Bill Murray’s ability to convey hilarity through facial expressions is unprecedented, his knack for timing is uncanny, the ease in which he rifles off skewering darts poisoned with abnormal amounts of sarcasm is unparalleled. And then… there are his improvisational skills.
Improvisation, or ad-libbing, is a device that has been used since the dawn of cinema. Contemporary comedic talents like Paul Rudd, Melissa McCarthy, Will Ferrell, and more, have used the mechanism to great effect. But — except for maybe Robin Williams — has anyone conveyed such a knack for brilliantly going off-script than Murray? It’s a tough argument, and I’m sure everyone has their favorites, but I’m sticking with Bill F-ing Murray.
Ghostbusters is a film that perfectly illustrates Murray’s use of improvisation. Almost ALL of his lines in the original film were ad-libbed, which is quite a feat considering the sharpness of his delivery. With the special anniversary Blu-ray hitting tomorrow, here’s a dose of the best of Bill Murray’s ad-libs from Ghostbusters…
“Nobody steps on a church in my town!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg3UVFfZW7E
A well-leveled threat against a giant marshmallow monster.
“Let’s show this prehistoric b*tch how we do things downtown.”
“It’s Millah time,” makes me laugh every time, but I’d say just about all of his dialogue from that scene is hilarious.
“Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria.”
Not so sure about that second one.
“Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back.”
The Dr. Venkman Positivity Podcast would be better than 2/3 of the new age crap on iTunes.
“Yes, it’s true. This man has no d*ck.”
Classic follow-up: “Well, that’s what I heard!”
“Sounds like you’ve got at least two people in there already.”
Even paranormal chicks can’t resist the charms of Mr. Murray.
“We’ve been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft’s okay! He’s a sailor, he’s in New York; we get this guy laid, we won’t have any trouble!”
Considering Stay Puft has no pants on, he might have already been on the “walk of shame” back to his Manhattan apartment.
“Back off man, I’m a scientist.”
Only Bill Murray can make such an improper question so comical.
“What a lovely singing voice you must have.”
Pillow talk never sounded so sweet.
“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!”
A slimy and jubilant Bill Murray is an awesome Bill Murray. Please Bill Murray, at least make a cameo in Ghostbusters 3 and grace us with one of your legendary quips.
