Meatballs (1979)

Director: Ivan Reitman

Starring: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham, Chris Makepeace, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov, Jack Blum, Keith Knight

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Are You Ready For The Summer?

Plot: Bill Murray is at his hilarious best in this classic comedy that's 'Animal House goes to summer camp' - (Newsweek). Murray plays Tripper, the wisecracking, rule-bending head counselor at Camp North Star. Whether playing pranks on Camp North Star's clueless director, wooing a female counselor, or scheming against the rich brats of a rival camp, Tripper delivers fun and mayhem in a laugh-filled summer his campers will remember forever!

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yup.

Man, this one takes me back.  I loved this movie as a kid and it's been over twenty years, I suspect, since I last saw it.  I'm glad it still holds up well.  Bill Murray's the draw, of course, and he does his schtick (that's what we wanted from him back then) but he also injects a lot of heart into his performance.  The relationship between Tripper (Murray) and Rudy (Chris Makepeace) really hits home with me for some reason.  Their story is very nicely handled and sweet.  I recently saw THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013) at Sundance and the relationship between Sam Rockwell's character and Liam James' character shared a similar vibe, something I hadn't gotten since MEATBALLS.  I really dig this flick.  Nostalgia might play a role in that but it doesn't matter.  It's a sweet, silly, raunchy comedy that plays to me like few movies can.