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You are here: Home / TV & Movies / Movies / I got Stripes

I got Stripes

by DougJ|  February 24, 20145:04 pm| 125 Comments

This post is in: Movies

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This may be a controversial choice but I’ve got to go with Stripes as my favorite Harold Ramis movie.

What’s your favorite?

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Previous Post: « Harold Ramis, RIP
Next Post: I see trouble on the rise »

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  1. 1.

    piratedan

    February 24, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    if I had to rank ’em….

    1) Groundhog Day
    2) Animal House
    3) Meatballs
    4) Stripes
    5) Analyze This

    but a lot of good stuff to choose from and I’m taking the liberty to call a movie “his” as long as he was involved in either the acting, directing or writing.

  2. 2.

    Cacti

    February 24, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    Groundhog Day

  3. 3.

    dmsilev

    February 24, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    Groundhog Day or Ghostbusters.

  4. 4.

    the Conster

    February 24, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Caddyshack for the lulz. Groundhog Day for the message.

  5. 5.

    orogeny

    February 24, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    Groundhog Day
    Animal House
    Caddyshack

    And then there was SCTV…

  6. 6.

    EconWatcher

    February 24, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    A buddy and I just had a lengthy email exchange trading back our favorite Stripes lines, with a preference for Ramis. The winners were:
    “My dad was a pacifist. He always told me never to strike anyone in anger, unless you’re absolutely sure you can get away with it.”
    “I want you guys to know, if we ever get into any heavy combat-type situation, I’m going to be right behind you. Every step of the way.”

  7. 7.

    Gordon, the Big Express Engine

    February 24, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Recruiter: Now, are either of you homosexuals?
    John Winger: [John and Russell look at each other] You mean, like, flaming, or…
    Recruiter: Well, it’s a standard question we have to ask.
    Russell Ziskey: No, we’re not homosexual, but we are *willing to learn*.
    John Winger: Yeah, would they send us someplace special?
    Recruiter: I guess that’s “no” on both. Now if you could just give Uncle Sam your autograph…

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    February 24, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    If absolutely had to pick a single movie, Stealing Home.

  9. 9.

    Schlemizel

    February 24, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    Gawd I hate Stripes – I expect to be in the minority with that opinion but I can’t stand that movie. Caddyshack either.

    Animal House
    Groundhogs Day
    Analyze This
    Anything from Second City
    Ghost busters

  10. 10.

    Phylllis

    February 24, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    I love me some Ghostbusters, but I have to give the edge to Stripes. It still makes the 12 year-old boy in me giggle uncontrollably.

  11. 11.

    dedc79

    February 24, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    @Schlemizel: Stripes has some great scenes/lines, but not much in the way of a plot to tie them all together.

  12. 12.

    Citizen_X

    February 24, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    It’s not by any standard in even his top five, but I still like Year One.

    “Hey, we should do something together. When do you get off?”
    “Never, I’m a slave.”
    “Oh, yeah.”

  13. 13.

    Russ

    February 24, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    TENS-UHT !

  14. 14.

    Geeno

    February 24, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    1. Groundhog Day
    2. Ghostbusters
    3. The entire Second City TV catalog – God, I loved that show.
    4. Animal House
    5. Stripes

    But they’re all really close – a shift in my mood might change the rankings.

  15. 15.

    raven

    February 24, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    “We’re the US Army. we’re 10-1”.

  16. 16.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    Animal House

    I have a personal reason for this being my fave…it was filmed at the University of Oregon while I was an undergrad there. Watched them film several scenes, to include something that never made it in the final cut with John Belushi being really militant about the Omegas in the cafeteria

  17. 17.

    Disco

    February 24, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    No one has mentioned National Lampoon’s Vacation yet??

    1. Vacation*
    2. Caddyshack*
    3. Ghostbusters
    4. Stripes

    * – Among my top five favourite movies

    I found Animal House highly, highly overrated.

  18. 18.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    “We’ve been training, sir!”

    “What kind of training, soldier?”

    “Army training, sir!”

  19. 19.

