Bill Murray Declares Kung Fu Hustle Comedy’s Modern Masterpiece
Bill Murray hails Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle as the unrivalled pinnacle of 21st-century comedy, offering a sharp critique of American humour in the process.
Few figures in the world of comedy have left as indelible a mark as Bill Murray. With a career spanning decades and a string of iconic roles, he’s become something of a touchstone for what audiences find genuinely funny. Yet, for all his on-screen charm, tales of his off-camera behaviour have often been less than flattering, leaving colleagues and collaborators with mixed feelings. Murray’s reputation as both a comic genius and a bit of an oddball is well-earned, and while not everyone is a fan, his knack for creating enduring comedy is hard to dispute.
Films like Stripes, Meatballs, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Groundhog Day, and The Royal Tenenbaums have all cemented his status, with each generation finding something to love in his work. But when it comes to the comedic landscape of the 21st century, Murray’s assessment is rather bleak for his homeland. In his view, the high-water mark has already been set, and it’s unlikely anyone—American or otherwise—will manage to top it any time soon.
Kung Fu Hustle: A Benchmark Unmatched
For those who’ve witnessed Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle, Murray’s enthusiasm will ring true. The film is a riotous concoction of martial arts, slapstick, and visual gags, all delivered at a breakneck pace that feels equal parts Buster Keaton and Tex Avery. Murray didn’t mince words when he described it as
“the supreme achievement of the modern age in terms of comedy.”
He went further, insisting,
“It’s not even close.”
Reflecting on his own directorial outing, Quick Change, Murray was candid about how it paled in comparison.
“Quick Change, after it, looked like a home movie. It looked like a fucking high school film. I was like, ‘Oh man, I just saw this thing’, and ‘God, that’s just staggering, just staggering’. When I saw that, I was like: That. Just. Happened.”
The contrast between the two films—separated by decades and worlds apart in style—only served to highlight, in his eyes, the sheer brilliance of Chow’s work.
A Sobering Message for American Comedy
Murray’s admiration for Kung Fu Hustle wasn’t just a matter of personal taste; it came with a pointed message for his peers. He remarked,
“There should have been a day of mourning for American comedy the day that movie came out,”
a statement as dramatic as it is revealing. For Murray, the film didn’t just raise the bar—it left the competition in the dust, making it difficult for anything else to measure up.
His words, though perhaps a touch severe, underscore just how deeply he was affected by the film’s wild inventiveness and relentless energy. It’s not every day that a comedy legend admits to being completely outdone, but in this case, Murray seemed almost delighted to concede defeat to such a dazzling piece of cinema.