The Nutty Professor (1996)

Simply A Masterpiece

Sadly Over-hyped

best movie i've ever seen.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Contin you know my plan to watch every Eddie Murphy movie in order, I come to Nutty Professor (1996)Plot In A Paragraph: In a depressed state, kind but overweight professor Sherman Klump (Murphy) takes a special chemical that turns him into the slim but obnoxious Buddy Love.I remember Reading about this being made and thinking there was no way this remake with Murphy could be a hit, certainly not one with him wearing a fat suit. I promptly dismissed it, as what would be another Murphy flop. After years in a career slump, I was not alone. Murphy said "I had a bunch of movies that didn't work. People were saying, "Eddie's no good," so I was like, "Not good? Let me show you what I can f***ing do. It seems every five or six years, you have to do something to remind them that they like you."Murphy, is energised for the first time in years. Using this passion, he is seriously back on track with a lot of energy, missing in so much of his work the last couple of years. The movie is a remake of the Jerry Lewis movie, but I'd say it's more inspired by, than an actual remake of the 1963 classic. This version follows the broad outlines of the Lewis film, with one inspired addition, it makes him fat!! Opening the door for a lot more physical comedy.This is Murphy's best performance and movie since Beverly Hills Cop. Every adult member of the Klump family is played by Murphy. He has always been good at this type of thing, and here it really works (even if fart humour is not your thing) Sherman is one of his most likable characters, good-hearted, sympathetic and funny. When Sherman turns into Buddy Love, the character resembles Murphy's own on stage act. There is a lot of Buddy Love in the Eddie Murphy screen persona. Maybe too much. And not enough Sherman Klump. The Nutty Professor shows him back on track.Murphy was nominated a Golden Globe for the fourth time. His first since Beverly Hills Cop (14 years earlier) More importantly, it was a hit at the box office. The Nutty Professor grossed $128 Million at the domestic box office to end 1996 as the 8th highest grossing movie of the year. The first time Murphy had a $100 million grosser and a movie in the top 10 highest grossers of the year in 8 years. The comeback was on.

This remake is watchable 90% of the time, the scenes with the animals are not necessary, it's surprising that PETA didn't go crazy on the filmmakers' behinds, maybe they did, but rationally they are not even real animals and this is just a movie.The in your face aspect is "Buddy Love" (Eddie Murphy) shouting and laughing over the top throughout most of his scenes, it's extreme but it's obviously supposed to be. The movie turns into a type of alter-ego story, "Buddy" is loud and crass and "Professor Sherman Klump" (also Eddie Murphy) is quiet, reserved and respectful. The film is clever into making sure they are two complete opposites in personality as well as physicality.Even though this is a Comedy it isn't actually funny, even the comic that cussed "Sherman" out is not even funny, and "Buddy" getting his revenge with his jokes/insults against the comic was not even funny either, on both parts it was just insults disguised as comedy, real comedians can use insults but they have an actual point to what they are saying.The message in this motion picture is hard to find until the end when they make it clear that you should love yourself regardless of how you look."Sherman's" family "The Klumps" are difficult to watch being that they are all unnatural due to most of them being played by Eddie Murphy in drag, and what is up with "Sherman" inviting the love interest "Carla" (Jada Pinkett Smith) to have dinner with his family already knowing that they are rude people and it was verified by flatulence and swearing at the dinner table. One could argue that "Sherman" isn't perfect and that was a mistake, but we see that him taking that potion already shows that he isn't perfect and is making mistakes, do we really need to see him make more errors?!The pacing of the movie is fine, some of the dialogue is too much, but there's worse comedies out there.This is not one of Eddie Murphy's best movies, but then again the majority of his films are rubbish, the only decent films that he's done is the "Beverly Hills Cop" trilogy.

Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) is an overweight professor at Wellman College. He's working on a weight lost formula that actually restructures DNA. Dean Richmond (Larry Miller) is not a fan of Klump who has lost him lots of donors. They need to get the last rich alumni Harlan Hartley (James Coburn). New teacher Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith) is a Klump fan. When she accepts a date with him, he tries to lose weight. After getting embarrassed on the date, he decides to take his own formula which turns him into the smooth operator Buddy Love.This is not for anybody who gets offended by fat jokes. There is plenty of that plus loads of fart jokes. It's saved by a very appealing character in Sherman Klump. He's a nice guy. The romance is sweet with Jada playing a sweet girl. It's actually very sad when the comic picks on him. I like the guy but the fat jokes aren't funny to me. This is a nice take on Jekyll & Hyde.

The Nutty Professor (1996)*** 1/2 (out of 4) Hilarious remake of the Jerry Lewis film about the overweight Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) who comes up with a chemical that will turn anyone skinny overnight. Klump rushes the experiment on himself after an embarrassing night out and becomes the skinny but annoying Buddy Love (Murphy). At first Buddy thinks this is what he wants but the side effects quickly follow. I don't care what anyone says but Eddie Murphy should have won the Oscar for this film and yes I've seen all the nominations from that year. It's rather amazing to see what Murphy was able to do here, playing at least seven characters and making of them one of the most memorable you're ever going to see. I don't care who you are but when you see Sherman Klump you can't help but fall in love with the character and the way Murphy plays him is just something amazing to watch. Even the Buddy Love character is quite memorable and this doesn't even cover the Klump family that Murphy perfectly handles. Rick Baker also deserves a lot of credit for the special effects and these here have to be considered some of the greatest of his career. The film really does walk the line between hilarious comedy and some rather sad and dramatic moments. There's no question that the film really packs a punch no matter what it's trying to do. The story itself certainly comes with a message that's not preachy and I think Murphy really delivers it in a touching way. The one flaw with the film is that it breaks out of a realistic nature at times and especially with way too many fart jokes. Still, there's no question that this here is Murphy at his greatest and the Sherman character is just so great that you can't help but be won over by the film.