Alicia I love this movie so much

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

hellraiser7 This is another childhood gem of mine, it's probably number 9 in the vacation comedy subgenre since it kind of falls into that category, it takes place at a summer camp, so it counts. This is one of those film I like to watch as summer is starting up or sometimes around the other seasons, so I can remember summer time and the good times at that time or remind myself it's not that far off. What made it unique at the time was that it was a comedy that was focused on summer camp which we never really had at the time. This film defiantly got the camp comedy genre going as afterward there have been numerous others that have followed and might have been a partial inspiration to the TV show "Salute your Shorts".This film in a way is kind of like "Animal House" but in summer camp as Camp NorthStar seems to consist of the rag tag bunch which I like because that kind of group is health as it consists of people that are all unique and real community. What I really like about most of the cast in this film are they all look like ordinary everyday people so you're not going to spot anyone from the CW around. This I feel gives the film feel grounded in reality and really helps the relatability factor. This film also in a way is sort of like a journal as we watch it we can easily recall some of our past times when we gone to camp, from seeing some of these characters engage in a wild antic or two or even the games that camps engage in, just a lot of things that really bring you back.The only bad thing about the film is lack of a solid memorable ensemble which I felt the film could have benefited from even more. Not many characters really stand out, they're not bad there are a few that are memorable like Spaz and Fink both are a good comic duo, there is a good back and forth. Kate Lynch she was alright as Roxanne whom is Tripp's significant other and was someone that was trying to keep things running right. Harvey Atkin as Morty whom sort of looks like Groucho Marx is always getting his authority undermined and Tripp and the rest of the colorful councilors they play some pranks on him to give him grief.To me the character that really stands out and I also feel really drives this film is Bill Murray as Tripp. This film was practically his debut in the lead role and it was a good start as it really shows his comedic chops, which he does so flawlessly well. I really like that his character is one that doesn't like or want to follow the rules except his own. He really does care about the people in the camp and want them along with himself to simply have a good time which is what summer camps were built for anyway. However, one other thing I like about him is he never wants anyone to feel down.There is this little plotline on the rivalry with Camp Mohawk which are supposedly the camp that is better and higher up, which also means it's jerk central. There is a scene where camp is playing Basketball against Mohawk, I wouldn't really call it a game it was more like a massacre as most of the personal in camp lets just say make novices in the game look like champs, it's sad but true; however despite their losing dilemma Tripp doesn't let this get them down as they all let's just say made Basketball history.There are lots of great memorable scenes like Tripp telling an urban legend on the campfire which I'll admit got me going for a while, it was just a good scene on build up and pay off. The dance social seeing him do some dance moves which he improvised. And of course, there is the inspirational speech scene which you have to see for yourself Bill is just at his best in that one. Like any good summer camp this is a film worth visiting.Rating: 3 and a half stars

jimbo-53-186511 Having just watched Meatballs I was struggling to decipher what this film was trying to be or what it was trying to say; clearly it has a coming-of-age aspect to its story, but it's given very little focus or development. It's also clearly a film about the trials and tribulations of a bunch of youths whilst they're at a summer camp whilst they are being mentored by their crazy leader Tripper (Bill Murray).The problem with this film is that it has no definitive structure and no coherent plot line; it moves from scene to scene and from person to person but never in a way where it feels as though a story is being told - it felt like I was watching a series of goofball sketches lazily edited together rather than an actual story. Up until about the 60 minute mark the film doesn't seem to have any kind of point (although to be fair it does establish one in its final third) but to be honest I found myself kind of bored; nearly all of the characters are boring clichés that unfortunately remain this way throughout the film - there never seems to be any revealing moments or irony with any of these characters making them feel rather dull and one-dimensional.There is one interesting aspect of the story (involving the bond between Rudy and Tripper) which is quite endearing, but it's never really given the attention that it deserves and sadly Reitman seems more interested in creating several chaotic and random moments which never seem to manifest themselves into any kind of story and many of these moments seemed to serve little purpose.When I looked at this film I was actually hoping that it would be similar to Animal House but the thing with Animal House is that it was silly but funny whereas Meatballs is silly without being funny and that's the key difference. There were no big laughs on offer at all and very few small laughs (the only thing I found mildly amusing was the scene where they strap Monty to his bed and leave him outside strapped to the bed overnight).One thing that is great about this film is Bill Murray and he does bring this dreck to the life whenever he is on screen. Granted he does overact occasionally, but in fairness he probably felt obliged to because nobody else seemed to be making much of an effort.The film has a nice feel good ending to it (albeit a predictable one), but truthfully Meatballs isn't a particularly fun film to sit through and its 'Are you ready for the summer' theme song is pretty annoying as well.

jessegehrig Man, I was watching Meatballs, its not even a half hour in there's this scene with Bill Murray and some lady councilor, he makes a move on her and she rebuffs his advances so Bill Murray laughs it off and keeps coming on to her, she keeps saying "no" and he keeps smiling and laughing it off, this lady just wants to leave and he won't let her leave, Bill Murray's character wants to have sex and she just wants to leave- thats as far as I have got in Meatballs, no further. Hey man, I know, its Meatballs its a raunchy teen-sex comedy set at camp, I get it, and I had seen all the other Meatballs movies previous to this one so I knew beforehand what I was getting, but none of the other Meatballs movies has a sexual assault played for laughs. I don't give a god damn if I ever see this movie again it will be too soon.

Aaron1375 I liked this movie for the most part, but have to say had there been anyone else besides Bill Murray in the lead role it would not have been as good. He brings an energy to the role that steps this film up a notch than it would have been otherwise. I mainly enjoyed the pranks pulled on the one counselor and there are other humorous things in this movie too such as the hot dog eating contest. This movie would also set the stage for summer camp movies with the competition at the end. Nearly every camp movie has either this or the unruly or troubled kids plot, or a combination of both. This series also would take a rather strange shift in tone as this one and two are both family friendly movies while part three and four are more adult oriented, more like the old teen sex comedies of the time. It kind of did the opposite of the Police Academy movies that went from R to PG-13 to PG movies. This series goes from the opposite to R. Still this first one and only good one is worth some chuckles largely due to Bill Murray.