Welcome to episode 102. Today, we talk about Stripes!
“Two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs decide to join the army for a bit of fun.”
Join Scott, Randy, Brian and Ibbott as they paint a motor home green and make fun of dumb Russians.
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Up next week? The Expendables.
Um…guys, I don’t think Stripes was supposed to be serious look at
the military. Complaints of “far fetched” are a bit hysterical.
Thank you, Randy! When I saw this movie when I was young, the first thing I noticed was that Murray and Ramis didn’t get their hair cut.
It’s a fun movie of the 80′s if you leave all logic behind. Maybe the remake could be Harold and Kumar Join the Army.
Okay, guys, I grew up as an army brat, and let me tell you — people who join the army, especially in this era when the military was still recovering from Vietnam, were just like the characters in this movie. In fact, my father and his friends loved this movie because it was a more accurate portrayal than all those films that depict the army as a bunch of badass jarheads.
And yes, MPs do date ordinary soldiers, even privates. It’s not like they take oaths of celibacy or only date officers and NCOs, especially when they’re low-ranked themselves.
I went to basic training at Fort Knox after filming finished but before Stripes was released. The cadre often made Stripes related jokes and us recruits had no ideal what they were talking about. We just thought it was the new Army and BCT was not as intense as Jack Webb in The DI. It was a few years before Full Metal Jacket, the next classic basic training movie.
When I was a kid one winter my Mom ordered a Dominoes pizza…30 min later we hear a scuffle and thud outside. Seconds later the delivery guy leaves and we open the pizza box to find a mangled mess of cheese, crust and pepperoni from him wiping out on the ice in the driveway and just handing us the result. So I understand the pizza thing…even though pizza in the movies and on TV looks like plain Chef Boyardee straight out of the box.
Your story made me laugh
How meny TV shows did we see the winnebago in?
Fall Guy
Scearcrow & Miss King
Quick Change, yes you have to do that movie.
What happened to gods must be crazy 2 commentary?
*waves hand* Also looking forward to the Gods Must Be Crazy 2 commentary, here! I loves the commentaries.
Unfortunately neither Quick Change nor Men at Work are streaming. If anybody knows of an app or a feed that lets you request to be informed when a specific movie is streaming, I’d love to know about it.
Hate to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I too was ready for some Gods Must be Crazy 2. The first time I heard of Stripes was a day earlier on Mr. Johnson’s tweet. It almost seemed like the guys would address it on the episode when Mr. Jordan made some jokes about National Geographic Africa and Mr. Ibbott began to say, “Oh, we haven’t even addressed the issue that…” but then he just talked about Mr. Jordan’s poor voice quality.
Anyway, looking at just the years, Expendables is actually tied as your most recent film in relation to the release date. In 2009 you sacked the 2007 movie Species IV. 2009-2007=2=2012-2010. I don’t blame you for forgetting that forgettable movie, though, and I bet if we looked at specific airdates, Expendables would inch out a bit into the lead.
Scott
You mentioned their age when they enlisted and I’m not sure what the limit was in the early 80s but I know that during the 90s and aughts you could still enlist up to age 35. I think they even raised it to 40 for reserves but I’m not sure. So joining at 30 or isn’t all that far fetched.
“What happened to gods must be crazy 2 commentary?”
Bump.
The reason Hurley on Lost didn’t lose weight is that he was only on the island for about 100 days. To us, though, that was 4 seasons worth and was also the reason why Walt went missing as the actor growing up didn’t fit the timeline. Hurley gets off the island and is seen stuffing his face due to guilt of leaving people behind. He also eats a lot on the island too, actually as they find food in the hatch and there is a food drop in season 2. I thought the limited time on the island was a good reason for it
Oh, and Animal House was directed by John Landis, not Ivan Rietman.
I agree that the second half isn’t executed all that well…but you have to have the ragtag unit band together and accomplish something, don’t you? That’s what makes a subversive comedy subversive — they prove themselves competent in spite of (or because of) their refusal to buy into the dominant culture of their surroundings. Without that element, they’re just a bunch of goofballs pointlessly joking around.
His name is John Winger. It’s literal. Get it? Cause he always “wings it”.
Sheesh. “Lighten up, Frances”. You guys realize this was a comedy yes? Would you watch the Police Academy movies clucking your tongues saying “the cops aren’t really like that!”, “that would never happen!” It’s a Snobs vs. Slobs comedy (at least before they go to Czechoslovakia – It’s Czechoslovakia, it’s like goin’ to Wisconsin!). It’s not weird the Laroquette character had a superior affectation- he’s not gay (not that there’s etc.), he’s a snob.
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I agree with Brian Dunaway, I too can watch “Dude Where My Car” but only the Spanish language market version. It’s more surreal that way.
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The scene that stuck with my 13 year old self that carried to this day was not the trunk sex shot, but when Winger is spatula-ing PJ Soles on the kitchen counter. PJ Soles was a minor big-screen dream from the late 70s…”Carrie”, “Halloween”, “Rock n Roll High School” and this.
