The Man Who Knew Too Little
with Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher, Joanne Whalley, Alfred Molina
Directed by Jon Amiel
Written by Robert Farrar and Howard Franklin
by Scott Hefflon
Bill Murray could read the newspaper and he’d make it funny. Although The Man Who Knew Too Little doesn’t really give Murray’s character, Wallace Ritchie, many memorable characters to consort with, the situations and the ensuing dialogue are all he needs to make a very funny movie. Unlike, say, Groundhog Day or Scrooged, where Murray is a reluctant participant, as the man who doesn’t know this isn’t a gag, he stumbles through outlandish situation after situation, each time conquering impossible odds because he doesn’t know it’s for real.
Basically, Wallace is a talkative oddball who goes to see his brother, who ditches him in “The Theater of Life” so he can entertain business guests. But when Wallace answers the pay phone, gasp!, it’s for a real spy-guy named Spencer, which Wallace assumes is his character’s name. Sure, the whole plot is, um, something about getting some letters from some girl and then, like, blowing up a couple of diplomats just before they sign some paper that’ll end the Cold War, but, like, who cares?
What matters is that Wallace/Spencer trips apologetically through scenes of violence, passion, and intrigue with imitation James Bondian Cool® (now available over the counter), flubs his lines in the middle of a showdown and asks to reshoot, and throughout otherwise industry-standard action/adventure chase scenes, never takes a damn bit of it seriously. The Man Who Knew Too Little is a parody of the larger-than-life spy drama shtick, and boy did it need parodying! Complete with outrageous accents, big bad guys with bulging eyes, a sexy, double-crossing vixen who falls for what passes for our hero, a car chase, a high story ledge scene, a few incompetent henchmen, and a cigarette case communication device, The Man Who Knew Too Little pokes fun at every staple of the genre, without ever drawing blood. While Murray is goofy rather than scathing (as he has been in recent roles), his bumbling is as charming, yet less lecherous, as it was in Ghostbusters. While some criticized the running miscommunications as cheap and tawdry, perhaps a little too convenient, hell, I think they’re funny. And that’s all that matters.