    Anonymous At Work

    February 24, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Which, you mean? If you are going with Stripes, you mean in front of the camera, and not behind. Change the perspective and the dynamic changes.

  20. 20.

    Smiling Mortician

    February 24, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    @dedc79: No plot? How can you say that? Everything leads up to the urban assault vehicle and the spatula hijinks with P.J. Soles, man! Also too, “Black guys, help the white guys” is pretty funny but it has nothing to do with plot.

  21. 21.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 24, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    If Stripes had ended with the parade grounds, it would have been a much better movie. Still a good one, but would have been much better. The coda is tiresome.

  22. 22.

    Jay Essell

    February 24, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Ghostbusters. Made me the person I am today. Because of my blinding love for that movie as a 13-year-old, I veered from the straight and narrow path of Catholic kid who was already in campus ministry, to someone who lied to the parents about going to the mall with friends and was really going to see that movie by myself (for the sixth or seventh time). Lied about needing money for lunch so I could buy the soundtrack (vinyl LP). Whole bunch of other things. It corrupted me absolutely, and I thank them for it.

  23. 23.

    Missouri Buckeye

    February 24, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    Lighten up, Francis.

  24. 24.

    FlipYrWhig

    February 24, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    @raven: Was just looking for that one. Could only remember the “and one.” Which is awesome.

  25. 25.

    MattR

    February 24, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Will not attempt to rank his stuff. Too many tough choices.

    I am smiling thinking back to a pre-Super Bowl article with Denver’s offensive coordinator. He was talking about having to come up with new code words every week and how those code words could refer to a different code word which then has a real meaning (ie. “Hoosier” or “Colt” or “Unitas” could all refer to “Indy” which is the actual play they want to run). Being close in age to Manning ”makes it easier when we’re trying to come up with codewords”, Gase said. ”The only problem is me and him and a couple of other guys are all in the same area, and all the young guys are looking at us like, ‘We don’t know the quote from [the 1981 Bill Murray comedy] Stripes.’ ” I spent a bit of time speculating on which quote they were referring to.

  26. 26.

    Violet

    February 24, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Groundhog Day. “To world peace.”

  27. 27.

    jharp

    February 24, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    And my favorite line in Stripes was when asked by the military recruiter if they were gay Bill Murray replied, “no, but we are willing to learn”.

  28. 28.

    khead

    February 24, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    “Let’s make it 40 thousand. You know judge, my Dad never liked you.”

    Also, my high school band ripped off a whole lot of stuff from the Stripes graduation scene. That’s the fact, Jack.

  29. 29.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 24, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Raaa-zell Dazzle!

    Also, let’s assume Ramis wrote the scene at the start of the movie when Murray is the disgruntled cab driver with that character actress who was everywhere in the seventies and eighties…. “I shouldn’t’a drank all that cough syrup”

  30. 30.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    BTW, Dean Wormer’s office is the actual office of the President of the UofO.

    My ROTC commander was approached to borrow some cadets for those scenes, but he read the script, saw the line about Niedermeyer being killed in ‘Nam by his own troops, and declined to officially sanction participation.

    Some cadets from the UofO and from OSU wound up playing extras for the scenes with cadets.

    I took American History 202 in the same room as the Interfratenity Council meeting (“Blowjob! -cough cough-“) was held in.

  31. 31.

    Gordon, the Big Express Engine

    February 24, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    @Jay Essell: you are exactly my age and I loved that movie at 13. I grew up outside NYC and I still remember the newspaper ad campaign in advance of the movies. They kept running full page ads of just the ghostbusters logo and “coming June 8th” or with a countdown of the number days before it opened.

  32. 32.

    Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)

    February 24, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    But Doug J;

    Your favorite can’t be controversial, it is ‘your favorite’ (Though I guess you could argue with any voices in your own head). It’s not like you said ‘the best’ etc etc.

    Me, I more than love Groundhog Day. I’m not the sort to watch a movie over and over but GHD, probably a millionKajillion times already.

    It not only is, it defines; Sublime.

    The message, the Thoughts, are wrangled to perfection.

  33. 33.

