After the end of her engagement, actress Sadie Katz copes in
a way many of us may recognize: late night Google binges. On one of these
rambling expeditions through the Internet she discovers a mythos surrounding
Bill Murray. From all around the world, people claim to encounter him in ways
that range from the unexpected but believable (crashing a kickball game at a
public park, with a team picture afterwards as proof) to the outlandish (Murray
stealing a french fry from a man’s dinner plate, calmly telling him, “No one
will ever believe you.”). Katz, desperate for a touch of magic in her life, latches
on to these phenomena. Never mind that their appeal lies in spontaneity; in
poor imitation of an amateur sleuth, Katz means to track down a “Bill Murray
Experience” for herself, by any means available.
 |
| Sadie Katz hunts down her idol in The Bill Murray Experience |
Her initial investigation yields very little, just
biographical details like Murray’s height, age, and number of children. Armed
with knowledge of Murray’s penchant for golfing, and the tournaments he
frequents, Katz and her girlfriends venture to Pebble Beach. They dress up in
wacky outfits; Katz even buys nearly 100 balloons to hand over to her idol, all
to no avail. Local headlines announce the actor’s absence— he’s busy filming a
movie abroad. So much for research. After this letdown, what started as an
eccentric distraction from heartbreak spirals into obsession. The friends who
traveled to Pebble Beach grow tired of her antics and drift away. Her few
professional contacts with a distant connection to Murray fail to offer help.
She finally breaks through with one of Bill’s siblings, Joel
Murray, who also works in the entertainment industry. Over drinks he relates
some of the long history of his brother’s shenanigans, while falling short of
offering Katz a phone number or other way in. She comes close a second time
when friends divulge that Murray will be on set at a house just down the street
from them. This time she manages to glimpse him from afar before security
bustles her and her second clutch of balloons away.
By far the best part of The
Bill Murray Experience is a sit-down interview Katz conducts with P.J.
Soles, Murray’s co-star in Stripes.
Soles weaves several good behind-the-scenes stories, all of which live up to
the Bill Murray mythology, and expands on the glimpse of hilarious reality
given earlier by Joel. It’s a suggestion of what could have been: a documentary
actually about Bill Murray, told by the countless co-stars, friends, and
passer-by who’ve felt a touch of his comedic genius.
But this isn’t a documentary about Bill Murray; it’s a
documentary about Sadie Katz, who stands as the single greatest obstacle in the
way of enjoying The Bill Murray
Experience. Never mind that by trying to engineer the impulsive and
unpredictable she kills any magic of a run-in with Murray. From start to finish
her film comes off as an ego trip, one long indulgence of Katz’s unendearing
eccentricities. Many of her observations fail to rise above inanity—Why would
you think a golf tournament would resemble Coachella?—and only serve to keep the focus on the movie’s least
interesting subject.
Her admiration for Bill Murray practically oozes off the
screen. Rather than attempting to use that as leverage for a meeting of
personal importance, it’s disappointing that Katz didn’t instead focus that
energy into preserving the memories of those who know him best. While the myth
born of Bill Murray looms large in The
Bill Murray Experience, we remain trapped in the tedious reality of a
single fan.
RATING: ½ Star
No comments:
Post a Comment