This was one of Martin's lesser films. While Martin invariably invested a lot of himself into this production, as always, I found it less interesting than most of his other endeavors.
Co-starring Eddie Murphy, Jamie Kennedy, Heather Graham, and Christine Baranski, I felt most of their wonderful talents went unused, untapped, and uncalled-for. This script simply did nothing to challenge these marvelous actors.
And yet, Martin still manages to shine from within the boundaries of this dreary, seemingly low budget production. With a budget of $55 M, direction by Frank Oz, and a screen play by Martin himself, I really expected a lot more from this film.
Honestly, they spent $55 M to make a movie about the making of a "B" movie for $2,184.00?! I would have to guess, since IMDb does not show his salary for this film, that at least 10-15 M of the total budget went towards the salary of Mr. Murphy, considering he was paid $20 M for The Klumps 2 PLUS 20% of the movie's gross, according to IMDb.
That is sad in itself, but the finished product is so much less than the sum of its parts that it leaves you wondering where IS the movie?
While it was fun to watch, this project just did not "work." Good actors, great direction, a good budget, all basically gone up in smoke.
While this is still an enjoyable film, I must admit I was far more than a tad disappointed in the finished product. The premise was good, but I honestly believe this movie was such a let down due to the actors' inability to switch out of "B" mode when not in the Chubby Rain phase of this movie. It is like once they got started playing "B" quality characters, they forgot to go back to "A" movie characters when not behind the camera...behind the camera.
Confused yet? That is kind of the point. It is so muddled that I believe the actors got confused and Frank Oz forgot to help them keep it together.
As a desperate movie producer, Bobby Bowfinger (Martin) must get a movie going, or go under. He takes a really bad script, and attempts to attract talent to the work. When that proves unsuccessful, he dupes his entire staff into believing Kitt Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) has agreed to do the movie, but has a radical "acting style," where he films his scenes on the fly. So Bowfinger begins filming his movie, starring Kitt Ramsey, unbeknownst to Mr. Ramsey. It's a clever and funny idea, but somewhere in the mix, it just gets lost.
And yet, I still like and OWN this movie. There is an appeal, but I could not tell you what that appeal is, anymore than I can tell you why it does not work.
I have watched this movie again to write this review, and I still have the same mixed feelings about it.
See it for yourself, and you be the judge.
It rates a 4.2/10 from...
the Fiend :.
Co-starring Eddie Murphy, Jamie Kennedy, Heather Graham, and Christine Baranski, I felt most of their wonderful talents went unused, untapped, and uncalled-for. This script simply did nothing to challenge these marvelous actors.
And yet, Martin still manages to shine from within the boundaries of this dreary, seemingly low budget production. With a budget of $55 M, direction by Frank Oz, and a screen play by Martin himself, I really expected a lot more from this film.
Honestly, they spent $55 M to make a movie about the making of a "B" movie for $2,184.00?! I would have to guess, since IMDb does not show his salary for this film, that at least 10-15 M of the total budget went towards the salary of Mr. Murphy, considering he was paid $20 M for The Klumps 2 PLUS 20% of the movie's gross, according to IMDb.
That is sad in itself, but the finished product is so much less than the sum of its parts that it leaves you wondering where IS the movie?
While it was fun to watch, this project just did not "work." Good actors, great direction, a good budget, all basically gone up in smoke.
While this is still an enjoyable film, I must admit I was far more than a tad disappointed in the finished product. The premise was good, but I honestly believe this movie was such a let down due to the actors' inability to switch out of "B" mode when not in the Chubby Rain phase of this movie. It is like once they got started playing "B" quality characters, they forgot to go back to "A" movie characters when not behind the camera...behind the camera.
Confused yet? That is kind of the point. It is so muddled that I believe the actors got confused and Frank Oz forgot to help them keep it together.
As a desperate movie producer, Bobby Bowfinger (Martin) must get a movie going, or go under. He takes a really bad script, and attempts to attract talent to the work. When that proves unsuccessful, he dupes his entire staff into believing Kitt Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) has agreed to do the movie, but has a radical "acting style," where he films his scenes on the fly. So Bowfinger begins filming his movie, starring Kitt Ramsey, unbeknownst to Mr. Ramsey. It's a clever and funny idea, but somewhere in the mix, it just gets lost.
And yet, I still like and OWN this movie. There is an appeal, but I could not tell you what that appeal is, anymore than I can tell you why it does not work.
I have watched this movie again to write this review, and I still have the same mixed feelings about it.
See it for yourself, and you be the judge.
It rates a 4.2/10 from...
the Fiend :.