Wallace Ritchie is mistaken for a spy and must stop a plot to assassinate international leaders at a banquet.
American Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, England, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.
Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray) flies to England to spend his birthday with his brother, James (Peter Gallagher). James has business guests coming over and must find something to occupy his brother until dinner's over. Wallace ends up taking part in the "Theatre of Life", which promises to treat the participant as a character in a crime drama. Trouble begins when Wallace is mistaken for a real spy and shoots a man. Now he's tangled up in a plot to kill Russian dignitaries on the eve of the signing of an important peace agreement. For him, it's all an act. But to the men who want a second Cold War, Wallace is public enemy number one.—Lordship <[email protected]>
Wallace Ritchie (Bill Murray), an American vacationer in London, England, doesn't know that the bullets are real and the truth serum true. He thinks the intrigue erupting around him is part of an audience-participation theater event. Yet the world's fate depends on this gullible goofus who can't even spell C.I.A. Ritchie is the naive spy who comes in very bold. The deadpan Ritchie blissfully treads into a deadly serious realm. He can't believe how believable the make-believe seems. But as Ritchie's cloak-and-dagger experiences with agents, a femme fatale, a corpse, highway pursuits (lesson number one: drive on the left), assassins, and a ticking time bomb amply prove, variety isn't just the spice of life. It's the life of spies.—Robert Lynch <[email protected]>
Wallace "Wally" Ritchie (played by Bill Murray) is an affable but naive man from Des Moines, Iowa. He travels to London to surprise his successful businessman brother, James (played by Peter Gallagher), on his birthday. James is hosting an important dinner party with influential guests and sees Wally as a potential embarrassment. To keep him occupied, James buys Wally a ticket for an interactive theater experience called Theatre of Life, a live-action role-playing game where participants become part of a staged mystery. Wally enthusiastically agrees, unaware of what he's truly getting into.
Wally makes his way to a phone booth, following the instructions for the start of Theatre of Life. At the same time, a real espionage plot is unfolding in London. A hitman receives a call in a nearby phone booth about his next target. Through a mix-up, Wally answers the wrong call and is mistaken for the hitman. The voice on the other end provides cryptic instructions for him to retrieve sensitive information and eliminate a target at a nearby hotel. Thinking this is part of the interactive theater experience, Wally cheerfully agrees.
Wally arrives at the hotel and inadvertently disrupts an assassination attempt. Believing it's all part of the game, he bumbles through the situation with charm and humor, unwittingly foiling the killers' plans. The real spies and criminals, now convinced that Wally is a highly skilled operative, grow increasingly desperate to stop him.
While navigating the city, Wally encounters Lori (played by Joanne Whalley), a mysterious and disillusioned woman connected to the espionage plot. Lori initially believes Wally to be a competent, dangerous operative, but she grows intrigued by his quirky and upbeat personality. Their budding romance provides comedic and emotional depth to the story.
The plot revolves around a secret diplomatic meeting and a Cold War-era conspiracy. High-level operatives from both sides of the conflict aim to disrupt the meeting, and Wally unwittingly becomes the centerpiece of their plans. Despite his cluelessness, he continuously stumbles into situations that neutralize threats or complicate the villains' schemes.
As Wally moves from one "scene" of the supposed theater experience to the next, he inadvertently gathers crucial intelligence, disrupts covert operations, and builds a reputation as an unstoppable spy. His cheerful obliviousness and unorthodox methods create mounting frustration for the real operatives, who can't figure out how he's so effective.
The action culminates in a showdown involving a high-stakes exchange at a formal event. Wally, still under the impression that he's participating in an elaborate theatrical production, delivers a speech and interacts with the conspirators in a way that completely derails their plans. Lori, realizing Wally's true nature, steps in to help him navigate the dangerous situation.
By the end of the film, Wally's actions inadvertently expose the espionage ring, prevent an international incident, and secure peace between the conflicting parties. His brother James, initially embarrassed by Wally, now sees him as a hero. Wally, still unaware of the gravity of his actions, departs London with Lori, content and oblivious to the chaos he's left in his wake.
