Movie Reviews

Stripes Movie Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)

Actors: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Warren Oates, John Candy, P.J. Soles, Sean Young, Judge Reinhold, John Larroquette, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Timothy Busf

Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Stripes

A group of misfit soldiers struggle to make it through boot camp. After finally completing basic training, the unit is assigned to a base near Russia.

The two men who are the biggest troublemakers steal an experimental military vehicle disguised as an RV. They take their girlfriends, two MPs, on a road trip.

Their commanding officer, not wanting his senior officers to find out about the theft, decides to take the unit and go after the two men. However, due to some incompetence on the navigator's part, they end up in Russia, behind enemy lines. They're captured and held prisoner.

The two troublemakers hear about the capture over the radio. They decide to rescue their unit. Using the disguise of the vehicle and some quick wit, they're able to infiltrate the Russian base.

The vehicle lives up to it's full military potential. The troublemakers rescue their unit and are heralded as heroes for the daring rescue.
--Brandon Swenson, Resident Scholar

This is an off beat comedy about two down-on-their-luck guys who decide to give the army a chance at making them better men. John Winger (Murray) and Russell Zilsky (Ramis) give up their going nowhere careers as a cabbie and an ESOL teacher to enlist in the Armed Forces thinking it will be filled with fun and adventure. What they find is Sgt. Hulka (Oates), a grizzled, no nonsense drill sergeant and that Army life is really hard work and tough rules. They do meet two sexy MP's; Stella (Soles) and Louise (Young). Basic training is killing the guys and Winger wants out. When he tries to go AWOL Russell wrestles him down before being picked up by Stella and Louise and escorted back to the barracks.

Things go so badly during training that Sgt. Hulka is injured in a mortar accident and the guys are left to finish training themselves. They go out on the town barhopping and get embroiled in a rigged mud-wrestling match, where Dewey “Ox” Oxenberger (Candy) wrestles the whole female staff, leaving them topless. Saved again by Stella and Louise, the foursome stop off at General Barnicke's house because Winger says, “he owes me money.” Finally, the guys score with the pretty MP's. The next morning is their graduation and review for which they are not prepared. Winger takes them to an empty hangar to practice but they fall asleep and are late to the parade grounds. Once there they do a fancy drill routine, impressing the General, and are assigned to a top-secret project in Germany much to the chagrin of Captain Stillman (Larroquette).

The guys treat it as one big lark until they find out that the platoon has been captured in East Germany while out looking for them and the vehicle they have commandeered for the weekend; the super secret urban assault vehicle. They finagle their way past dopey Russian border guards (Flaherty) and end up at a prison camp where their friends are being held and tortured. Sgt. Hulka has made his way there too. They are able to fight their way out. The Army heaps praise and promotions on all but Cpt. Stillman.

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

--David Fletcher, Resident Scholar

Analysis of Stripes

Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here).

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily Yes
Time/era of movie: - 1980's-1999
If a parody... of - war movies
How much humor v. drama - Nearly all humor

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - infantry soldier - unemployed
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric: Yes - deluded - wild
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - brunette (Brown)
Hair type - (man) short/standard straight - (man) short/standard wavey
Body type - (man) average
Events of movie makes character more... - happy
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
Dumb? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Dumb
Physique - average physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair style - (man) short/standard straight - (man) short/standard curly
Body type - (man) average build
How much in movie? - 80% - 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization - general circumstances
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 90%-100%

Setting
United States Yes
Asia/Pacific/Middle East Yes
Asian country: - Russia
Misc setting - fort/military installation

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex/nudity in movie? Yes
What kind of sex: - kissing - seeing breasts - sex under blankets
Any profanity? - Occasional swearing

Most similar reviews by Gordonator ranking
Hot Shots starring Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Kevin Dunn, Lloyd Bridges
Sergeant Bilko starring Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman
Major Payne starring Damon Wayans
Hot Shots: Part Deux starring Charlie Sheen, Richard Crenna, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino
In the Army Now starring Pauley Shore, David Allan Grier, Andy Dick, Lori Petty

Stripes Message Board (click here)
Movie talk: favorite scenes, what to buy, favorite online
posters, movies for sale on dvd v. rentals.

Search for another movie

Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:

David Fletcher

SCHOLARS: Brandon Swenson

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Click here to bribe
your congressman

Use our site!
Feedback
About us

Most recent discussions:

General Movie Talk
Dating Advice
Blade Runner
Smokey and the Bandit
Was Harrison Ford on Tranquilizers or an Actor's Strike When Filming Blade Runner?
Clash of the Titans
Bye Bye Birdie
No Good Deed
The 13th Warrior
A Boy and His Dog
Boomerang
Alien Hunter