"Game Comedy"
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What You Need To Know:
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is reminiscent of 1960's and 70's British comedies such as THE PINK PANTHER series. Fans of those movies will enjoy this update, complete with intrigue, comedy and international locations. Bill Murray gives a winning performance, though other funny situations involving the supporting cast would have been welcome. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is generally very moral with little foul language or violence, although it is marred by a brief, humorous sexual scene
Content:
(B, I, LL, V, S, N, A, D, M) Very light moral worldview where man unintentionally foils crime, with internationalist elements; 9 obscenities & 5 profanities; mild action violence such as threats with guns, chases, implied non-damaging torture, abduction, & helicopter explodes; brief scene of old lady whipping old man; no nudity but a few revealing costumes; alcohol use; smoking; and, stealing, terrorism & mayhem.
More Detail:
Combining a clever premise, a winning lead, lots of crazy antics, and some English stereotypes with a one-joke movie, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is a mildly amusing comedy that could have taken a lot more liberties in using a variety of humorous styles and in letting the supporting cast ham it up. The always-on Bill Murray adds zest and charm to this comedy set in Britain where he plays an American who is role-playing a secret agent entangled in some very real international terrorism.
Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) is not what you would call bright. A would-be actor, he works as a manager at Blockbuster Video in Des Moines, Iowa. On his birthday, he secretly surprises his cosmopolitan brother James by paying a visit to his home in England. James and his wife are nervous. Though happy to see Wallace, they don’t know what to do with him because they are hosting some German dignitaries for dinner. They decide to give Wallace a ticket to The Theater of Life, an interactive drama where patrons can role-play as a secret agent and defend the world against actors playing terrorists. The plot thickens when Wallace picks up a phone call to an actual terrorist, named Spencer. The voice tells Spencer to meet a call-girl named Lori at her home. Thinking his character’s name is Spencer, Wallace, in blissful ignorance, completely unhinges a sinister plot by foiling the attempts of the real terrorists.
The real terrorists want to blow-up a peace summit dinner featuring heads of state from England and Russia. Lori simply wants to exchange some incriminating “letters” about the leaders for cash and get out. As a team, Lori and “Spencer” out-run the police, inform the counter-agents that they know everything and outwit hitman, Boris the Butcher (Alfred Molina), and expert torturer, Dr. Ludmilla Kropotkin (Geraldine James). Wallace takes Lori back to his brother’s house to “hide out,” which creates an opportunity to involve James who is trying very hard to keep a dignified dinner going. In time, everyone is chasing everyone, Wallace is still ignorant of the fracas he has created, and the peace summit bomb nears explosion.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is in higher taste than the recent AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY. The former film was constantly laced with intentional sexual innuendo. This movie has a mild, if unbelievable, love story with very little sexual innuendo. Lori’s life as a prostitute is not-explored, and in Wallace, she sees a caring man. (There is a gratuitous sexual scene where Wallace walks in on an older couple and the woman is dressed in leather and cracking a whip.) THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is very reminiscent of the 1960’s and 70’s British comedies such as THE PINK PANTHER series and WHO’S KILLING ALL OF THE GREAT CHEFS OF EUROPE. Fans of those movies will enjoy this modern update, complete with intrigue, comedy and international locations.
Bill Murray is at his top form in this movie and gives a very winning performance. He is able to generate many laughs out of confusing his opponents through thinking that everything is a joke. Though the movie is earnest, other funny situations involving the supporting cast would increase the comedy. Murray has to carry the movie himself. In these times, where the event special-effects laden movie is king, this throwback comedy may get buried under the holiday rush.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE is pure entertainment. It doesn’t have any lessons to say other than the “foolish of this world can confound the wise.” It is primarily a moral movie, with one big blemish: the S & M scene between the older couple. Foul language and violence are kept to a minimum, and the thrills are mostly situational and benign. Murray fans will want to check this out, and those who are looking for a relatively safe, adult comedy will favor this over the child-oriented ROCKETMAN.
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