    Suffern ACE

    February 24, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    @MattR: Boomchakalakalaka.

  34. 34.

    Gordon, the Big Express Engine

    February 24, 2014 at 5:37 pm

    @jharp: Ramis says that line. See my comment above. That scene popped into my head when I saw this post

  35. 35.

    El Tiburon

    February 24, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Caddyshack
    Animal House
    Stripes

    Anyone who omits Caddyshack can swallow a box of naked lady tees and go jump in Ty’s pond you bunch of Wangs (offense intended.)

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 24, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    @El Tiburon: You shave your ass!

  37. 37.

    Amir Khalid

    February 24, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    I really liked Groundhog Day, even though I saw it on one of those less-than-tablet-sized airplane seat screens. (Anyone who’s ever watched a movie on a plane knows how much that sucks as a viewing experience.) Stripes was a series of sketches rather than a story, true, but they’re damn funny sketches — and you could say exactly the same thing of any Monty Python film, so in a comedy I wouldn’t call it a flaw.

    I loved Animal House, and Ghostbusters, and Analyze This, and I wouldn’t want to pick a favourite from among them and his other work. Same reason as Geeno.

  38. 38.

    El Tiburon

    February 24, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    @Disco:

    I found Animal House highly, highly overrated.

    This may be one of the most offfensive remarks I’ve seen on this blog, including the time a former front-pager suggested a commenter go fornicate with his face.

  39. 39.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    There are so many great things about Caddyshack, but the entire Bill Murray fantasy at Augusta scene stands out for me.

  40. 40.

    SatanicPanic

    February 24, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    @Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler):

    Me, I more than love Groundhog Day. I’m not the sort to watch a movie over and over but GHD, probably a millionKajillion times already.

    Not cause you have to, right?

  41. 41.

    MattR

    February 24, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    @Suffern ACE: :) My top guess was that it was the word “Stripes” itself and it was meant to refer to the Bill Murray quote “Chicks dig me because I rarely wear underwear and when I do its usually something unusual” becaue “dig” is the name/nickname of an actual play the Broncos run.

    But I would love to have heard Manning yelling that out. “Boom shaka laka Boom shaka laka Omaha Omaha Set”

    @Villago Delenda Est: I believe Murray improvised that scene.

  42. 42.

    Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)

    February 24, 2014 at 5:45 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    VDE, I’m startled.
    Over quite some time here at the BJ Commenteria, I’ve presumed I do not have enough in common with you to presume a connection – But!

    Me Too! Undergrad at UO, during filming.
    Even got hired as one of the many extras.
    One of my roomates went from extra to being in toga, in the stairway scene during the party.
    Later, ended up working with the younger brother of Mark Metcalf / Douglas C. Niedermier at The Excelsior Cafe in Eugene.

    Dang, Hi Homey.

  43. 43.

    El Tiburon

    February 24, 2014 at 5:45 pm

    A highly educated and culturally literate friend of mine once suggested that Top Gun was more quoted than Caddyshack.

    Obviously he does not do drugs everyday.

  44. 44.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 5:46 pm

    @Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler):

    Woohoo! Go Ducks! :)

    An Army buddy of mine was at Fort Knox when they filmed Stripes so we had something in common besides the green clothing…we were both present at the filming of Harold Ramis movies :)

  45. 45.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 24, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    I remember Bill Murray hosted SNL once and did a skit about how all men love to quote Caddyshack, “a classic American comedy written by my brother Brian and… some other guy.” My understanding is Ramis never knew what their feud was about. Murray made it all up in his own head.

  46. 46.

    Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)

    February 24, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    Oh, I probably have to SP.

    I’m still in the stage where Murray is frenetically, manically, trying to be the person he thinks he needs to be.

    No, My BuddySatva wings are still outta reach.

  47. 47.

    GregB

    February 24, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

    -Dean Vernon Wormer

  48. 48.

    khead

    February 24, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    @Disco:

    Vacation + Caddyshack =

    Shoes from Cousin Eddie that people really shouldn’t wear….

    ….but “Oh, they look good on you though.”

