The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) is mistaken for a spy and must stop a plot to assassinate international leaders at a banquet.

Director:

Jon Amiel

Writers:

Robert Farrar (novel), Robert Farrar (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Murray, Joanne Whalley, Peter Gallagher

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Wallace Ritchie
Peter Gallagher	...	James Ritchie
Joanne Whalley	...	Lori
Alfred Molina	...	Boris 'The Butcher' Blavasky
Richard Wilson	...	Sir Roger Daggenhurst
John Standing	...	Gilbert Embleton
Simon Chandler	...	Hawkins
Geraldine James	...	Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin
Anna Chancellor	...	Barbara Ritchie
Nicholas Woodeson	...	Sergei
Cliff Parisi	...	Uri
John Thomson	...	Dimitri
Janet Henfrey	...	Ms. Goldstein
Terry O'Neill	...	Spenser
Isabel Hernández	...	Consuela (as Isabel Hernandez)

Storyline

American Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, England, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.

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Plot Keywords:

mistaken identity | animated title sequence | spy spoof | hitman | american in the uk | 

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Taglines:

A comedy of ridiculous proportions

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language, innuendo, comic violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Watch That Man

Filming Locations:

Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,604,819, 16 November 1997

Gross USA:

$13,717,039

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,717,039

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Regency Enterprises, Polar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the Agents at the end has the last name of Venkman, just like Bill Murray's character in the first two Ghostbusters movies.

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Goofs

At Jimmy's dinner party, when Lori slaps Wally's face, the sound of the slap happens before her hand hits his face.

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Quotes

Police Constable Cochrane: So what's the pay like then?
Wallace: They pay all your expenses, you're licensed to kill, but there's a down side.
Police Constable Cochrane: What's that?
Wallace: Torture.
Police Constable Cochrane: There's the women, though.
Wallace: Well, they're nice after the torture. Believe me.
Police Constable Cochrane: Not much of a car they've given you though, is it?
Wallace: Oh, it's a piece of crap! They've got an Aston Martin... had trouble with the surface-to-air missiles, so it's in the shop.
Wallace: Ah.

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Connections

References Goldfinger (1964)

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Soundtracks

Serenade In G Major: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525: II. Romance: Andante
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

User Reviews

BRILLIANT and overlooked

Although this movie is not quite as funny as What About Bob, I think this is probably Bill Murray's second funniest film, though I strongly doubt if it will be enjoyed as much by the average viewer. That is because, I hate to say, the "average viewer" often is a teenager or adult who likes their comedy very broad and simple. No, this will not appeal to fans of Porky's or Little Nicky because it requires the viewer to have a reasonable attention-span and the ability to enjoy a comedy that doesn't telegraph what will happen next (just how many movies these days are hard to predict anyways?).

The movie is a screwy, difficult to describe spy adventure where everyone knows just how deadly the stakes are---except for Bill Murray's character. He mistakenly thinks everything that is happening around him is a type of performance art (sort of a Theatre of the Absurd). You MUST watch it.