Meatballs (1979)
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, (more)
- Director(s):
- Ivan Reitman
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
- Category:
- Comedy
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Set at a low-end summer camp and aimed squarely at a teen audience, Meatballs is a light screwball comedy that turned its low-budget Canadian roots into a very profitable box-office run. The biggest reason for the film's success is Bill Murray who stars as Tripper, the head counselor who runs things at Camp Northstar with the help of his love interest Roxanne (Kate Lynch) and the camp's director Morty (Harvey Atkins), who is affectionately known as Mickey. Camp opens with Tripper and Morty preparing the misfit counselors-in-training -- Spaz, Fink, Crockett, A.L., Candace, Wendy, and Wheels among them -- for the arrival of their hyperactive little charges. After settling in, kids and counselors begin their activities with a soccer game in which depressed 11-year-old Rudy (Chris Makepeace) accidentally loses the game. Cast out by the other children, Rudy runs away only to come across Tripper, who befriends the boy and makes him his running partner. Romance, sexy fun, and comic hijinx -- usually with the heavy-sleeping Morty as their target -- lead up to an annual Olympiad in which Camp Northstar battles the wealthier and athletically superior residents of Camp Mohawk. The challenging events include cup stacking, potato-sack racing, and a nauseating hot dog-eating contest in which the portly Fink devours his way to victory. With the two-day event tied up, it comes down to the cross-country run, in which Tripper enters Rudy. Meatballs was the first major directorial effort by multi-talented filmmaker Ivan Reitman, whose name has since become synonymous with the comedy genre. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 94 mins
Complete Cast:
- Bill Murray - Tripper
- Kate Lynch - Roxanne
- Jack Blum - Spaz
- Chris Makepeace - Rudy
- Keith Knight - Fink
- Todd Hoffman - Wheels
- Matt Craven - Hardware
- Michael Kirby - Eddy
- Ron Barry - Lance
- Vince Guerriero - Rhino
- Heather Preece - Patti
- Valerie Fersht - Liza
- Patrick Hynes - Andrew
- Billie Kishonti - Jeffrey
- Ruth Rennie - Jody
- Harvey Atkin - Morty
- Russ Banham - Crockett
- Kristine de Bell - A.L.
- Sarah Torgov - Candace
- Cindy Girling - Wendy
- Margot Pinvidic - Jackie
- Norma dell'Agnese - Brenda
- Greg Swangon
- Paul Boyle - Ace
- James McLarty - Horse
- Alison Diver - Carla
- Allan Levson - Peter DeWitt
- Hadley Kay - Bradley
- Peter Hume
- Director(s):
- Ivan Reitman
- Writer(s):
- Janis Allen, Harold Ramis, Len Blum
- Producer(s):
- Andre Link, Ivan Reitman, John Dunning
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Questionable for Children, Adult Humor, Adult Situations, Brief Nudity, Adult Language)
- Categories:
- Comedy
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Best Original Screenplay
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Best Original Screenplay
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Golden Reel Award
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Best Original Screenplay
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Golden Reel Award
- 1980 - Meatballs - Genie Awards - Best Actress
