The Nutty Professor (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Eddie Murphy plays Sherman Klump in 'The Nutty Professor', a comedy loosely based on the 1963 Jerry Lewis film about a brilliant nerd inventing a potion that turns him into a Romeo-type. Sherman is a smart, mild-mannered, but grossly overweight (400 or so lbs.) professor at Wellman College. One fateful day, a beautiful, & charming new teacher, Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett), walks through Sherman's classroom door & introduces herself as one of his biggest fans. Sherman is instantly in love, & embarks on a desperate mission to lose a ton of weight. Now, Sherman works out (while chewing on a candy bar, haha), he tries to curb his diet ... but an opportunity in his own lab presents him with a much quicker way to shed the lbs..
An experimental chemical potion for re-aligning genetic structure has recently worked for his lab hamsters, so Sherman decides to be the fat-reducing serum's first human subject. After swallowing the light blue contents of the lab vial, the obese scientist has been replaced by his thin, muscular alternate self, 'Buddy Love'. However, along with Buddy's perfect physique comes a fast-talking, indulgent, obnoxious personality that would win few over, no less Carla. Romantic entanglements ensue. Can Sherman stop his alternate self before it's too late? Or will Buddy prevail? What and/or who does Carla really want?
I don't know if I've ever laughed harder during a movie in my life than I did with 'The Nutty Professor'. Not only is Eddie Murphy funny to begin with; not only are the scenarios he gets into (as 400 lb. Sherman) hysterical ... but the fact that he plays his family (dad, mom, brother, grandma) with such incredible humor & accuracy is what put me over the edge. There are no less than 2 sequences throughout the film including Sherman & his family that literally had me streaming tears down my face, bent over in my seat, & gasping for air. Now, the Klump family were usually belching, farting, & spouting scathing one-liners. But I ate it up. I even missed portions of the dialogue because the theater was audibly laughing, as well. Granted, most of the humor includes flatulence jokes. But dammit, it was funny.
If you're looking for smart humor, don't see 'The Nutty Professor'. If you're looking for guilty-pleasure laughs, I can't imagine a better motion picture. Furthermore, not only is the humor great, but there are some touching moments, as well (believe it or not). When you're not laughing at Murphy's verbal & physical antics, the movie has a sort of sweetness about it; a good-hearted tone. The balance isn't perfect (do we laugh with or at Sherman?). But I think most viewers (who'd want to see this anyway) would more than get their money's worth. So, in closing, I really enjoyed this film. It's themes of self-respect & accepting people for who they are inside are apparent. The visual effects are fun. The make-up work is fantastic (with Murphy playing his entire family). Eddie Murphy is back on top; thank God. The script doesn't let him down. And he's allowed to shine.
An experimental chemical potion for re-aligning genetic structure has recently worked for his lab hamsters, so Sherman decides to be the fat-reducing serum's first human subject. After swallowing the light blue contents of the lab vial, the obese scientist has been replaced by his thin, muscular alternate self, 'Buddy Love'. However, along with Buddy's perfect physique comes a fast-talking, indulgent, obnoxious personality that would win few over, no less Carla. Romantic entanglements ensue. Can Sherman stop his alternate self before it's too late? Or will Buddy prevail? What and/or who does Carla really want?
I don't know if I've ever laughed harder during a movie in my life than I did with 'The Nutty Professor'. Not only is Eddie Murphy funny to begin with; not only are the scenarios he gets into (as 400 lb. Sherman) hysterical ... but the fact that he plays his family (dad, mom, brother, grandma) with such incredible humor & accuracy is what put me over the edge. There are no less than 2 sequences throughout the film including Sherman & his family that literally had me streaming tears down my face, bent over in my seat, & gasping for air. Now, the Klump family were usually belching, farting, & spouting scathing one-liners. But I ate it up. I even missed portions of the dialogue because the theater was audibly laughing, as well. Granted, most of the humor includes flatulence jokes. But dammit, it was funny.
If you're looking for smart humor, don't see 'The Nutty Professor'. If you're looking for guilty-pleasure laughs, I can't imagine a better motion picture. Furthermore, not only is the humor great, but there are some touching moments, as well (believe it or not). When you're not laughing at Murphy's verbal & physical antics, the movie has a sort of sweetness about it; a good-hearted tone. The balance isn't perfect (do we laugh with or at Sherman?). But I think most viewers (who'd want to see this anyway) would more than get their money's worth. So, in closing, I really enjoyed this film. It's themes of self-respect & accepting people for who they are inside are apparent. The visual effects are fun. The make-up work is fantastic (with Murphy playing his entire family). Eddie Murphy is back on top; thank God. The script doesn't let him down. And he's allowed to shine.