Review of Stripes (1981) by Stuart K — 28 Apr 2014

Directed by Ivan Reitman, who had managed to break into directing by producing David Cronenberg's early films, which gave him the chance to make Meatballs (1979), which was a sleeper hit. This film was originally pitched by Reitman and co-writers Harold Ramis and Len Blum as a potential Cheech and Chong film, but when they passed on doing it, Reitman made it his own, and it put him and his cast on the road to success.

John Winger (Bill Murray) is a disgruntled taxi driver who loses his job, car and girlfriend in one day, his friend Russell Ziskey (Ramis) is having no joy teaching English to immigrants. So, with no money or prospects, they join the army.

As soon as they join, Winger immediately offends Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates), but Winger and Ziskey befriend Dewey "Ox" Oxberger (John Candy) and Winger manages to motivate the other misfit recruits into impressing Hulka, Captain Stillman (John Larroquette) and General Barnicke (Robert J.

Wilke), and the platoon are put on a mission in Italy, where Winger and Ziskey drive an armoured assault vehicle into deepest Czechoslovakia. It is a very silly film, and it's from the golden age of 80's comedies, and this helped make Murray a star, and led him, Ramis and Reitman onto Ghostbusters (1984) and beyond.

This is a celebration of the underdog, those who are seemingly unlikely to succeed, but manage to win against impossible odds.