The Man Who Knew Too Little . Newcity Chicago . 11-17-97

The Man Who Knew Too Little

DIRECTED BY: Jon Amiel

REVIEWED: 11-17-97

Bill Murray has had a stake in some of the higher-caliber screwball concoctions out there -- pictures like "Ghostbusters" and "Groundhog Day" managed to be silly yet intelligent. This one's just silly. In a nod to the movie's ultimate destiny as a video rental, Murray plays a Blockbuster clerk from Des Moines. He shows up in London for a surprise visit to his snooty banker brother (raven-eyebrowed Peter Gallagher), who quickly shuffles him off to an interactive murder-mystery "experience." An easy mix-up makes him the unwitting center of some real spy intrigue, and therein lies the premise that propels a hearty dose of secret-agent gags and mod suspense music. Thinking it's all just play, unflappable Bill foils assassins and defuses the time-bomb, but the logic to the conspiracy is unclear. If someone had cared enough to thread a plot through the Defense Minister, the packet of letters, and the French maid's outfit, it could have been a slightly better movie, one that aspired to the heights of, say, "The Man With One Red Shoe." Joanne Whalley is on hand as a haggard stand-in for what could have been Liz Hurley.

--Ellen Fox

Full Length Reviews
The Man Who Knew Too Little
The Man Who Knew Too Little

Capsule Reviews
The Man Who Knew Too Little

Other Films by Jon Amiel
The Singing Detective (tv)

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