Quick Change Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Quick Change Blu-ray Movie Review

Smog day afternoon.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 13, 2021

The forgotten early 1990s comedy gem Quick Change, which falls somewhere between After Hours and Midnight Run, has the distinction of being the only film co-directed by Bill Murray, who also stars. Working alongside writer/co-director Howard Franklin (The Man Who Knew Too Little, also featuring Murray), he plays a man named Grimm who, along with secret accomplices Phyllis (Geena Davis) and Loomis (Randy Quaid), robs a midtown Manhattan bank in broad daylight while dressed like a clown. The police, led by gruff Chief Walt Rotzinger (Jason Robards), are baffled when Grimm turns up missing after the hostages are eventually cleared out... but the otherwise scot-free robbers soon have even bigger problems, as the labyrinthine NYC streets and a series of episodic detours thwart their escape at every turn.

As Grimm's team spirals further into insanity during a very long afternoon, evening, and night in the city, tireless Chief Rotzinger -- like Midnight Run's Special Agent Alonzo Mosely, played by the late Yaphet Kotto -- is one step behind 'em and grows more frustrated with each near-miss. Their shared misadventures involve a third party, too: mobster Vince Lombino and his bagman Mario Monetti (Gary Howard Klar), who are likewise caught in the tangled web and contribute to a satisfying, left-field ending that wraps up before Quick Change wears out its welcome. Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, it's a series of mostly bizarre events that feels exhausting for its characters... not the audience.

Among other elements, Quick Change has almost everything I want a comedy: a great cast, razor-sharp dialogue, and a fever-dream flow that's just absurd enough to make sense in the moment. Much of this is no doubt due to Murray's involvement: Grimm was obviously a character written with him in mind, a sarcastic and slightly morose straight man we've seen before and will see again, and his shtick is a great foundation for what might otherwise be a house of cards. The plot perpetually keeps first-time viewers on their toes, with its delightfully ridiculous diversions -- Mexican jousting, a totally by-the-book bus driver, that random encounter with the Mob, and even the robbery itself -- fitting into the era and location just about perfectly. Even if you're not from New York, this stuff will probably register.

The sharp one-liners, mostly delivered by Murray, still stick like glue and his presence really ties everything together. Geena Davis is perfectly matched here, too; while Phyllis might come across as "just the main character's girlfriend" in lesser hands, she's a nice counter-balance to the arm's length personality of Grimm. (Why wasn't she in Groundhog Day instead of Andie MacDowell?) Loomis, as portrayed by perpetual doof Randy Quaid, on the other hand...? He's the closest thing to dead weight in Quick Change, mostly existing to make things harder for his co-conspirators via dumb mistakes including the story's weakest detour, a head injury from his slapstick crash into a newsstand. (Then again, he does make Grimm and Phyllis awfully smart by comparison.) But this is still a fun group of characters with memorable supporting roles and cameos filled out nicely by Tony Shalhoub (a non-English speaking cabbie), Steve Park (basically reprising his role from Do the Right Thing), Kurtwood Smith, Stanley Tucci, and the late, great Phil Hartman.

I hadn't seen Quick Change in at least two decades, mostly due to its low profile -- it showed up on DVD courtesy of Warner Bros. during the mid-2000s, but that disc stayed under my radar until it went out of print. Combined with the film's tepid reception during its brief theatrical run, it's got all the ingredients for yet another welcome Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray, and die-hard fans won't be disappointed with this one: sure, there aren't any extras, but it looks and sounds like a million bucks... and that's the real reason to pick this one up. You have exact change, right?

Quick Change Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Quick Change shines brightly on this new 1080p transfer, showcasing the film as a pure product of its era with a thick and grainy image that, while dominated by earth tones and dour inner-city colors, offers occasional primary punches in busy crowd scenes, the cool blue of a bus interior and, of course, Grimm's eye-popping clown suit. Only about half of the film takes place during the day but those stretches are bolstered by rich image detail, strong clothing textures, and excellent depth during long downtown shots. Once nighttime sets in, things flatten out considerably but black levels run deep with no obvious crush, while sporadic bursts of color and brightly-lit signage stand out well against the darkness. It's a very stable and clean image as usual, with minimal post-processing that retains plenty of natural film grain and era-specific tones that have decidedly not been recolored to match more modern color palettes. The film and its trailer, which barely run 90 minutes combined, get plenty of room despite this only being a single-layered disc, as the resultant picture showcases absolutely no signs of compression artifacts, banding, or other eyesores.

As usual, Warner Archive also recently uploaded a few short YouTube videos showing off their new transfer, including the three-minute opening sequence and this fruitless conversation with a couple of construction workers.

Quick Change Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track pulls a little more weight than expected than your average two-channel stereo mix, which is mostly highlighted by Randy Edelman's original score (including its main theme, which is repeated at least a dozen times but somehow doesn't get old) and a few soundtrack selections including the opener, "L-O-V-E" by Nat 'King' Cole. Although it's story is more than a little chaotic at times -- mainly during the opening robbery and a handful of episodic moments sprinkled throughout -- Quick Change's skit-driven comedic roots mean that dialogue does most of the work here; it's cleanly recorded and even the purposefully vague moments, such as just about anything babbled by Tony Shalhoub's taxi driver, are easy enough to follow. No obvious defects could be heard along the way, nicely rounding out what's essentially a straightforward but perfectly satisfying audio experience.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only.

Quick Change Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray ships in a standard keepcase with original one-sheet poster art. Only one extra is included.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:59) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Quick Change Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bill Murray and Howard Franklin's Quick Change is a vaguely remembered but very entertaining comedy about a $1M bank robbery where the real challenge is getting out of New York City. Originally attached to director Jonathan Demme (how interesting would that have been?), the co-directors turn in solid work bolstered by great characters, memorable one-liners, and a plot that spirals further into absurdity after the clown makeup comes off. Warner Archive's terrific Blu-ray package puts all its eggs in the A/V presentation, serving up another great-looking (and sounding) disc that easily improve upon Warner Bros.' 2006 DVD edition. Highly recommended to die-hard fans or as a blind buy.