The Adventures of Pluto Nash

If you had to, off the top of your head, name 10 Eddie Murphy movies, “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” (2002) probably wouldn’t make the list. I get that. But while it’s no “Coming to America,” it’s not terrible (did I just write that sentence?). Pluto is a cleaned-up con man who runs a lunar nightclub in 2090 or so. A bigger criminal puts the muscle on him, and Rat Pack-style, shoot-some-guns, help-some-pals, get-the-girl, robot-assisted, autonomous-vehicle, box-office-bomb hijinks ensue. The film exudes sprezzatura (look it up) and Murphy is a 21st century Dean Martin. Fly me to the moon indeed.

Quick Change

Bill Murray has appeared in a lot of movies, but he’s only directed one. Co-directed, I should say. I presume the lackluster result of his (and Howard Franklin’s) leadership in “Quick Change” (1990) convinced Mr. Murray to get back on the other side of the camera and stay there. A broad comedy about a bank robbery and ensuing getaway (spoiler alert: hijinks ensue) totally fails despite an impressive cast (Geena Davis, Phil Hartman, Jason Robards, Kurtwood Smith). Randy Quaid is awful. I’ve never given much thought to which of Mr. Murray’s movies is the worst. Now I’ll never have to.

The Ice Harvest

Billy Bob Thornton makes some weird Christmas movies. John Cusack just makes weird movies, period. These two superheroes of uncomfortable humor join forces in “The Ice Harvest” (2005) as a pair of moderately sleazy dudes who plot to steal money on Christmas Eve from an exceptionally sleazy dude (Randy Quaid). Noirishly comedic hijinks ensue, replete with double- crosses that might have been coincidences – or might have been triple-crosses. It comes off a little flat. It’s a Harold Ramis film, which probably explains why the opening credits font is the same as the one used at the end of “Animal House.”