  49. 49.

    Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)

    February 24, 2014 at 5:51 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    More ‘Dang!’ me too again,

    except, the Dali Lama soliloquy is divine.

  50. 50.

    dedc79

    February 24, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    This may well be viewed as heresy, but watching Caddyshack again a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help thinking that the least funny parts of the movie all involved rodney dangerfield.

  51. 51.

    khead

    February 24, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @dedc79:

    Rat farts!

  52. 52.

    Dead Ernest (Thought Wrangler)

    February 24, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    @El Tiburon:

    A highly educated and culturally literate friend of mine once suggested that Top Gun was more quoted than Caddyshack.

    Obviously he does not do drugs everyday.

    or wrong ones.

  53. 53.

    FridayNext

    February 24, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    NOOOOOOO!

    The rhythm of the army movie is a bunch of ethnically diverse recruits get their asses busted by drill sergeant, they bond together to form top team, then they prevail in dangerous mission.

    That’s the formula from Sands of Iwo Jima, to Buck Privates, to Full Metal Jacket, to Band of Brothers.

    Don’t mess with the formula!!

  54. 54.

    Betty Cracker

    February 24, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    Ghostbusters. I think Groundhog Day is a better movie overall, but my teenage self had a great big crush on the nerdly Egon in Ghostbusters. I’d forgotten that Ramis was even in Groundhog Day, much less wrote and directed it! Sad that he is gone.

  55. 55.

    The Red Pen -- PEN DAMMIT!

    February 24, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @piratedan: This.
    + Caddyshack
    + Ghostbusters

    Do I really have to choose?

  56. 56.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    I’m boosting Ghostbusters right now because it was on again recently and was just as funny as I remembered it.

    “Ray, when someone asks if you’re a god, you. say. YES!”

    Stripes was probably my first exposure to Warren Oates, who became one of my all-time favorite character actors once I got caught up.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 6:00 pm

    @FridayNext:

    Heck, to Private Benjamin, if you want the Girl Power version.

  58. 58.

    Three-nineteen

    February 24, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    Once, for work, my group had to make a video about our department (don’t ask). We did parodies of about six different movies. Two of them were Groundhog Day and Stripes, both suggestions by me and my friends.

  59. 59.

    El Tiburon

    February 24, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    @khead:

    Vacation + Caddyshack

    Alien v Predator
    Sonny & Cher

    I like it!

  60. 60.

    FridayNext

    February 24, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    Animal House will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first R movie I ever snuck into see at 14, and my first cinematic booby.

  61. 61.

    GregB

    February 24, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    He said “black guys help the white guys”.

  62. 62.

    FridayNext

    February 24, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    My list was merely a sampling and was by no means meant to be exhaustive.

  63. 63.

    raven

    February 24, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    I spent my childhood “looping” at Medinah and Elmhurst County Club in the Chicago burbs so Caddyshack rang true. The only difference was that we had older guys who “followed the sun”. They caddied up north in the summer and in Florida during the winter. Being around them was a real education and the contrast between them and the wealthy members at Medinah was incredible.

  64. 64.

    Villago Delenda Est

    February 24, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    @FridayNext:

    Belushi leering back at the audience and raising his eyebrows! What a great scene!

    Then there was that scene in the bedroom where Pinto finds the tissue on Dean Wormer’s daughter, and the angel devil exchange.

    “I’m very proud of you Lawrence!”

    “You homo!”

  65. 65.

    Talentless Hack

    February 24, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    @dedc79: The main thing that makes Stripes special is that it pretty much nails the general state of the U.S. Army of the period a half-decade after the end of our involvement in Vietnam. Lots of Vietnam-era noncoms running around who would end up taking basic education courses by the mid-1980s under threat of getting mustered out. Physical fitness standards that were, shall we say, flexible. Drugs. Alcohol abuse (God help us all if the Soviet Union decided to invade West Germany on a Friday night). Seriously poor race relations.

