Meatballs (1979)

Great Memories of the '70's

The story of a summer camp and it's head counselor played by Bill Murray. Some really funny scenes regarding the camp director, they all call him Mickey, his name is Morty.

But the best part of all is that "It just doesn't matter " speech that Bill Murray improvises before the big contest between Murray's camp and the rich kids camp down the road. It's a moment on film when you could see the mind that developed his great characters on SNL.

I was in college and the University of Wisconsin was not having the best football seasons. WE often cheered " It JUST DOESN'T MATTER, IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER" between body passing and the band flashing out on the field.

Great movie and a lovely love song "Moondust by Terry Black" . Even if you hate this type of movie, watch it just to listen to this song. It's worth it.

Plus who doesn't like a movie about kids and camp....... June 17, 2008

Shenanigans at summer camp???

This is easily the best of the summer camp movies. In fact, few of the others are even fair, let alone anywhere near as entertaining as this one is.

The film is just simply out to have some good, clean, fun. Many people who went to summer camp as kids will see that it is presented here faithfully to the way it usually was, but with slapstick comedy mixed in. Bill Murray, as the chief counselor of the camp, Tripper, leads a fine ensemble cast, and is usually at the center of the riotous nonsense. Tripper has great one-liners throughout, usually broadcasting his jokes as pseudo-announcements over the camp's public-address system.

Several great supporting actors played the campers and counselors to build a myriad of fun and interesting subplots, all the while sprinkled amongst the many incidents of camp hi-jinx. Spaz (Jack Blum) and Fink (Keith Knight) were two characters particularly well done. The adventures (and misadventures) of these two are hilarious. Each has classic lines, and they are characters you like and root for. Look for Spaz in the scene of disco dance pandemonium.

The girls in the story are realistic characters, too. They're not dumb, naive, freakish, oversexed, nervy, or any of the other overused, abominable teen character stereotypes. Kristine Bell, Kate Lynch, Cindy Girling, and others make these characters believable.

The requisite pranks abound, usually at the expense of camp director Morty (Harvey Atkin). The nature of these pranks start at outrageous and progress from there. However, with all the silliness going on, Tripper and the others have their serious sides. For example, Tripper befriends a shy, lonely kid, Rudy(Chris Makepeace), and takes him under his wing.

The story culminates with a sports competition against a rival camp. It's a great "root for the underdogs" finale. When the chips are down, Tripper's motivational "It just doesn't matter" spiel is inspired, and one of the best moments in the movie. And get ready to root: "Spaz. Spaz! Spaz!!!" And if you don't like it, you can get the Fu@k out... April 13, 2008

A true coming-of-age movie!

When I first saw this movie years ago, I used to work as an usher in the theatre it was playing in! I enjoyed it back then, and I still enjoy it now. Bill Murray and the supporting cast members are excellent. It is truly a funny, sensitive, and heart-warming movie. February 8, 2008

Good transfer with original music

A must have for all fans of summer camp. The extras are great! Finding out about the cast and where they are today is priceless. This DVD edition is so much better than the HBO version put out in 1999. This special edition features the original music just like it was on the laserdisc. The remastering is good and well worth the price. However, this edition does lack the original theatrical trailer which was featured on the HBO DVD, and some other minor things, so be sure to keep both copies if you want all the extras. Enjoy and get ready for the summer! October 16, 2007

sweet trip down memory lane, makes you yearn for summer camp

I recently had the opportunity to see this film again after 25 years. While I can't say that the film has aged as well as Caddyshack or Stripes, it does bring back some great memories of summer camp and the oddball characters I remember from those years. Yeah, it's fluff, but still brings back great memories of the late seventies when films could get away with being somewhat light in the plot. I don't know that I would recommend buying the DVD, but I can say it was a lot of fun to re-visit Tripper, Morty and Spaz and Rudy.
As a postscript, I should say that I was sad to learn that Keith Knight, the actor who played Fink in the film, recently died of brain cancer in August 2007. RIP Keith - we'll always remember you as someone who gave us a great time in this film. September 15, 2007

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