QUICK CHANGE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: The clever heist story fades into a Murphy's Law sort of getaway. Three thieves find out just how unfriendly New York City can be. There are several well-defined characters created, but unfortunately the three main characters are not them. Rating: +1.
There are really two stories to QUICK CHANGE. The first story is about twenty minutes long and is the story of "The Bank Robbery." The second story is the story of "The Getaway." The idea behind the robbery is clever. It is done in a way that has not been done in heist films before it. I figured the gimmick out in advance, but I am told that puts me in a minority. Word-of-mouth indicates that many viewers are taken by surprise by the gimmick of the robbery. The Getaway is also well done but in a very different vein. All the clockwork planning falls apart as three partners in crime try to get from a New York bank to JFK airport. Here no new ground is broken. Several films have been made about what a hostile and frustrating place New York City is. Notable examples are THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS and AFTER HOURS. QUICK CHANGE is slightly lower key and more believable than those films, but it too is a compendium of the irritating frustrations and rude people in New York City, woven together by a connecting story. The attempts to get to the airport become more frantic as more and more obstacles fall into the intrepid gang's way.
Bill Murray co-produced, co-directed, and co-starred. Howard Franklin co-directed as well as wrote the screenplay based on a book by Jay Cronley. Murray plays the absurdly laid-back Grimm. Murray sacrifices much of the absurd gamut of frustrations by maintaining an even keel throughout. As a counterpoint, Randy Quaid plays Loomis, who constantly walks the narrow line between panic and hysteria. Of the three thieves, the only character who has any depth is Geena Davis's Phyllis, who is re-evaluating her future while they fights their way to the airport, pursued by the slightly too intuitive Chief Rotzinger (played by Jason Robards, Jr.).
QUICK CHANGE does have a few belly laughs, but it is not trying constantly to be uproarious as so many current comedies are. More often it contents itself with being whimsical and sly. This approach would normally require a much better definition of the three main characters than Franklin was able to provide, but ironically it is not the main characters he develops. Instead he develops the minor characters and then lets them upstage the stars, We better understand a bank guard (played by Bob Elliot of the Bob and Ray team) than we do either if the two male leads. The audience has less sympathy and interest invested in them than in a cabbie who speaks and understands no recognizable language. An officious bus driver (played by Philip Bosco) is as well developed as Randy Quaid's character with far less screen time. By blurring the foreground characters and focusing on the background, New York City becomes the real main character of the film until the script falters near the end and Murray once again reclaims the audience's attention. I rate the film a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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