In many ways, Stripes can be seen as a Marx Brothers movie for the '80s — get a Deadpan Snarker comic, stick him in a wacky and contrived situation, then roll film as he reacts to the happenings around him. It worked for Groucho Marx, it should work for Bill Murray, right?
In short, Stripes is a fun yet vapid movie if you just want to see Bill Murray goof around for two hours. But if you come in expecting the snappy wit of Groucho Marx or the Rapid-Fire Comedy of Airplane!, you'll probably be disappointed.
Lower your expectations for a lowbrow comedy
In many ways, Stripes can be seen as a Marx Brothers movie for the '80s — get a Deadpan Snarker comic, stick him in a wacky and contrived situation, then roll film as he reacts to the happenings around him. It worked for Groucho Marx, it should work for Bill Murray, right?
Well, yes... and no.
Stripes is best enjoyed by not thinking about it too hard; the core premise is just an excuse to have Bill Murray sidle from one scene to another. Add in Harold Ramis for him to play with, Warren Oates as a token foil, and some gratuitous fanservice, and you have a lowbrow comedy classic in the vein of Porky's and Animal House.
Unfortunately, the movie falls apart once you actually start paying attention. At his core, John Winger is an unambitious Jerkass slacker with few redeeming qualities, and only avoids any repercussions for his actions because the universe contorts itself for his benefit. Nearly everyone else he meets is either incompetent, a Cloudcuckoolander, or a (rare) Reasonable Authority Figure, so Winger ends up as simply a Wish-Fulfillment audience surrogate who rebels against social norms just because. This is not helped by the weak and nonsensical story, which — again — is simply an Excuse Plot to jump from one scene to another. And because the focus of the movie is on Murray (there's a reason why he's the only star on the poster), everyone else is given short shrift, wasting the comedic talents of Harold Ramis and John Candy among others.
In short, Stripes is a fun yet vapid movie if you just want to see Bill Murray goof around for two hours. But if you come in expecting the snappy wit of Groucho Marx or the Rapid-Fire Comedy of Airplane!, you'll probably be disappointed.