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That’s right Ibbott, “Stripes” with all it’s tropes was first. Present aaaahms and salute!
Just Re watched this movie, and have one Major question at 51:53 what are chipendale dancers doing at a Strip joint? I think that sums up this movies for it’s realism.
Randy mentioned the fact that Winger’s apartment is a “million dollar New York” apartment. There’s an ad on his cab for the Bank of Louisville, and the filming locs are in that area. Perhaps this was also set there, and not NYC, so an apt in Louisville in 1981 wasn’t such a big deal to lose. There aren’t any inserts of acutal locations in NYC. On the other hand, I think the film-makers are trying to suggest a big eastern city or Chicago, with the littered alleys and bridges and immigrants in ESL classes so…Anyway, noticed that for the 1st time in 30 years watching this movie that it wasn’t shot in NYC.
Um, I think Scott’s bio for Roberta Leighton, who played Winger’s girlfriend at the beginning, might be her character’s bio from “The Young and the Restless.”
I’m not sure, but I think she’s still ticking.
@Mickey No, Scott screwed up and gave Lois Hamilton’s bio. She played John Laroquette’s date when he went to show her the armed RV (“Where the f***’s my truck!?”).
Scott being Scott.
Stripes was definitely flawed, but still an awesome Bill Murray vehicle, and definitely worth watching if you dig Bill Murray. John Larroquette is also brilliant in his early film role. I recommend picking up the special edition with full commentary by Reitman and Dan Goldberg (writer who also worked with Reitman on Meatballs), and deleted scenes including a whole subplot where they go to South America (probably left over from the original Cheech and Chong version of the script).
Ok after the third there’s no way that would ever happen that I knew actually happen I started to take notes.
1. At 36 you can still join the military
2. There are a surprisingly large number of soldiers john candy’s size or larger who are very high ranking and in charge of important things
3. Most officers have not been a soldier and know nothing about what its like to be one, and seem incompetent when compared to even a soldier fresh out of basic training.
4. Most officers are d-bags who care nothing about the soldiers they’re in charge of, and only about themselves and their next rank
5. Stripes is closer to how the military is than any other military movie out therein
6. As an MP I can tell you that the ladies of the MP corps get around, the only part of that not believable is that women in the army are not that hot, the only time they look hot is after you’ve been in the desert for 6 months then that 2 becomes a 6 and gores right back to a 2 when you get back to the states and see real women again
7. It doesn’t matter what rank you are people will sleep with people no matter what
8. Most officers have no sense of humor, perfect example Valentine’s day in Iraq, we were winding down getting ready to leave after a 15 month deployment and I decided to keep my soldiers morale up like I do on all my deployments and dressed up as combat Cupid (I have some sweet photos if you’d like to see them) well basically all of my enlisted soldiers including and up to my first Sgt thought it was hilarious watching me run around with a shirt wrapped around me like a diaper my M-4 modified to look like a high powered rifle bow and arrow, and cardboard wings duct taped to my back, but all the officers had a shit fit, and when explaining to my Sgt that I needed to be punished, my Sgt simply kept telling them that they don’t see why I should, its soldiers being soldiers, and my shenanigans have kept morale up the whole deployment and refused to my commanders face to punish me for being happy and having fun in a bleak situation
9. After a couple months in basic when your getting borderline real soldier the drill sgts will sit down with you in a group setting and shoot the shit with you and tell personal stories, they’re supposed to he hard asses at the beginning to get you to realize you should just do what they say there’s a reason they do certain things and as a soldier you just follow orders and don’t question anything
10. They still give you those thick ass glasses in basic training, even if your vision needs a slight correction like say it 20/25 you still get the BCGs (birth control glasses as they’re lovingly referred to, cus you’re guaranteed to not have sex while wearing them)
11. Lastly I don’t know who (besides the officers) in the military is getting 8 hrs of sleep, but I can tell you its not the enlisted soldiers my average work shift in Iraq was 16 to 36 hrs so I don’t know where I can get 8 hrs of sleep every night, and we do that everyday, I did it for 36 days straight, then my “day off” I had to run down to Kuwait for a supply mission, that needed security for the convoy, so anyone who tells you the military is overpaid can go to hell cus I made 36k a yr in Iraq working harder and in a more dangerous environment than anyone in the states, and any job close to as dangerous I made pennies on the dollar they make
This deleted act makes the Cheech and Chong reference make a bit more sense… http://youtu.be/WwXLnqm4rfo
Wow, it feels more like another Bill Murray movie, “Where the Buffalo Roam” about Hunter Thompson. How did they get to going on an airdrop in Central America?!?
Hey guys, just a heads up I a former US Marine and if you were to ask any other current or former Marine they would tell you that Full Metal Jacket (at least the first half) is an accurate representation of the boot camp experience. I cant speak for the Army, Navy, or Air Force boot camps but the Marine Corps boot camp is considered to be the most grueling. Jack Webb in The D.I. is a nicer kinder version of the Marine Corps Boot Camp experience. Oh! and Stripes is exactly what Marines think of when the subject of Army Boot Camp is brought up.