an excellent contrast, as a chief of police who refuses to be outwitted by a smart-mouthed bank robber in a clown suit, who escaped from right under his nose.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Nothing Truly Special But Funny Enough, 2 December 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

Bill Murray plays Grimm in this above average comedy (also Murray's directorial debut). Grimm is one of a trio of thieves who rob a New York City bank and there are enough laughs here to please fans of comedy.

The beginning of the film is priceless as Grimm-dressed as a clown-engineers a bank robbery. He gives the negotiator nightmares with his constant changing of the goalposts. At one point, he asks for a Bigfoot Monster Truck which the police manage to get, only for Grimm to tell them it is the wrong model or something like that. The beginning of the film is very good and any scenes after that had a hard act to follow.

However, there are some good scenes as the trio frantically try to escape the city with the police on their trail. Good scenes include one where Grimm is stuck in a shop queue with the police near. Grimm had tried to get on the bus in order to evade police but the jobsworth driver wouldn't let him on unless he had the exact change so Grimm had to go into the shop to get the money and all the time, the police are near. Priceless.

There are a few good scenes after and I really enjoyed the ending-watch it and you'll see what I mean.

Not as good as a lot of Bill Murray movies but okay for fans of light comedy.

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Saw this in the theater when it came out, 3 August 2008

Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw this in the theater when it came out, possibly more than one time. For whatever reason I really loved it, but I haven't seen it in many years. I still think it's a rather exceptional comedy with maybe fewer laughs but more real emotion than most. I would compare it to other great caper movies of the late 80s/early 90s like "A Fish Called Wanda." The romance between Phyllis (Geena Davis) and Grimm (Bill Murray) is nicely frustrated, due to Grimm's total inability to express emotion. As opposed to a lot of caper films where the two lovers have a lot of antagonism at the beginning, in this film they start out as devoted lovers and the situation goes downhill from there, mostly because Phyllis starts to believe that Grimm was more into the caper than he was into her.

There are just a lot of really great moments in this movie, like Bill Murray in the clown suit at the beginning, riding the subway to a bank robbery. That's the kind of stuff that pays off more after you've seen the movie and you know what's happening. The whole movie is about living in the city, how sick they are of living there and all the ridiculous and weird people who live there. So it starts out with this postcard shot that appears to be a sunny romantic scene of New York but turns out to be just a poster on a dirty subway -- hardly an original film image but a good one to convey the mood of the film. It's in those parts when Grimm, Phyllis and Loomis (Randy Quaid) are trying to get to the airport and they're on a public bus operated by a deranged anal retentive type, that's where the soul of the movie is. Loomis with his head in Phyllis' lap, finding out about her pregnancy before Grimm. They both trust Loomis and need him so much, even though he is somewhat idiotic.

Murray, who also co-directed this movie, is the rightful focus of energy and attention, with his laconic style clashing at all points with his clown costume and the ridiculous situations he finds himself in. Davis was at the peak of her career when this film came out and gives a great performance -- all 3 of the leads have to play these different characters at the beginning of the movie, during the robbery. Quaid is endearing without being geekily annoying in any way or just straight goofy. His character is basically getting beaten up all throughout the movie which is always a good laugh. Most of it is his own fault, like when he jumps out of the taxi.

Special notice for Jason Robards Jr. for a really self-less and intelligent performance. To me his work here is just as good as, say, Tommy Lee Jones' acclaimed work in "The Fugitive" or Yaphet Kotto in "Midnight Run." It's a great character type, the cop who's trying to out-think the criminals, and in this case his character has a lot of the same feelings about NYC as they do. I love the scene when he muses about why he doesn't use his talents to do something that would make him some money and get out of town.

The movie's also loaded with hilarious cameo and character performances, like Tony Shalhoub as a cabbie, Phil Hartman as a yuppie ("for your information, sir, I was AT Woodstock!"), Stanley Tucci as an intimidated mobster, and Kurtwood Smith as a very ornery mobster. It's just a wonderfully entertaining and funny film with a very intelligent story and characters who I personally cared about. If it's lacking anything, one or two over the top funny scenes would have really made this an all-time classic. The movie's tone is sort of realistic and subdued in a lot of ways, so there's not a lot of room or even attempt at that kind of thing. It's sort of an understated film, not crazy enough to be noticed in the rush of the late 80s comedy chase.

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