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The Rewatchables ·

Stripes

year 1981decade 80sdirector Ivan Reitmangenre Comedygenre War
host Bill Simmonshost Brian Koppelman format 40th Anniversary
All 18 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 25:41

The recruit introductions

Bill Simmons: The first twelve minutes establish John as a likable loser through the shoeshine, parking ticket, cab fare, repossession, upside-down pizza, and breakup.

Bill Simmons: The apartment visit is praised for indoor basketball, the five bishops, and the ease of the central friendship.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 1:11:10

Wisconsin

Brian Koppelman: The rapid list includes the furs answer, Eisenhower greeting, unusual-underwear speech, acorn speech, officer-material line, and depression line.

The film

Stripes (1981)

Directed by Ivan Reitman · Comedy

106 minutes

IMDb Find on JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

24:45

Roger Ebert's review
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:24:45Read transcript
  • The stated score is three and a half stars. — Bill Simmons
  • The quoted review calls the film anarchic, irrelevant, reckless, undisciplined, occasionally scatological, and a lot of fun. — Bill Simmons
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25:41

Most Rewatchable Scene

The recruit introductions

The recruit introductions

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:41Read transcript
  • The first twelve minutes establish John as a likable loser through the shoeshine, parking ticket, cab fare, repossession, upside-down pizza, and breakup. — Bill Simmons
  • The apartment visit is praised for indoor basketball, the five bishops, and the ease of the central friendship. — Bill Simmons
  • The recruit-introduction scene wins for Cruiser, Psycho, Ox, Francis, Lee Harvey, the big-toe speech, and Murray’s escalating improvisational energy. — Bill Simmons
  • A participant recounts memorizing the unusual-underwear speech and eventually reciting it directly to Bill Murray at Madison Square Garden. — Brian Koppelman
  • The visit to General Barnicke’s house is praised for Murray’s late-night improvisation and rapport with his military-police scene partner. — Bill Simmons
  • The graduation ceremony and late arrival were a childhood favorite. — Bill Simmons
  • The first training sequence, including the log obstacle, is another preferred passage. — Bill Simmons
  • The return-to-America newspaper-headline montage is praised for extending each character’s outcome as a closing gag. — Bill Simmons
  • Captain Stillman’s first appearance and his shower-sponge line are singled out as a strong character introduction. — Brian Koppelman
  • The mud-wrestling sequence is remembered as a major adolescent fantasy, though the raid and separation from the unit are questioned. — Bill Simmons
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36:05

What’s Aged the Best?

The breakup setup, John Candy, Judge Reinhold, throwaway jokes, the women, poker running gag, score, deleted scene, M...

The breakup setup, John Candy, Judge Reinhold, throwaway jokes, the women, poker running gag, score, deleted scene, Murray–Ramis friendship, and Warren Oates

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:05Read transcript
  • The wet-blanket girlfriend telling the likable loser he is going nowhere is treated as a comedy setup copied for decades. — Bill Simmons
  • The first training sequence, especially the log obstacle, is explicitly added as another thing that aged best. — Bill Simmons
  • John Candy’s first appearance, long hair, cigarette, and Eisenhower greeting still land immediately. — Bill Simmons
  • Judge Reinhold’s short role is praised as part of a strong early-career run. — Bill Simmons
  • Lines such as the furs answer, the drug answer, and Ramis’s strip-search head movement reward repeated viewing. — Brian Koppelman
  • Sean Young and the other actress playing a military-police character are praised as charismatic women with agency; the latter’s strong late-1970s run is recalled. — Bill Simmons
  • Candy repeatedly exploiting the character Cruiser in poker remains an effective running gag. — Bill Simmons
  • Elmer Bernstein’s score is praised for shifting between jaunty and lower-register military themes. — Brian Koppelman
  • A deleted South American subplot has LSD, an unauthorized paratrooper mission, guerrilla capture, and escape; cutting it is judged correct because it derailed the film. — Bill Simmons
  • The Harold Ramis and Bill Murray friendship is itself described as something that aged best. — Brian Koppelman
  • Warren Oates and Sergeant Hulka also remain durable strengths. — Brian Koppelman
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37:01

Picking Nits

Haircuts, the Pom Pom raid, EM-50 promotion and design, an impossible basketball throw, and a missing double-date scene

Haircuts, the Pom Pom raid, EM-50 promotion and design, an impossible basketball throw, and a missing double-date scene

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:01Read transcript
  • Bill Murray and Harold Ramis keeping movie-star hair while other recruits receive crew cuts is questioned. — Bill Simmons
  • The reason military police raid the Pom Pom mud-wrestling club remains unclear. — Bill Simmons
  • The late-arriving recruits being promoted to the military-vehicle project is judged implausible. — Bill Simmons
  • The supposedly advanced vehicle looks too much like a minivan or Winnebago. — Brian Koppelman
  • The indoor-basketball throw through the window follows no plausible shot trajectory. — Brian Koppelman
  • One more double-date scene is requested to deepen the four central characters. — Bill Simmons
  • The bag underneath his head is there and then not there, but that continuity issue is explicitly dismissed. — Bill Simmons
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46:21

What’s Aged the Worst?