    One of my first taskings as a new private fresh out of admin school (which lots of people managed to flunk and get shipped off to cook school, even though a monkey could do that job) was to rotate the file system for the new year. I ran across an MP report of a ring of heroin dealers in my unit who had only recently been sent to Leavenworth. That was the Army of the early 80s. Maybe half the guys in my platoon in Basic Training had a high school diploma, according to stats the Army was willing to fess up to. 40% was closer to reality. So what was a college boy like me doing in that sort of outfit? Long story. Not telling it.

  66. 66.

    GregB

    February 24, 2014 at 6:07 pm

    @raven:

    A real life Danny Noonan eh?

    Nnnnnoonan!

  67. 67.

    raven

    February 24, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: And, as I have mentioned, Belushi was from Wheaton and good buddies with friends of mine from highs school (there it goes again). He would use “Steve Beshekas” as his name in skits and Silvio Insana ran his club in Chicago.

  68. 68.

    p.a.

    February 24, 2014 at 6:09 pm

    @El Tiburon: yes. “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”

  69. 69.

    raven

    February 24, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    @GregB: Me, ha. More like D’Annunzio. The story of Sarah Holcomb (Maggie) is really sad.

    According to the director, Reverge Anselmo, Dori Lawrence, of the film Stateside (2004) was based on a real actress in the 1970s who did four movies – two of them big hits – before disappearing from the industry. On the DVD commentary, Anselmo reveals that the actress’ brother plays the character of Silvio. The actor is David Holcomb leading many to believe that the actress is Sarah Holcomb of Animal House (1978) and Caddyshack (1980). Someone listed as “S.H.” is thanked in the end credits.

  70. 70.

    Gravenstone

    February 24, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    “Ray, when someone asks if you’re a god, you. say. YES!”

    To my shame, I didn’t see Ghostbusters when it was in theaters. I get back to campus that fall and one of the freshman asked me if I was a god? I had no fucking clue what he was talking about. =(

  71. 71.

    raven

    February 24, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    @Talentless Hack: Ft Knox?

  72. 72.

    jenn

    February 24, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    Wow, utterly off-topic, but here’s a post on Amazon’s labor practices, a.d it’s terrible. I don’t use Amazon much, but this makes me want to cut even that down.

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/your_bummer_read_of_the_day_ho049189.php

  73. 73.

    Cermet

    February 24, 2014 at 6:14 pm

    Ghost Busters

  74. 74.

    Ruckus

    February 24, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    There isn’t one I don’t like.
    Having been in the service I like irreverent movies about the military.
    So
    Stripes
    Ghostbusters
    Groundhog Day
    Caddyshack
    And other than Stripes the order may change upon watching again.

  75. 75.

    jenn

    February 24, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    Another off-topic post, but relevant to the argument a few threads back about the events in Ukraine –

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2014_02/snyder_on_ukraine049194.php

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    February 24, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Acknowledging (even ardently espousing) that anyone’s definition of the f word used in #3 below is entirely subjective (and that having the opposite view is equally valid), three personal maxims which have served in good stead:

    1) Fire is hot.

    2) Blades are sharp.

    3) Bill Murray isn’t funny.

  77. 77.

    Botsplainer

    February 24, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    Every day, I walk past the alley where Murray’s car was repoed in Stripes. Also, a friend works on the floor directly under the broken bay window.

    And my favorite lunch dump is two doors down from the place where Ramis and Murray abandoned the car.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @NotMax:

    Tastes vary. For myself, Charlie Chaplin leaves me cold, but I adore Buster Keaton.

    I’ll only jump down your throat when it’s Murray’s obit we’re reading. :-)

  79. 79.

    El Tiburon

    February 24, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @FridayNext:

    Animal House will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first R movie I ever snuck into see at 14, and my first cinematic booby.

    The Belushi-ladder scene was early wanking material. Actually got busted one time. That scene is still one of the best.

  80. 80.

    Botsplainer

    February 24, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    @El Tiburon:

    Some of the scenes are clearly not wholly successful efforts to suppress laughter from the kids. The dining hall is one – Otter and the blonde had some obvious chemistry.

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    February 24, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    Keaton over Chaplin here, too.

