Erik had tickets to An Evening with Bill Murray at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and was kind enough to bring me. The event entailed Mr. Murray sitting on stage with a collection of directors and producers of his films. The men answered questions posed by New York Time’s film critic, Elvis Mitchell, and the resulting anecdotes created a recap of Mr. Murray’s career.
Mr. Murray fielded most topics with his famous dry wit. When one of the panel mentioned Meatballs, Murray paused until we felt his incredulity at the idea that he could create a bad movie, and then held the pause for laughs. His off-the-cuff comments have resulted in networks dedicating a camera at celebrity golf tournaments to solely follow him and catch his every quip. He did not disappoint last night, delivering humorous comebacks without pandering.
The evening also included audience questions. Most of the inquiries were obsequious and sometimes downright flirty, but the first was a bit of a curve, ‘Do you give thanks everyday that you are not Chevy Chase?’ Amidst an artful dodge, Mr. Murray did slip in, ‘Well, don’t we all?’
When the crowd erupted with sympathetic applause at the mention of his loss at the Oscars, he stilled the slightly patronizing claps with a dry ‘I’m alright with it.’ It’s this quality of being funny without seeking approval that creates his charisma and he brought plenty of it with him to BAM. His moments of seriousness contained the uncomplicated sincerity that has given him success as a dramatic actor as well as his comedic roles.
When reviewing Rushmore, Anthony Lane wrote:
‘If you want to pick one shot from this year’s movies, try the look on Bill Murray’s face as he shakes hands with Fisher senior: puzzlement, dief, a speck of outrage, the quiet rush of truth, and, last of all, a gentle settling of kindness. The entire thing takes maybe four seconds: this is known as acting.’
The scene is one of my favorites in film, and although I dislike the world of fandom and hesitate to reward celebrities with attention, I was proud to stand at the end of the night and applaud Mr. Murray.
No one mentioned his role as Bosley in Charlie’s Angels.