Stripes (1981)

Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Len Blum, Daniel Goldberg (as Dan Goldberg)

Stars:

Bill Murray, John Candy, Harold Ramis

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	John
Harold Ramis	...	Russell
Warren Oates	...	Sgt. Hulka
P.J. Soles	...	Stella
Sean Young	...	Louise
John Candy	...	Ox
John Larroquette	...	Capt. Stillman
John Voldstad	...	Stillman's Aide
John Diehl	...	Cruiser
Lance LeGault	...	Col. Glass
Roberta Leighton	...	Anita
Conrad Dunn	...	Psycho
Judge Reinhold	...	Elmo
Antone Pagán	...	Hector (as Antone Pagan)
Glenn-Michael Jones	...	Leon

Storyline

At the end of a very bad day when he realizes his life has gone and is going nowhere, John Winger is able to convince his best friend, Russell Ziskey, whose life is not much better, to enlist in the army, despite they not being obvious soldier material. In basic training, they are only two of a bunch of misfits that comprise their platoon. However, it is still John that is constantly butting heads with their drill sergeant, Sergeant Hulka. Two of their saving graces are Stella and Louise, two MPs who get them out of one scrape after another. Their entire platoon is in jeopardy of not graduating. But what happens during basic leads to their entire platoon being assigned to an overseas mission in Italy, to test a new urban assault vehicle, the EM-50 project. John and Russell decide to take the EM-50 for an unauthorized test drive to visit Stella and Louise who have been reassigned to West Germany. In the process, the rest of the platoon, Hulka, and Hulka's immediate superior, ...

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Plot Keywords:

u.s. army | military spoof | nco | american abroad | u.s. soldier | 

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Taglines:

The story of a man who wanted to keep the world safe for democracy...and meet girls

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity, language and some drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Polish

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cheech and Chong Join the Army

Filming Locations:

Kentucky, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,130,197, 28 June 1981

Gross USA:

$85,297,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$85,297,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 122 min (extended) 117 min (extended) 123 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harold Ramis was initially reluctant to play the role of Russell Ziskey and Dennis Quaid auditioned for the role, but Bill Murray was adamant about Ramis appearing in the film and said he would not do it without him. Quaid, who was married to co-star P.J. Soles at the time, appears as an extra during the graduation scene.

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Goofs

There is a scene where Cpt. Stillman (John Larroquette) pulls the pin out of a live grenade out of frustration that there was "no action". However, if you look closely at the grenade, it is painted blue. In the military, blue is the code color for "Inert" or disabled. This is to make sure that live explosives or weapons are not used in training sessions for obvious reasons.

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Quotes

John Winger: We're so damned lost. Where the hell is Innsbruck, Austria?

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Crazy Credits

Four actors with the first name "John", are listed back -to-back in the final credits: John Candy, John Larroquette, John Voldstad and John Diehl.

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Alternate Versions

For the extended DVD release, the German version was completely redubbed.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.24 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Da Doo Ron Ron
(uncredited)
Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector

User Reviews

Silly and Funny – What Else Could I Expect from This Cast?

After a terrible day when the taxi driver John Winger (Bill Murray) loses his job, his car and finally is dumped by his girlfriend Anita (Roberta Leighton), he convinces his best friend Russell (Harold Ramis) to join the army to travel and have fun. They team-up with a platoon of outcast and misfits, and John has problems with their tough Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates). John and Russell get into successive troubles, but they are always rescued by the Military Police Officers Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young).

Near the graduation, the clumsy and imbecile Captain Stillman (John Larroquette) provokes an accident and Sergeant Hulka is wounded; however, John uses his leadership and the general is impressed with the platoon and assigns the group to go to Italy with the prototype of an armored car. John and Russell are responsible to take care of the prototype, but they date Stella and Louise. Meanwhile Captain Stillman believes that they have stolen the vehicle and crosses the Iron Curtain with Hulka's platoon and they are captured by the communist. Sergeant Hulka escapes and releases a distress signal and John, Russell, Stella and Louise decide to help to rescue their friends from Czechoslovakia.

"Stripes" is a silly and funny comedy, but what else could I expect from a cast with the names of Bill Murray, John Candy, John Larroquette and the other comedians. The extended cut is long and most of the jokes are "politically incorrect" or sexists, but also hilarious. This is the first time that I see this 1981 comedy on DVD and I laughed a lot. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Recrutas da Pesada" ("Rough Recruiters")