    Appreciate the artistry and inventiveness of Chaplin, but generally find much of the execution coming across as too studied and delicate.

    As you say, tastes vary.

  82. 82.

    WereBear

    February 24, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Charlie Chaplin leaves me cold, but I adore Buster Keaton.

    I’m not cold about Chaplin, but far prefer Keaton.

    Everyone has touched on my favorites, and I don’t rank. Too many, too good.

    Cinderella man, coming from behind…

  83. 83.

    geg6

    February 24, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    Since I first thought of Animal House and Groundhog Day when I heard this sad news, I gotta go with them in that order. But there are no Harold Ramis movies that suck. I loved him.

  84. 84.

    piratedan

    February 24, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    @WereBear: I hear ya, from that era, I kinda like Harold Lloyd the best, but it’s not like I can deny the talent of the other two, just a personal preference.

  85. 85.

    Phylllis

    February 24, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: She was actually Mayor Carmine’s daughter.

    Uh..not that I have the movie memorized or anything.

  86. 86.

    SatanicPanic

    February 24, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    @Mnemosyne: @NotMax: Crazy talk! Chaplin was funnier and a better performer. Harpo Marx might be funnier than both of them though.

  87. 87.

    pattonbt

    February 24, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    Animal House
    Caddyshack
    Stripes
    Vacation
    Ghost Busters

    Animal House to me is the perfect “raucous” R rated comedy. It set the formula and all have been trying to repeat it since. It also being one the first movies I can remember seeing (my parents took me to see it when I was 8!) it will always have a special place in my personal movie fandom (the other being Blazing Saddles).

    And Caddyshack for the odd (yet perfect) collection of cast members (Ted Knight!) and insane number of amazing quotes “I hear this place is restricted, Wang, so don’t tell ’em you’re Jewish, okay?”. I can’t explain why, but to me, anything Rodney Dangerfield and Don Rickles (obvuiously not in Caddyshack but always worth a mention) do is automatically funny.

    As with all movie / TV / music threads – YMMV.

  88. 88.

    Talentless Hack

    February 24, 2014 at 6:39 pm

    @raven: @Talentless Hack: That’s the place. We ran across some of the stuff that was blown up for Stripes on road marches.

  89. 89.

    geg6

    February 24, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    @El Tiburon:

    Agreed. Obviously not a lover of truly sublime cinema.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    February 24, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    @piratedan

    A favorite distinction came from some overview of that era (source long forgotten).

    Lloyd did funny things; Keaton did things funny.

  91. 91.

    WereBear

    February 24, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    Chaplin is McCartney while Keaton is Lennon.

    Both talented but different styles.

  92. 92.

    Talentless Hack

    February 24, 2014 at 6:46 pm

    @Botsplainer: That’s my hometown. Of course, I lived in the ever-sprawling suburbs. Fern Creek for awhile, then Douglass Hills. The folks are somewhat south of Jeffersontown nowadays in, you guessed it, another sprawling suburb. When I was a kid, J-town was way the heck out there, and the world simply ended beyond the Snyder Freeway (then known as the Jefferson Freeway).

  93. 93.

    SatanicPanic

    February 24, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    @WereBear: That’s kinda harsh though- Chaplin had many sappy moments, but I always felt like there was some fierce anger at injustice driving Chaplin’s movies, where Keaton was mostly just a jerk who was funny (like Lennon I guess).

  94. 94.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    Keaton was the Marx Bros. gag writer while they were at MGM. He almost certainly came up with the classic stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera — if you look at the timing and construction, it’s classic Keaton.

    My problem with Chaplin is (a) he’s quite stagey, especially when compared with the cinematic qualities of Keaton and (b) he’s too sentimental and Victorian for my taste. When I say my favorite Chaplin is Monsieur Verdoux, you know where I’m coming from.

    Though the one time they performed together on film, it was an instant classic.

  95. 95.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 24, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    You can take your thumb out of my ass any time now, Carmine.

  96. 96.

    WereBear

    February 24, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    @SatanicPanic: see? Taste. The undefinable.

