Quick Change (1990)
Clowning Around
White-faced clown Grimm (Bill Murray) sits patiently on a subway train, holding some balloons. It is late in the afternoon.
The train stops at 42nd Street. Grimm fights his way onto the platform. He’s in a hurry. He gets to the bank at Park Avenue and 41st as the guard is closing the door. Grimm thrusts a very large red shoe in the door.
The guard says, “We’re closed Bozo.” Grimm produces a gun, and says, “I wouldn’t. And, it’s Mr. Bozo.”
Inside the bank, Grimm announces, “This is a robbery.” He is ignored—until he fires a shot in the air. He takes the customers hostage telling them, “The best way to get out of here is to stay calm. If they want proof that I’m serious, I’ll carve up the troublemakers first.” Then, taking the manager by the hand, he asks, “May I use your phone?”
The manager gives Grimm some advice—“Give up now. That’s the only door. There is no other way out, my friend.”
Grimm hands the manager the phone; “Tell ’em, anybody gets near this place, I’m gonna blow it up. If I don’t hear from the guy in charge in fifteen minutes, I’m gonna send your thumb out through the night depository.” As an afterthought he adds, “And thanks for calling me friend.”
Outside, the police turn out in force, crowds congregate, hot dog vendors rush to the scene. Police Chief Rotzinger (Jason Robards) phones the bank. Grimm tells him there are explosives in the building’s air vents. Rotzinger stops the men rappelling down the outside of the building to get to the vents. When they drop to the ground, the assembled crowd boos. Watching through a window, Grimm says, “God, I hate this town.”
Grimm presents his demands. “I want a city bus with a full tank of gas. I want a Harley Davidson XL 1000. I want a monster truck. And I want two jet ranger helicopters here on the street.” In return, Rotzinger expects hostages to be released—“At least give me the women.” “Get your own women,” is Grimm’s instant reply.
One of the helicopters lands in the street; Grimm releases a hostage—a whining man chosen by the other hostages. When the bus arrives, the hostages select a woman who has insulted the clown’s manhood. The others feel safer without her there to provoke him.
But, when the woman emerges, to the cheers of the watching crowd, she is followed by someone else—a ginger haired man.
In Quick Change, Murray gives one of his best performances as Grimm who, when asked by the guard, “What the hell kind of clown are you?” replies, “The crying on the inside kind, I guess.”
Trying to flee the city, Grimm and his accomplices (Geena Davis and Randy Quaid) encounter all kinds of obstacles. Road signs are missing. They are robbed. Their car is towed when they park illegally. They meet menacing gangsters (Stanley Tucci and Kurtwood Smith), an honorable taxi driver who speaks no English (Tony Shaloub), and an incorruptible bus driver (Philip Bosco).
Quick Change was co-directed by Murray and Howard Franklin in 1990. Murray also co-produced the movie (with Robert Greenhut), and Franklin wrote the script (based on a novel by Jay Cronley). Its fine performances and hilarious plot—in which Grimm’s simmering frustration as he tries to escape is mirrored by Rotzinger’s increasing exasperation as he tries to apprehend the clown—have given it a well-deserved cult following.
—John Bloomfield (5 April, 2004)
White-faced clown Grimm (Bill Murray) sits patiently on a subway train, holding some balloons. It is late in the afternoon.
The train stops at 42nd Street. Grimm fights his way onto the platform. He’s in a hurry. He gets to the bank at Park Avenue and 41st as the guard is closing the door. Grimm thrusts a very large red shoe in the door.
The guard says, “We’re closed Bozo.” Grimm produces a gun, and says, “I wouldn’t. And, it’s Mr. Bozo.”
Inside the bank, Grimm announces, “This is a robbery.” He is ignored—until he fires a shot in the air. He takes the customers hostage telling them, “The best way to get out of here is to stay calm. If they want proof that I’m serious, I’ll carve up the troublemakers first.” Then, taking the manager by the hand, he asks, “May I use your phone?”
The manager gives Grimm some advice—“Give up now. That’s the only door. There is no other way out, my friend.”
Grimm hands the manager the phone; “Tell ’em, anybody gets near this place, I’m gonna blow it up. If I don’t hear from the guy in charge in fifteen minutes, I’m gonna send your thumb out through the night depository.” As an afterthought he adds, “And thanks for calling me friend.”
Outside, the police turn out in force, crowds congregate, hot dog vendors rush to the scene. Police Chief Rotzinger (Jason Robards) phones the bank. Grimm tells him there are explosives in the building’s air vents. Rotzinger stops the men rappelling down the outside of the building to get to the vents. When they drop to the ground, the assembled crowd boos. Watching through a window, Grimm says, “God, I hate this town.”
Grimm presents his demands. “I want a city bus with a full tank of gas. I want a Harley Davidson XL 1000. I want a monster truck. And I want two jet ranger helicopters here on the street.” In return, Rotzinger expects hostages to be released—“At least give me the women.” “Get your own women,” is Grimm’s instant reply.
One of the helicopters lands in the street; Grimm releases a hostage—a whining man chosen by the other hostages. When the bus arrives, the hostages select a woman who has insulted the clown’s manhood. The others feel safer without her there to provoke him.
But, when the woman emerges, to the cheers of the watching crowd, she is followed by someone else—a ginger haired man.
In Quick Change, Murray gives one of his best performances as Grimm who, when asked by the guard, “What the hell kind of clown are you?” replies, “The crying on the inside kind, I guess.”
Trying to flee the city, Grimm and his accomplices (Geena Davis and Randy Quaid) encounter all kinds of obstacles. Road signs are missing. They are robbed. Their car is towed when they park illegally. They meet menacing gangsters (Stanley Tucci and Kurtwood Smith), an honorable taxi driver who speaks no English (Tony Shaloub), and an incorruptible bus driver (Philip Bosco).
Quick Change was co-directed by Murray and Howard Franklin in 1990. Murray also co-produced the movie (with Robert Greenhut), and Franklin wrote the script (based on a novel by Jay Cronley). Its fine performances and hilarious plot—in which Grimm’s simmering frustration as he tries to escape is mirrored by Rotzinger’s increasing exasperation as he tries to apprehend the clown—have given it a well-deserved cult following.
—John Bloomfield (5 April, 2004)
posted by John Bloomfield at 8:48 PM
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