Almost a year ago I overheard an anecdote being told about how the comedian slash actor Bill Murray has the habit of ‘just appearing’ during random, non-Bill-Murray-related, events. Those words stuck with me, ‘then Bill Murray appears…’. I imagined his dead-pan expression as if it wasn’t anything remarkable, and for him it isn’t, but he would purposefully go to places to stir a fuss, to fuck with people’s minds, and that is brilliant. Life as a game of sorts, to escape the lull of the same old, subverting the repetitive streak of existence, almost Groundhog day-esque if you will.
This is totally in line with some of the characters that he portrays from a holy goof to older gentleman trying to escape his rut.
The lines between reality and fiction are blurred and in the foggy light of day I question how much is his character, the fictitious Bill Murray persona and the real William James Murray. Is there even such a thing as a difference? Aren’t we all just fragments – sometimes contradictory – playing particular roles at particular times?
What in the following clip is Bill Murray and what is scripted? And does it matter?
The Bill Murray mania has extended and there now exists Thrill Murray: A Coloring Book inspired by Bill Murray.
The Cult of Murray isn’t complete with my own list of favourite Bill Murray films*, so in no particular order whatsoever : Broken Flowers (2005), Meatballs (1979) , Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), Where the Buffalo Roam (1980), Lost in Translation (2003) and any Wes Anderson (1998-2012) film [you all already know my love for WA's work]
*P.S. I know I should include Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day in this list and will get a lot of slag for not doing so, to all these people is say: there is a P.S. mentioning these films. To all the others: I love it that you are all so kind. As any list of favorites in my opinion shouldn’t be a rehashing of the top 10 on IMDb, those films go without saying.
