DATE: Wednesday, November 26, 1997          TAG: 9711260081

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

MURRAY'S TALENTS WASTED IN UNFUNNY SPY SPOOF

ALFRED HITCHCOCK made not one but two movies called ``The Man Who Knew Too Much,'' about an innocent Everyman who got involved in espionage beyond his control. The rip-off of the title is one of the few amusing things about ``The Man Who Knew Too Little,'' a would-be comedy that wastes the dour, cynical gifts of Bill Murray.

It is a reminder that even the most absurdist humor needs to be grounded in some degree of believability. The basic premise of the comedy is its downfall. It asks us to believe that Murray, as a Blockbuster video employee from Iowa, thinks he is involved in an improvisational theater production as he darts all over London among spies and such. Even the most dense of morons would know that theater budgets don't include stunts involving car chases through the city.

With a bit of rewriting, ``Man'' might well have worked. Murray is quite good at suggesting Mr. Magoo-type naivete. He is a talent we grew to admire because he has at least tried to do more than bump into the furniture and fall about. At the height of his comic success (notably the ``Ghostbuster'' film), he chose to try a serious remake of W. Somerset Maugham's ``The Razor's Edge.'' It was a flop, but it served notice that Murray at least wanted to be more and try more.

Here, he goes to London to visit his successful business-minded brother, Peter Gallagher. In order to get rid of the dweeb bro, Murray is sent to a participatory theater performance. When he's mistaken for a spy, Murray's character thinks it's all a part of the act.

Joanne Whalley plays a slinky spy type. Alfred Molina, so memorable in ``Prick Up Your Ears,'' is a gangster. Geraldine James, from ``The Jewel in the Crown,'' does an imitation of Lotte Lenya's James Bond torture-woman. Watch closely, and you'll see Maxwell Caulfield in a bit part.

They are all ``types'' rather than characters. Everyone is involved in a British and Soviet attempt to revive the Cold War.

It's not that Murray is bad. It's, rather, that he is wasted. ``Austin Powers'' was much better at reviving spy spoofs. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW

``The Man Who Knew Too Little''

Cast: Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher, Joanne Whalley

Director: Jon Amiel

MPAA rating: PG-13 (mild language)

Mal's rating: *1/2

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