Ghostbusters

"Quick Change" (1990)

The character: Grimm

What about him: A bank robber disguised as a clown who spends the entire movie just trying to make his getaway -- out of New York City.

Murray moment: A guard asks him, "What the hell kind of clown are you?" Grimm replies, "The ... morecrying-on-the-inside kind, I guess."

Analysis: The underrated comedy "Quick Change" is a fine showcase for Murray's low-key improvisational style. Having perfected his deadpan in "Ghostbusters," he extends it here. His character can even improvise on top of his own improvisations, as when he bluffs his way into a mobster operation, pretending (on the spur of the moment) to be the bag man they were expecting. When his accomplice (Geena Davis) silently questions what the hell he's doing, he momentarily breaks character and you see the fear and panic in his eyes: "I have no idea." And then -- snap! -- he's back in character, and back in control of the scene that he's creating moment by moment.

(Everett Collection)