Quick Change (1990)

[5]

Bill Murray stars in and co-directs (with screenwriter Howard Franklin) this comedy of errors about a trio of bank robbers who successfully pull off a heist, only to find themselves utterly jinxed in their escape from New York City. Geena Davis and Randy Quaid co-star as Murray’s co-conspirators, with Jason Robards playing the retiring police chief hot on their tails. Quick Change isn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy, but Murray creates a handful of subdued, sardonic chuckles. Highlights include the opening heist sequence, in which Murray holds up the bank in a clown costume, and a middle-act near-capture involving not just the police, but the mob as well. The film might leave a more lasting impression if the romance between Murray and Davis’ characters were more genuine (he had better chemistry with Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters), and if Quaid’s one-note paranoid character didn’t begin to grate on the nerves. Cameo performances come courtesy of Tony Shalhoub, Stanley Tucci, Kurtwood Smith, and Saturday Night Live‘s Phil Hartman. There’s so much talent in Quick Change, one wishes it were a funnier movie. But at least its enough to make it watchable.