The Man Who Knew Too Little movie review

May 10, 2010 - #15/100
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

Wallace "Wally" Ritchie (Bill Murray) is an American who travels to England to visit his brother James "Jimmy" Ritchie (Peter Gallagher). The visit is a surprise, and James had already planned an important dinner that night. Therefore, he decides to find something to keep his brother Wally occupied in order to keep him from ruining the evening. In England, there is currently a thing called "Theater of Life," which promises to treat the participant as a character in a crime drama. So, James decides to pay enough money for Wally to be a participant. But, something goes wrong and he ends up being involved in an actual plot to kill Russian dignitaries on the eve of the signing of an important peace agreement. Throughout the entire plot, Wally believes that it is the "Theater of Life" instead of reality. Therefore, he thinks that it's all an act. Bill Murray manages to be subtly funny, as always. His acting kept me entertained throughout the movie. But, I was a bit confused at times. For me, the most confusing part was near the beginning of the movie. It took a while for me to realize exactly what was going on. Perhaps if I watched it again, I would pick up on more major plot points. Overall, it was amusing, but it's the type of movie that you have to pay close attention to in order to even attempt to understand the plot. If you miss a few minutes of it, then you will be completely lost.

I gave this movie 7/10 stars on imdb.com.