| | | Are You Ready for the Summer?
Features: Special Edition, DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Hi-fi Stereo, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
Set at a low-end summer camp and aimed squarely at a teen audience, Meatballs is a light screwball comedy that turned its low-budget Canadian roots into a very profitable box-office run. The biggest reason for the film''s success is Bill Murray who stars as Tripper, the head counselor who runs things at Camp Northstar with the help of his love interest Roxanne (Kate Lynch) and the camp''s director Morty (Harvey Atkins), who is affectionately known as Mickey. Camp opens with Tripper and Morty preparing the misfit counselors-in-training. After settling in, kids and counselors begin their activities with a soccer game in which depressed 11-year-old Rudy (Chris Makepeace) accidentally loses the game. Cast out by the other children, Rudy runs away only to come across Tripper, who befriends the boy and makes him his running partner. Romance, sexy fun, and comic hijinx lead up to an annual Olympiad in which Camp Northstar battles the wealthier and athletically superior residents of Camp Mohawk. A classic!
"Murray is funny, as always." Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
"...one of Murray's finest. His creativity really shines here." Almost Fabulous Movie Reviews
"I wish my summer camp counselors had been as cool, fun, or exciting as Tripper Harrison." Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
"It's a classic..." Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
"Murray in fine form..." Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Editor's Note
Bill Murray stars as Tripper, the nutty leader (and trainer) of a motley crew of camp counselors. But Tripper proves to be more than just a wild and wacky leader, as he takes a special interest in Rudy, an insecure camper. Thought for the day: "It Just Doesn't Matter!" Directed by Ivan Reitman, who went on to helm such hits as TWINS and GHOSTBUSTERS.
| Features | Audio Commentary With Ivan Reitman & Writer/Producer Daniel Goldberg | | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 3/25/2008 |
| Running Time: 94 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1979 | | Catalog ID: 14362 | | UPC: 00043396143623 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Entertainment Weekly
"[A] summer-camp classic." -- Grade: B 06/08/2007 p.69Variety 8 of 10
"It's difficult to come up with a more cliche situation for a summer pic than a summer camp, where all the characters and plot turns are readily imaginable. That makes director Ivan Reitman's accomplishment all the more noteworthy...Bill Murray limns a head counselor in charge of a group of misfit counselors-in-training. The usual types predominate: the myopic klutz, the obese kid who wins the pig-out contest, the smooth-talking lothario, and a bevy of comely lasses...Scripters have managed to gloss over the stereotypes and come up with a smooth-running narrative that makes the camp hijinks part of an overall human mosaic. No one is unduly belittled or mocked, and Meatballs is without the usual grossness and cynicism of many contempo comedy pix."
Mutant Reviewers From Hell 9 of 10
"Meatballs was the breakout smash for Murray, who played lead counselor Tripper. Tripper is the voice of leadership and temporary insanity that sets the standard for an offbeat summer camp. He rips up the camp rules, broadcasts crazy PSAs over the loudspeakers, and chases the female counselors with reckless abandon. In what would become typical Murray fashion, Tripper utters outrageous one-liners with deadpan certainty. I am sure that Meatballs sans Murray would have ended up another boring ""nutty people do nutty things"" film, but not only does Murray make this an exceptionally funny flick...It's not pure laughs. There are scenes where you will say, ""What were people in the seventies thinking?"" Murray doesn't have enough bad guys to properly display his sarcastic wit. But Meatballs ends up being a funny romp through the trials and tribulations of summer camp anyhow, and I can't bash it for trying."
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