“An optimistic attitude is a successful attitude”: the Bill Murray movie that has saved lives
Actors often make a point of saying they’re not out there saving lives, but that isn’t always entirely true. For Bill Murray, one of the most important interactions of his career came when he was told that one of his most popular movies had caused that exact effect.
Since first breaking out as a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s, Murray has remained one of the industry’s most famous comedic performers. Of course, he isn’t always a barrel of laughs when the cameras aren’t rolling, having become embroiled in his fair share of feuds over the years, but there’s a reason why the cliché posits laughter as being the best medicine.
An early cinematic showcase for Murray’s signature style came in Harold Ramis’ 1980 classic Caddyshack, where he proceeded to steal virtually every scene he was in as unstable golf course greenskeeper Carl Spackler, making every minute of screentime count despite being the fifth-billed name in the ensemble behind Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Michael O’Keeffe.
Not only a box office success and a certified cult classic, Murray even revealed during a Reddit AMA that Caddyshack has proven potential to be a literal lifesaver. “I met one person who said, ‘I couldn’t find anything to cheer me up’, and I was so sad,” he said. “And I Just watched Caddyshack, and I watched it for about a week, and it was the only thing that cheered me up. And it was the only thing that cheered me up and made me laugh and made me think that my life wasn’t hopeless.”
For someone at their lowest ebb, Murray’s histrionics gave them “a way to see what was best about life, that there was a whole lot of life that was wonderful.” It was something that stuck with the star for the rest of his days, causing him to reflect on the power laughter and cinema have that often goes unmentioned.
“And I happen to know (from her own spirit) that that person has really triumphed as an artist and as a human being,” Murray continued. “And if it’s just a moment when you can reverse a movement, an emotion, a downward spiral, when you can quiet something or still something and just allow it to change and allow the real spirit rise up in someone, that feels great.”
As mentioned, Murray did make a point of saying how “I know I’m not saving the world,” but what he has learned is a way to tell stories that present “some sort of representation of how life is or how life could be.” As a result, that instils the audience with a sense of optimism, and in his words, “an optimistic attitude is a successful attitude.”