Voyeuristic treatment of women and the incoherent final third

Voyeuristic treatment of women and the incoherent final third

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:21Read transcript
  • The period’s routine use of nudity and men spying on women through binoculars or shower holes is said to play differently now. — Bill Simmons
  • The final third abruptly crosses into Czechoslovakia, strands the unit, and sends four characters into a bloodless Soviet-base rescue. — Brian Koppelman
  • The Wisconsin exchange survives as a much-quoted line even though the surrounding rescue plot is judged a screenwriting disaster. — Brian Koppelman
  • The two military-police characters retain agency, but Stillman watching women shower is singled out as material that would not be made the same way now. — Bill Simmons
  • The film is placed in an era when comedies could become incoherent and still succeed because jokes continued landing. — Bill Simmons
  • The film’s obvious homophobia is explicitly added as material that aged poorly and described as a staple of the period. — Brian Koppelman
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50:20

Casting What-Ifs

The project began as Cheech and Chong joining the Army; Columbia preferred Dennis Quaid to Harold Ramis, and Kim Basi...

The project began as Cheech and Chong joining the Army; Columbia preferred Dennis Quaid to Harold Ramis, and Kim Basinger was offered the role ultimately played by the actress the transcript calls P. J. Souls.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:20Read transcript
  • The initial concept was Cheech and Chong joining the Army, but their demand for creative control ended that version. — Bill Simmons
  • The characters were rewritten for Bill Murray and Harold Ramis. — Bill Simmons
  • Columbia preferred Dennis Quaid for Ramis’s role, and participation was made conditional on Ramis remaining in the cast. — Bill Simmons
  • Kim Basinger was offered the role ultimately played by the actress identified in the transcript as P. J. Souls; the offer fell through because Basinger’s agent requested what the panel calls a crazy amount of money. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel thinks Basinger’s star power and appearance would have overwhelmed the ensemble. — Brian Koppelman
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52:17

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Conrad Dunn

Conrad Dunn

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:17Read transcript
  • John Deal, using the machine transcript’s spelling, and Donald Gibb are raised as recognizable supporting candidates. — Bill Simmons
  • Conrad Dunn wins because every later appearance made the panel identify him as Francis. — Bill Simmons
  • Warren Oates is rejected as too famous for the category. — Bill Simmons
  • An actor whose name the machine transcript renders as Larichette is debated because he was not famous then but is unmistakable now. — Bill Simmons
  • John Candy is moved toward the heat-check discussion. — Bill Simmons
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52:55

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Conrad Dunn’s Francis and Harold Ramis’s reaction work

Conrad Dunn’s Francis and Harold Ramis’s reaction work

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:55Read transcript
  • Francis is proposed because the performance pushes hard while remaining liked. — Brian Koppelman
  • Harold Ramis is proposed for the exaggerated faces and reactions behind Murray and Candy. — Brian Koppelman
  • Ramis’s relative inexperience in front of the camera is offered as a reason he may have pushed the reactions. — Brian Koppelman
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54:23

The Teddy KGB Award for the Actor in a Completely Different Movie

The two Czechoslovakian guards

The two Czechoslovakian guards

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:23Read transcript
  • The two armed guards are selected because their severe performance seems to belong to another movie. — Bill Simmons
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54:23

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

John Candy

John Candy

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:23Read transcript
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56:31

Recasting Couch

Young Tom Cruise preferred as Francis; Sean Penn another possibility

Young Tom Cruise preferred as Francis; Sean Penn another possibility

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:31Read transcript
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56:50

Half-Assed Internet Research

Army access, Warren Oates’s Wild Bunch stories, on-set injuries, improvised accidents, surprise haircuts, Murray–Youn...

Army access, Warren Oates’s Wild Bunch stories, on-set injuries, improvised accidents, surprise haircuts, Murray–Young friction, and a John Candy fight-night dinner

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:50Read transcript
  • The military reportedly supported the film with Fort Knox access and real troops as extras. — Bill Simmons
  • Warren Oates chipped a tooth when actors dragged him through mud without warning him. — Bill Simmons
  • Warren Oates reportedly entertained the cast with stories about The Wild Bunch and was liked even by Bill Murray. — Bill Simmons
  • The actor whose name is transcribed as Laracette broke his nose running into a door during an unused take and wore makeup afterward. — Bill Simmons
  • Murray’s suitcase blow was accidental and remained in the film. — Bill Simmons
  • Most basic-training haircuts were surprises, producing genuine reactions. — Bill Simmons
  • A disputed story says Murray and Sean Young clashed over improvisation; the panel explicitly marks it uncertain. — Bill Simmons
  • John Candy hosted the cast for homemade spaghetti and the Leonard–Duran no-más fight. — Bill Simmons
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59:19

