Starring Bill Murray, Joanne Whalley, Alfred Molina, Peter Gallagher, Geraldine James, Dexter Fletcher

(7-Very Good Film)

Clever. Amusing. Likable.

American, Wallace Ritchie (Murray), loves movies and always secretly hoped to be an actor someday. Dropping in unannounced on his brother, James (Gallagher), in England, at an especially bad time, Wallace has nothing to do his first night overseas, and it’s his birthday. James pays for him to enjoy a new program called “Theater of Life,” an improv acting experience that throws paying customers in to seemingly real life situations. A mix-up occurs and Wallace switches places with a hitman, leading him into an elaborate espionage plot while he still believes it all to be improvised acting. Considered too light and frivolous by some, I think The Man Who Knew Too Little is great fun and consistently clever. It might help to see some of the classic spy thrillers being spoofed like The 39 Steps or The Man Who Knew Too Much.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

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