Damn few actors have the innate ability to make this kind of dialogue — “Put down the magazine before you hurt yourself…okay, Harold?” — land as well. This plus a just-right expression of world-weary “God help me.” Bill Murray owns this attitude. He coined it. If you insist on beating him with birch branches along with a time-out, fine. We all understand that paying just over $100K to the Being Mortal production assistant was just for openers, and that the real punishment starts now. But don’t excommunicate him. He’s Bill Murray, for chrissake. He understands everything, has been everywhere, carries the whole equation in his head, etc.
