Quick Change
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- For the magic trick, see Quick-change.
| Quick Change | |
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 Quick Change movie poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Franklin Bill Murray |
| Produced by | Bill Murray Robert Greenhut |
| Written by | Howard Franklin Jay Cronley (book) |
| Starring | Bill Murray Geena Davis Randy Quaid Jason Robards Tony Shalhoub Philip Bosco |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Cinematography | Michael Chapman |
| Editing by | Alan Heim |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | July 13, 1990 |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Quick Change is a 1990 comedy film starring Bill Murray, who also co-directed with the film's screenwriter Howard Franklin. Geena Davis, Randy Quaid, and Jason Robards co-star. Other cast members include Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Phil Hartman, Victor Argo, Kurtwood Smith, Bob Elliott, and Philip Bosco. It is based on a book of the same name by Jay Cronley. Quick Change is a remake of the 1985 film Hold Up, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Kim Cattrall.
The film is set in New York City, particularly in Manhattan and Queens, with scenes taking place on the New York City Subway and within John F. Kennedy International Airport. Times Square, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty are also briefly seen.
Quick Change remains the only directorial credit of Bill Murray's career.
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[edit] Plot
The movie opens with Grimm (Murray), dressed as a clown, robbing a bank in Midtown Manhattan by ingeniously setting up a hostage situation and slipping away with an enormous sum of money and his accomplices; girlfriend Phyllis (Davis) and best friend Loomis (Quaid). However, whilst the heist itself is comparatively straightforward and easy, the getaway turns into a nightmare; the relatively simple act of getting to the airport to catch a flight out of the city is complicated by the fact that fate, luck and all of New York City appears to be against their escape. Roadworks obscure the roads to the airport, resulting in the three robbers being lost in an unfamiliar part of the city. Then, a con-artist/thief robs the trio of everything they have (except, ironically, the bank money, which they have taped under their clothes). When changing their clothes, they are almost gunned down by the stressed incoming tenant of Grimm's apartment (Phil Hartman), as members of the fire department responding to a call try to push their hydrant-blocking car out of the way only to make it roll away into a ditch; when the trio eventually manages to flag down a cab, the driver (Shalhoub) is revealed to be hopelessly non-fluent in English. An anal-retentive bus driver (Bosco), a run-in with some mobsters and Phyllis' increasing desperation to tell Grimm the news that she is pregnant with his child add further complications. And all the while Rotzinger, the world-weary but relentless chief of the New York City Police Department (Robards), is doggedly but fruitlessly attempting to nab the trio. A final confrontation onboard a jumbo jet at the airport allows the robbers to escape, but the chief gets the consolation prize of having a major crime-boss (Smith) dropped in his lap.
[edit] Critical reaction
This little-known film features what many critics claim is one of Murray's finest performances: a jaded man who has just had too much of The Big Apple. The film also features strong performance by the supporting cast, particularly Robards as the cop, who, while almost as burned out as Murray, is still determined to capture the robbers as a swan song to finish his long career.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
Bank Guard: "So I says to him, 'Are you gonna behave?' And from out of nowhere comes this knife. I think it was a bowie knife, and I hate knives....Then I said, 'It's all over, Chuckles,' and wrassled him to the floor, but he got some gal in his sights and I had to let up. That's when he coldcocked me.”
Chief Rotzinger: "Robbers plural?"
Bank Guard:"They all cold-cocked me!"
Street Barker: "Nude women! Nude women!"
[Grimm dressed as a clown walks by]
Street Barker: "Clowns Welcome! Clowns welcome!"
