The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
Genre: Comedy / Thriller
Duration: 94 minuten
Country:
United States / Germany
Directed by: Jon Amiel
Stars: Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher and Joanne Whalley
IMDb score:
6,6 (36.879)
Releasedate: 14 November 1997
The Man Who Knew Too Little plot
"He’s on a mission so secret, even he doesn’t know about it."
The very naive American video rental company Wallace Ritchie ends up in the interactive theater performance 'Theatre of Life' in London. The instructions he receives by telephone are actually intended for a cold-blooded assassin. For example, Wallace becomes involved in a high game between defense ministers, call girls and Russian assassins. And all the while, Wallace thinks everything was staged by the theater company.
Actors and actresses
Wallace Ritchie
James Ritchie
Lori
Boris
Daggenhurst
Embleton
Hawkins
Ludmilla Kropotkin
Barbara Ritchie
Sergei
Reviews & comments
Hey Blondie!
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- 49 messages
- 48 votes
Saw it for the first time about ten years ago and this was the third time and once again I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Why this movie only gets 3 stars on average is beyond me.
Maybe the super nice script is not so much for people who like light comedies?
or else Murray's acting style with his ugly head, which isn't everyone's cup of tea?
Or maybe it's because I'm a Murray fan and therefore don't judge critically enough?
I'll have another look in about five years, maybe I can see 3 stars in it, but I'm afraid not.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Collins
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- 7346 messages
- 4345 votes
Given the title, you'd expect the film to be a parody of Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much. That's not the movie. The film does parody, but mainly looks at James Bond and makes funny use of recognizable situations from those films. At times Murray's bumbling also reminded me of Inspector Clouseau.
The premise is a bit far fetched, but worked out funny. By a stupid coincidence, Murray is swapped for a real cold-blooded spy and gets all kinds of hostile scum after him. The joke is that Murray thinks he is in a real-life play and surrounded by actors. A few hilarious scenes and a lot of muddled dialogue emerge from this constellation.
Bill Murray's lead role is entertaining. The other characters reflect the usual entourage in a Bond or Pink Panther film. The most creditable are Joanne Whalley as the seductive beauty and Alfred Molina as the Russian killer. The first is a nice picture. The latter is a delightfully over the top villain.
A lot of humor comes from the ambiguous dialogues between the unsuspecting Murray and his ice-cold assailants. Funny. On top of that are some slapstick-like situations that are quite fun and provide the film with action, hectic and speed.
Not all scenes are equal. Not every dialogue is equally successful. The story doesn't always go smoothly. There are also some (action) scenes that are stretched too long. However, the majority of the film provided fine comic entertainment and in my opinion you can speak of a successful comedy.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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