When
Eddie Murphy left the confines of his home at Saturday Night Live, he appeared
to be embarking on a unstoppable career. With hits like Beverly Hills Cop, 48
Hours, and Trading Places under his belt, it seemed that the master comedian could
do no wrong. Enter the 90's in which Murphy's career began to self destruct with
such lackluster efforts as Beverly Hills Cop 3, The Distinguished Gentlemen, and
the dismal Vampire in Brooklyn. Things changed for the better, however, when Murphy
signed on for a remake of the Jerry Lewis classic The Nutty Professor. With another
blockbuster on his hands, a sequel was inevitable.
In
Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps, the lovable Sherman Klump is on the verge of creating
a youth serum, and even closer to marrying the girl of his dreams played by pop
superstar Janet Jackson. Things go haywire when Sherman's alter ego Buddy Love
is unleashed and threatens to ruin everything he has worked so hard to build.
With
this zany, however inconsistent comedy, Murphy has given what I think is the performance
of his career. We once again remember what a brilliant comic-force Murphy can
be as he disappears into this colorful array of hilarious characters. There are
many moments in this film that are so seamless that you will honestly forget that
Murphy is playing nearly every major character. My favorite part of the plot involves
Sherman's elderly parents coping with their sex life.
The
film was directed at a brisk but not very focused pace by Peter Segal (Naked Gun
33 1/3, Tommy Boy.) He doesn't get much help from his screenwriting team Paul
and Chris Weitz (American Pie), Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield (who used
to write for Saturday Night Live), who feel compelled to throw everything into
the plot but the kitchen sink. There are also far too many flatulence jokes and
a ridiculous sequence involving a huge hamster. It's too bad, because the film
actually starts off quite well as a sort of restrained Me, Myself and Irene, but
as the plot thickens the film seems to lose it's heart.
In
the end, it is the endless and inventive energy of Murphy along with the incredible
make up effects created by Rick Baker (The Howling) that allow Nutty Professor
2 to rise above the routine screenplay. Along with films like The Patriot, and
Gladiator, Nutty Professor 2 is a film that really works because of it's lead
actor. With this performance, Murphy is not only hilarious but quite touching
as well. Sadly, comic performances are not usually rewarded by the Academy. I
think Kevin Kline was the last actor to win for a comedic performance in A Fish
Called Wanda. That's a shame, because Murphy has worked hard for this paycheck,
and deserves any accolade that comes his way.
