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comedians Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy team up for the first time in this new
comical stab at Hollywood filmmaking from director Frank Oz (Little Shops Of Horrors,
In & Out).
Steve
Martin is an Ed Wood-type filmmaker who goes to many great lengths to get his
latest sci-fi opus to the big screen. Eddie Murphy is Kit Ramsey--the biggest
star in Hollywood whom Martin tries to enlist into his project. Murphy gives a
strong performance as he dons multiple roles (one is the aforementioned and the
other is a sweet, but geeky look-alike.
Martin
wrote the screenplay and injects it with a lot of wit and some terrifically sly
inside jokes. Director Oz allows his outstanding cast much breathing room and
gives them plenty of time to improvise. The stand-outs are Murphy, who gives his
box office star character resonance which could only come from his real-life experiences,
as well as the lovable Jif--a nerd with a lot of heart--also terrific are Heather
Graham as an actress who will do anything to get ahead and Christine Baranski
as an aging actress who really gets into her part. Martin does a good job here,
but he's been better in other movies. It's his screenplay that's really worth
mentioning.
Oz's
direction is the best it's been since the hilarious Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The
film is brisk and has some great comic timing. Although Bowfinger isn't the summer's
funniest film, it is really a fun time that brings to mind Ed Wood and The Big
Picture.