Apex Mountain

Warren Oates: yes; military comedies: strong affirmative case

Warren Oates: yes; military comedies: strong affirmative case

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:19Read transcript
  • Bill Murray is rejected because Ghostbusters provided a stronger later peak. — Bill Simmons
  • Harold Ramis is debated as a newly cool movie star here, while Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters brought larger later influence and wealth. — Brian Koppelman
  • John Candy is rejected. — Bill Simmons
  • Military comedies about joining and training are given a strong apex case, with the broader military-movie claim treated as weaker. — Bill Simmons
  • The actress identified by the machine transcript as P. J. Souls is rejected in favor of Halloween. — Bill Simmons
  • Sean Young is rejected in favor of the Blade Runner, Wall Street, and No Way Out period. — Bill Simmons
  • The actor whose name the machine transcript renders as Laracette is rejected because he became a major television star. — Bill Simmons
  • Goofy future-tense closing credits are discussed, with Animal House preferred. — Bill Simmons
  • Warren Oates receives a clear apex verdict. — Bill Simmons
  • Ivan Reitman is rejected. — Bill Simmons
  • The mud-wrestling sequence is proposed as the apex of mud wrestling in movies. — Bill Simmons
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1:04:51

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

A Stripes series is disputed; An Officer and a Gentleman preferred for adaptation

A Stripes series is disputed; An Officer and a Gentleman preferred for adaptation

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:51Read transcript
  • One participant rejects a ten-episode Stripes series as sacrilege, while another says the right two leads could make an entertaining version. — Bill Simmons
  • An Officer and a Gentleman is proposed as the more suitable series adaptation. — Bill Simmons
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1:06:19

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Should the movie end at graduation? What should replace the rescue? How did attraction to the two military-police cha...

Should the movie end at graduation? What should replace the rescue? How did attraction to the two military-police characters change with age?

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:19Read transcript
  • The main question asks whether the film improves if it ends with the graduation ceremony and drops the military-vehicle rescue. — Bill Simmons
  • The proposal draws a specific objection: the welcome-to-Italy arrival still works, even though the plot from there is judged a disaster. — Brian Koppelman
  • More backstory with the central friends, the two military-police characters, Candy, and another Pom Pom excursion is proposed. — Bill Simmons
  • The woman from the opening finding John attractive again is proposed as another middle sequence. — Brian Koppelman
  • The favorite recruit-introduction scene was reportedly rewritten by the cast in Murray’s trailer, prompting regret that the ending did not receive the same treatment. — Brian Koppelman
  • A bonus question compares adolescent and present-day attraction to Sean Young and the actress the machine transcript calls P. J. Souls. — Brian Koppelman
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1:08:40

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

The EM-50, framed spatula, apartment set, and indoor basketball hoop

The EM-50, framed spatula, apartment set, and indoor basketball hoop

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:40Read transcript
  • The military vehicle is proposed as a driveway object, gaming room, sports-viewing room, or child’s hangout. — Brian Koppelman
  • The spatula would be framed. — Brian Koppelman
  • The apartment set and especially its basketball hoop are preferred alternatives. — Brian Koppelman
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1:11:10

Who Won the Movie?

Bill Murray

Bill Murray

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:10Read transcript
Podcast choices
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1:11:10

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:10Read transcript
  • The rapid list includes the furs answer, Eisenhower greeting, unusual-underwear speech, acorn speech, officer-material line, and depression line. — Brian Koppelman
  • The abandoning-the-car, never-convicted, and have-that-removed lines are cited as frequently reused favorites. — Brian Koppelman
  • Wisconsin is selected as the funniest single line. — Brian Koppelman
  • The cheap-shoeshine line is another finalist. — Brian Koppelman
  • The stopped-draft exchange is praised as a final throwaway quote. — Brian Koppelman
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More from the conversation

The film is remembered as part of a small VHS rotation of comedies repeatedly watched in college and shared through quoting and nicknames.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:32Read transcript
John Winger is interpreted as a lovable-loser hero whose immaturity and appealing apartment made adolescents identify with him.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:59Read transcript
The movie is placed in a 1977–84 cycle of lovable-loser comedies that later shaped Sandler, 1990s comedies, and Apatow-era work.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:59Read transcript
The indoor-basketball window gag includes a large wrench already placed to clear the broken glass, a small prop detail singled out as part of the apartment’s dense comedy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:10:08Read transcript
Bill Murray’s comic appeal is described as enlisting the audience in mischief rather than placing himself above it.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:26Read transcript
The Murray–Ramis partnership and later estrangement are discussed as central to American comedy and a lost opportunity for more buddy films.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:50Read transcript
The supporting cast, $10 million budget, $85 million gross, and fifth-place 1981 box-office finish establish the movie’s commercial context.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:25Read transcript
Brian Koppelman describes a controlled improvisation process with Edward Norton on Rounders and says Dan Soder was the sole Billions performer regularly invited to riff scene buttons.
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:59Read transcript
The closing discussion treats the movie’s age as evidence of how durable the hosts’ identification and shared quotations became.
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:10Read transcript