    I could point out Keaton personified the existential struggle for meaning and purpose against all odds, and you see a man almost falling off a train.

    I came to silents as an adult with some film training under my belt, and was overwhelmed with Keaton’s acting and body language. Sheerly incredible.

    By comparison, I saw Chaplin as more hammy, a performer who let you see the strings and seams.

    Chaplin was certainly celebrated in his time, but Keaton may yet outdistance him.

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    @SatanicPanic:

    Also, too, their dialogue scene from the same film.

  98. 98.

    Calouste

    February 24, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    People like Analyze This? Well, you learn something new everyday, sometimes even things you didn’t think possible.

  99. 99.

    Lurking Canadian

    February 24, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    Ghostbusters is a masterpiece. Not a line or a beat out of place in that movie.

  100. 100.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 24, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    Animal House of the line “When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor” for summing up Idiot America.

  101. 101.

    NotMax

    February 24, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    If had to sum it up (speaking strictly of the silents here), would say that Chaplin’s gifts lay in soliciting sympathy and Keaton’s in soliciting empathy.

    Each in his own way was a trailblazer in making innovative use of the then still new technology.

  102. 102.

    SatanicPanic

    February 24, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Oh yeah, that was a great scene and a pretty perfect way to get the two together.

    @WereBear: Fair enough, I like Chaplin’s hammy-ness because it goes with the earnest nature of his movies and it makes the little fellow sympathetic. I was on a kick of watching both of their films for a while and found that I rewatched Chaplins a lot more than Keaton’s because I liked the stories, especially the Kid and the Circus

  103. 103.

    WereBear

    February 24, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    @SatanicPanic: Nothing wrong with that. They are both geniuses.

  104. 104.

    Hawes

    February 24, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    Groundhog Day? BING!

    “This is one time when television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.”

    This one is timely:
    “You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”

    “This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat. What a hype. Groundhog Day used to mean something in this town. They used to pull the hog out, and they used to eat it. You’re hypocrites, all of you!”

    “Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn’t one today.”

    And Bill Murray should have won an Oscar for convincing people it was possible to fall in love with Andie McDowell.

  105. 105.

    lefthanded compliment

    February 24, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    @raven: Wheaton Central High, class of ’69, myself. One of my vivid memories of that time is seeing Belushi perform at pep rallies as part of “The Lamont Cranston A Cappella Choir.” He was really good football player, too.

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    @NotMax:

    Empathy, and not only for the hero.

    Who among us has not had that same sinking feeling (at 1:20) when we make a mistake in front of a crowd?

    (Added timecode)

  107. 107.

    Tripod

    February 24, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    Janine Melnitz: You’re very handy, I can tell. I bet you like to read a lot, too.

    Dr. Egon Spengler: Print is dead.

    Janine Melnitz: Oh, that’s very fascinating to me. I read a lot myself. Some people think I’m too intellectual but I think it’s a fabulous way to spend your spare time. I also play raquetball. Do you have any hobbies?

    Dr. Egon Spengler: I collect spores, molds, and fungus.

  108. 108.

    SatanicPanic

    February 24, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    @WereBear: Those two were genii. Out of all of them I probably laughed hardest at some of the boat scenes in the Navigator.

  109. 109.

    YellowJournalism

    February 24, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    Groundhog Day
    Animal House
    Ghostbusters
    Vacation
    Stewart Saves His Family

    I also enjoyed his version of Bedazzled, a flawed movie with some funny scenes. And his cameo in Airheads has a special place in my heart:

    Chazz: Okay, lemme ask you a question: who’s side did you take in the big David Lee Roth-Van Halen split?
    Chris Moore: What?
    Marcus: What kind of question is that?
    Chazz: Who’s side did you take: Halen or Roth?
    Chris Moore: …Van Halen
    Ian: HE’S A COP!

  110. 110.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    February 24, 2014 at 8:38 pm

    Groundhog Day — It’s become a catchphrase for endless pointless repetition
    Ghostbusters — A combination comedy, action flick, and seminar on ancient gods
    Animal House — More quotes than most other movies

    RIP

  111. 111.

    canuckistani

    February 24, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    Ghostbusters. He was the best movie scientist ever.

