One of the greatest Saturday Night Live stars, an undeniably iconic comic actor, and one of Wes Anderson’s most prolific collaborators, Bill Murray is in a league of his own in pretty much every category. With those signature expressions, the wise-cracking sarcasm, and a certain way with words, Murray has long provided audiences with one hilarious line after another.
Murray’s various characters from over the years have also hit people with vicious comebacks so harsh, so biting, so hot, you better call the fire department to put out the flames. Here are 32 times one of his characters came at someone with a vicious comeback.
“This Is One Time Where Television Really Fails To Capture The True Excitement Of A Large Squirrel Predicting The Weather. I, For One, Am Very Grateful To Have Been Here.” (Groundhog Day)
Ghostbusters returning in Ghostbusters: Afterlife made for one of the most nostalgic moments of 2020s cinema, but it wasn’t all sweetness coming from the wisecracking character. Upon meeting the family of the fallen Egon Spengler, Peter hits them with a hilarious “Weird name” moment that’s just so good.
the good, the bad, and the ugly of ‘80s yuppie culture (as well as a great spin on A Christmas Carol), sees Bill Murray play Frank Cross, a downright terrible TV executive, brother, boyfriend, boss, and human being. Though he’s undeniably a bad person, Frank does hand out some incredible putdowns, like this one when he’s given a drawing of Santa by a young kid. Brutal!
best sports movies where the main character actually loses as well as one that features one of Bill Murray’s most unhinged characters in Ernie McCracken. The two-timing, lying, scheming, and opportunistic villain of this great ‘90s sports comedy has no shortage of clever lines, like this one early in the film before turning on Woody Harrelson’s Roy Munson.
Dustin Hoffman’s Michael Dorsey in Tootsie, is one of the most grounded characters in this 1982 classic, but even he says it like it is. The scene where he questions Michael’s obsession with becoming Dorothy Michaels is one of the best examples of that.
Wes Anderson’s best movies, The French Dispatch, is a series of short films filling out what is to be the final edition of the titular news magazine. In between those longer segments are various scenes with editor Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray). One of the funniest moments comes when Howitzer gives one of his writers a harsh yet honest critique, telling them to make their mistakes seem like they were meant to be there.
Sigourney Weaver) in Ghostbusters, Peter Venkman attempts to make light of the situation by commenting on Zuul’s demonic voice. It’s not the meanest thing he says in the movie, but it’s so on-brand.
best zombie apocalypse movies (and certainly one of the funniest), Zombieland has one of the best cameos of all time when Bill Murray briefly shows up as himself. There’s one key moment when he’s asked if he has any regrets on his deathbed, and he honestly comes up with the best answer…