My Murray Five

Listening to KRock on my commute home Monday evening, I heard a DJ make a claim that Caddyshack featured Bill Murray's best role. I suppose this is somewhat debatable, and while I can't deny that his murmuring rodent-hunting groundskeeper wasn't a performance worthy of classic cartoon rivalries, I'd argue that his was a small role in an ensemble piece, a hint of what was to come. One caller argued with the DJ that What About Bob? superseded all the others mentioned. I disagreed there.

I think Murray is at his best when he manages that blend of sarcasm, egotism, and boredom that he does so well. Were I to compile my list, it might look a little something like this:

1) Ghost Busters: Hands down one of his greatest characters, Peter Venkman is certainly one of the most quotable. It was a small cast that allowed his talents to shine, and overall it's a cool movie and one of my ‘80s favorites.

2) Groundhog Day: A concept seen countless times in science fiction gets a comedy treatment, and Murray is great as a guy in a hopeless situation trying to make the best of it, and even giving in to despair before rising to the challenge.

3) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: As he got older, his comedy changed. The humor here is more about the situations and the way the characters react, and as he deals with classic themes like vengeance against a sea creature and a newfound son, many of the laughs come from Murray's expressions and silence. Truth be told, Willem Dafoe steals the show more than once, but it's still Murray driving the submarine.

4) Scrooged: It's a twisted spin on a holiday classic that managed to become a holiday classic itself, and it's vintage Murray at his most sarcastic and egotistical.

5) Lost in Translation: I don't know that Murray would have much success with the kind of comedies he did in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and as comedians from his generation mature, they've either embraced family films, disappeared completely, or branched out. This is one of Murray's more dramatic roles and yet, as a sadsack struggling actor relegated to making liquor commercials in Japan, he achieves the ultimate tears of the clown. You laugh at him and you feel sorry for him, and at times you wonder how much of Bill Murray is in that character.

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And what of you, my readers? Do you agree or disagree? Do you have a Murray Five of your own? Should My [insert name here] Five become a semi-regular feature?