    Dr. Peter Venkman: Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head. Remember that?

    Dr. Egon Spengler: That would have worked if you hadn’t stopped me.

  112. 112.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    February 24, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    @Tripod:

    Dr. Egon Spengler: I collect spores, molds, and fungus.

    Oh, hell, I’m laughing out loud at this. That one line was basically his entire character summed up in six words. Genius.

  113. 113.

    Schlemizel

    February 24, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    @Talentless Hack:

    The National Lampoon had a great “Letters From the Editor” take on that:
    “People who say the Army is not prepared to take on the Soviet Union should they invade Germany have no clue what it it would be like to confront 80000 drug crazed n****ers in the dark.” Signed Melvin Larid

    Stripes still sucks BTW

  114. 114.

    khead

    February 24, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Too early for flapjacks?

  115. 115.

    JustRuss

    February 24, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    I was in college when Stripes came out. My best buddy was a slacker named John, and I was a nerdy Russell, so let’s say it resonated. Funny thing is he later joined the Army and is now an officer. When people call him “sir” in their Facebook comments I can’t help laughing.

    And since no one else has said it,
    John: “It’s like invading Wisconsin!”
    Russell: “I got my ass kicked in Wisconsin!”

  116. 116.

    kindness

    February 24, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    I’ll take Caddy Shack over Stripes. Better cast.

  117. 117.

    Culture of Truth

    February 24, 2014 at 10:50 pm

    Not enough people on this thread have recommended “Vacation” C’mon that movie is hilarious.

    “You left his dead mother tied to a lawn chair in his backyard. I’m sure he won’t mind”.

  118. 118.

    Mnemosyne

    February 24, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    Watching Ghostbusters and remembering one of the reasons Sigourney Weaver was cast as the female lead — because Ramis was 6’2″, Ackroyd is 6’1″, and Murray is 6’2″. If they hadn’t cast Weaver (5’11”), Dana would have looked like a midget next to the rest of them.

  119. 119.

    gogiggs

    February 24, 2014 at 11:53 pm

    Groundhog Day.
    Ghostbusters is great and I love lots of his other stuff, but Groundhog Day is a capital “G” Great Movie, endlessly rewatchable.
    I rewatched it tonight and shed a few tears. I really loved Harold Ramis.

  120. 120.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    February 25, 2014 at 1:21 am

    1. Animal House– Very funny, highly influential- so influential that Ramis himself wrote at least five variations on the “misfits vs. authority” ensemble comedy: Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes and both Ghostbusters.

    2. Groundhog Day

    3. A five-way tie amongst the five I mentioned after Animal House.

  121. 121.

    dianne

    February 25, 2014 at 3:18 am

    I will always remember Harold Ramos’ expressions as John Candy is explaining that he joined the army to become a lean, mean fighting machine. Also, “he’s alive” – a favorite movie quote to this day. I truly didn’t know Ramos was responsible for all those movies. I just thought of him as a great character actor.

  122. 122.

    blondie

    February 25, 2014 at 11:00 am

    Dogs and cats living together …

  123. 123.

    blondie

    February 25, 2014 at 11:03 am

    Don’t drive angry. Don’t drive angry.

  124. 124.

    BruceJ

    February 25, 2014 at 11:26 am

    @raven: His speech before the final review in Basic:

    “We’re Americans, with a capital ‘A’, huh? You know what that means? Do ya? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world. We are the wretched refuse.”

  125. 125.

    hartly

    February 25, 2014 at 12:12 pm

    Kind of off topic and a little late to the thread, but…Does anyone else think Ghostbusters is underrated as an actual horror film? Very funny, and the Marshmallow Man is obviously comedy, but the Terror Dogs in the fridge? The hands coming out of the chair? The possessed Dana floating in her slime-covered apartment? The ghosts running amok to that “I believe it’s magic” song? Etc.? Much creepier than Signs, I Am Legend, the Underworld series, and all the other CGI-infused crap we get today.

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