[.ca] The Man Who Knew Too Little (Widescreen/Full Screen) (ISBN 0790734796)

From Amazon.com:
Only die-hard Bill Murray fans will likely consider this movie for their home-video library, but it's not without its rewards. You can see why someone as comically astute as Murray would agree to play a dimwitted American who can't tell the difference between improvised theater and a real-life espionage plot. There's certainly plenty of potential for belly laughs, and Murray milks the opportunities like the old pro that he is. Here he plays an American tourist in London who thinks he's been recruited into a street-theater act called "Theater of Life"; actually, he's stepped into a complicated spy scheme that plays like a cross between Hitchcock and the Marx Brothers. Joanne Whalley costars as the femme fatale who may or may not be a double agent, and along the way there's enough comical confusion to foil any number of idiotic villains. The movie stretches its one-joke premise to desperate extremes (Murray thinks he's in a play, so he's oblivious to genuine danger), and 95 minutes is more than enough time to exhaust the comedic possibilities. But, as always, Murray finds a way to mine gold from a few clever bits, and he cuts loose with some inspired lunacy during a climactic scene involving a hidden bomb and a troupe of dancing Cossacks. It's not Murray's finest hour, but give him credit for making the best out of a challenging situation. --Jeff Shannon

What a hoot!! Too many great scenes to list them all..:
Confusion is often funny, but sometimes it can lead to danger. In this film, confusion and danger, coupled with a marvelous cast and excellent comedic script, take us on a heckuva fun trip to London. The whole of the underbelly of the world of duplicitous spies and sneaky secret agents is cut to shreds by a simple, unsuspecting video store clerk from Iowa. Absolutely hilarious, and Bill Murray is his zany best. Joanne Whalley is the cat's meow, and is perfect as Murray's cohort. Just the mix-up of the real and pretend torture doctors is worth the purchase. You will laugh until you can't cry any more tears.

Mr. Richie has gone for the port:
This is London. James Ritchie (Peter Gallagher) has a business meeting with a German delegation tonight. His brother Wallace (Bill Murray) shows up as a surprise. It just happens that tonight is also Wallace's birthday. So to keep Wallace occupied and away from the meeting, James pays for a participation theater game that is played like real life. At midnight when it is over they will smoke a couple of Ambassadors. Everything goes wrong from the start when Wally accidentally crosses paths with real spies, espionage, murder, a gorges femme fatale, and Boris 'The Butcher' (Alfred Molina.) It starts out mile and gets wilder as time passes. Will Wally come out alive? Will James put over the trade deal with the Germans or will he go for the port? One of my favorite scenes was the obligatory chase scene with the Austin Mini.

Lori Wants Her Letters........:
This movie was a real surprise for me and my wife. We rent a lot of comedy movies and have passed this one up a couple of times thankfully having picked it out just recently and now intending to buy it. Murray plays a very funny underachiever who just so happens to get involved with international intrigue, yet he thinks he is involved in a one night reality TV program. His straight side kick in the movie is Joanne Whalley playing Lori. Murray is a crack up throughout the film thinking he is in a movie and thinking that all of the spies and diplomats are actors staying in character.....he is the funniest since Groundhog Day in this. I feel he is better than 'What About Bob.' Peter Gallagher plays his brother and the funniest interaction he has is with an actual police officer where Gallagher, who funded Murray's intended movie romp, thinks he is talking with an actor and as he gets angrier he just gets funnier. The movie has a lot of funny scenes that I laughed throughout. I thought the first part of the movie was little slow in developing but as soon as he got the call for what he thought was the reality show, things really took off. I laughed and laughed as he got chased, shot at, tortured and then all through it he thinks he is in a show. If there is a movie you want to share with friends for a nice fun evening this it.

Funny, but not that Funny!:
This was an okay comedy that I caught for the first time on HBO the other day. It had it's funny moments, but they could have done so much more with interesting plot and situations that they had to use. I liked the idea of the movie and I'm a pretty big Bill Murray fan, so I was a little let down by the overall outcome. Check it out for free on T.V.

Delicious Desert for Bill Murray Fans:
This is an enjoyable, lightweight Blake Edwards-style farce that gave me plenty of belly laughs. Bill Murray is such a good comic actor that he takes what ought to be a one-joke pastiche and milks it for every last drop of comedy. I've seen bumbling detectives and secret agent spoofs before, but Murray turns this into something special. I wouldn't rate it as highly as "Ghostbusters" or "Groundhog Day" but "The Man Who Knew Too Little" is enough of an overlooked gem for me to recommend it.