The Thing Quentin Tarantino Hates About Bill Murray Comedies

Quentin Tarantino loves bastards, inglorious or otherwise. And the worst thing a movie can do, in his opinion, is redeem those a-holes.

“If you make a movie about a fucking bastard, you could bet that fucking bastard would see the error of their ways and be redeemed in the last 20 minutes,” Tarantino writes in his book of essays, Cinema Speculation. “Like, for example, all of Bill Murray’s characters.” 

Whoa — what did Murray’s cinematic smart-asses do to catch the back of Tarantino’s hand? 

The same thing countless other comedy characters have done throughout movie history: Start out irresponsible and reckless, then learn a few lessons over the course of the story to become a better person.

Tarantino would prefer Murray’s characters to stay Murray-ish. “How does Murray in Stripes go from being an iconoclastic pain in the ass, who deserves to get beat up by Drill Sergeant Warren Oates, to rallying the troops (That’s the fact, Jack!) and masterminding a covert mission on foreign soil?” the Pulp Fiction director wondered. “And Stripes was one of the hip movies.”

Whether or not you agree with Tarantino, the redemption arc does seem to act as the spine of Murray’s most successful comedies. For example:

• Meatballs: Irresponsible camp counselor Tripper Harrison grows up and finds love once he discovers his inner big brother and helps camper Rudy.
• Stripes: Irresponsible cab driver John Winger grows up and finds love once he discovers his inner leadership skills and inspires his troop to victory.
• Ghostbusters: Irresponsible paranormal charlatan Peter Venkman grows up and finds love once he gets serious about saving New York City from a demonic threat.
• Groundhog Day: Irresponsible TV weatherman Phil Connors grows up and finds love once he is forced to relive a single day over and over until he learns that selfless acts make life worth living.  
• Scrooged: Irresponsible television executive Frank Cross grows up and finds love once he stops looking out for his financial self-interests and learns to put a little love in his heart. 

It’s only when Murray get to play oddballs on the edges of a comedy — Carl the Groundskeeper in Caddyshack or sleazy lawyer Kenneth Bowden in Wild Things — that he’s allowed to remain deranged from start to finish. 

Give Tarantino more of that. “I’ve always rejected the idea that Bill Murray’s characters needed redemption,” he argued. “Yeah, maybe he charmed Andie MacDowell (in Groundhog Day), but does anybody think a less sarcastic Bill Murray is a better Bill Murray?”