Stripes | Is This Really a Comedy Classic?

This week on Forgotten Cinema, we’re heading back to basic training with Stripes (1981), the early-80s comedy starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, directed by Ivan Reitman. It’s a film often remembered for its quotable moments, iconic cast, and easygoing charm, but depending on which of us you ask, that charm either carries the movie…or falls flat on its face.

Stripes | One Mike’s Gem, Another Mike’s Grimace

Butler has always had a soft spot for Stripes. For him, the comedy works, especially in the first half. It’s loose, goofy, full of great bits, and showcases Bill Murray and Harold Ramis figuring out the comedic alchemy they’d perfect just a few years later in Ghostbusters. Sure, the film completely derails in the third act (we’re talking Winnebago tank, secret mission behind Soviet lines level of derailment), but Butler still finds it fun and endlessly rewatchable.

Field…does not. While he’s quick to clarify that he doesn’t hate the movie, he also doesn’t like the characters, the jokes, the story, or much of its comedic DNA. For him, Stripes feels like a relic, an early sketch of the much better movies this team would go on to make.

A Proto-Ghostbusters | For Better or Worse

One thing we both agree on: Stripes feels like a blueprint. The chemistry between Murray, Ramis, and Reitman is unmistakable, even if the script never fully shapes itself into something cohesive. You can see the seeds of future greatness here, deadpan delivery, absurd setups, world-weary sarcasm, but they don’t quite bloom.

Still, there’s something undeniably interesting about watching these comedy legends find their rhythm. Even if the movie swerves wildly in tone and structure, it has that unmistakable early-80s charm that keeps it firmly rooted in its era, for better or worse.

🎧 Watch (or listen) to the full breakdown on Forgotten Cinema, available wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.

So what is Stripes, really? An early comedy gem that deserves its fans or a rough draft of the brilliance to come? In true Forgotten Cinema fashion, we tackle it one laugh (and one grimace) at a time.

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