Meatballs

Director: Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman

Overview

A director at a youth summer camp (Bill Murray) tries to inject a little fun into the lives of his oddball campers in this 1979 comedy. The kids unite to take on a snobby neighboring camp in a sports competition.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/12/2012
UPC:	0031398149309
Original Release:	1979
Rating:	PG
Source:	LIONS GATE
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00

Special Features

Closed Caption; ; Audio Commentary with Director Ivan Reitman and Co-Writer/Producer Dan Goldberg; Trailer Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Murray	Tripper
Harvey Atkin	Morty
Kate Lynch	Roxanne
Russ Banham	Crockett
Ron Barry	Lance
Jack Blum	Spaz
Matt Craven	Hardware
Kristine DeBell	A.L.
Norma Dell'Agnese	Brenda
Cindy Girling	Wendy
Todd Hoffman	Wheels
Keith Knight	Fink
Margot Pinvidic	Jackie
Paul Boyle	Ace
Alison Diver	Carla
Valerie Fersht	Liza
Vince Guerriero	Rhino
Patrick Hynes	Andrew
Hadley Kay	Bradley
Billie Kishonti	Jeffrey
Allan Levson	Peter DeWitt
Chris Makepeace	Rudy
James McLarty	Horse
Heather Preece	Patti
Ruth Rennie	Jodi
Sarah Torgov	Candace
Michael Kirby	Eddy
Greg Swangon	Phil
Peter Hume	The Stomach
Larry Solway	Interviewer
Elmer Bernstein	Composer

Technical Credits

Dan Goldberg

Janis Allen

Len Blum

John Dunning	Executive Producer
Dan Goldberg	Producer,Screenwriter
Andre Link	Executive Producer
Ivan Reitman	Director
Gary Bourgeois	Sound/Sound Designer
Richard Lightstone	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Janis Allen	Screenwriter
Len Blum	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The first of Bill Murray's cinematic comedy hits in the wake of his stint on TV's Saturday Night Live, Meatballs is a silly, enjoyable romp set at a low-cost summer camp. Murray stars as the camp's head counselor, a quack whose immature, screwball sense of humor hides a good-natured veneer when he befriends a depressed 11-year-old (My Bodyguard's Chris Makepeace). Other characters, played primarily by an unknown Canadian cast, include camp chief Morty (Harvey Atkin), Murray's love interest Roxanne (Kate Lynch), the ultra-nerd Spaz (Jack Blum), and his hefty pal Fink (Keith Knight). All figure into the film's funniest scenes including Spaz's seemingly hopeless efforts to find a girlfriend and Fink's repulsive but hilarious appearance in a hot dog-eating contest. However, it's Murray who really ignites the picture, whether he's doing wacky camp announcements, telling a campfire story about a hook-handed killer, or inspiring his overmatched troops with his chant of "It just doesn't matter" in a scene that recalls John Belushi's rant for revenge in National Lampoon's Animal House. The slim plot finds Murray's Camp Northstar pitted against the rich kids at nearby Camp Mohawk in the annual summer games. Naturally, the underdogs make a valiant comeback that is all for naught if Makepeace's Rudy can't win a four-mile run. Directed by Ivan Reitman, who later helmed Stripes and Ghostbusters, Meatballs actually retains a degree of sweetness and innocence that sets it apart from the raunchier comedies of its era, including Caddyshack (which co-starred Murray) and the Reitman-produced Animal House.