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Nutty Professor II :
The Klumps
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The Film : When
Eddie Murphy's first Nutty Professor remake was released four
years earlier, it was heralded as Murphy's comeback film. The comedian
beforehand had developed such an ego that he felt every single thing he
did was funny; even Beverly Hills Cop 3 and The Golden
Child. The first Nutty Professor remake seemed to show that he
had learned his lesson on what was and wasn't funny. Unfortunately,
looking at Nutty Professor 2, he's apparently learned nothing
at all.
The core plotline --if you can call it that-- is that (Nutty) Professor
Sherman has discovered a youth formula. This formula --when it works-- gives youthful,
hormonal vigor to senior citizens. Does Sherman have a good
name for this drug? Here's a good one: VIAGARA. Unfortunately, Sherm, it's
already been invented. Even worse, "old people who want sex" is
made into a humorless, running gag throughout the film. Other
running gags include the apparent theory that fat people pass a lot of gas. Are you
laughing yet?
How bad can the "humor" be? Don't ask. Murphy
literally takes his overdone gas jokes to the stratosphere, and beyond! In one scene, a Star Wars ghost like figure tells
Sherman (Murphy) to use his "Force" to get to the top of a
weightless spaceship. Sherman's force, as you probably guessed, is his own
flatulence, which he uses to pass enough gas to give him
"thrust" to go to the very top of the ship. Sure, Murphy wants
to make comedies that appeal to his young children...did he have to have
them write the script, too?
Yes, gross-out humor flicks are a
big hit these days. However, I think the trick to such comedy is when such
jokes
are believable in the real world, and not just implausible events spliced
together for an incredulous punch line. In another scene, Sherman's lab hamster
grows to gigantic proportions. A woman runs away, forgetting
her priceless fur coat (why'd she wear a fur coat anyway?...It's JULY!).
A man then decides to "protect" himself with the fur coat (Huh???).
Surprisingly, the fur coat has the same duo-colored fur of the hamster (Wha...?). The hamster then mistakes the man for a
female hamster (Say WHAT?). You can see where this is heading...and
it isn't at all funny;
it's just too ridiculous a premise. Force fed punch lines just never work.
This all might come as a shock to some, who have read all of the reviews
(well, a few of them, anyway), who claim they laughed constantly in this
film. Be very careful, that they tell you what
"jokes" they laughed at. Maybe they just feel that old, fat people passing gas is a total riot. In that case, yes,
they'd laugh constantly, because such jokes
happen constantly in the film. Other jokes are too pre-pubescent or too perverted, making the
entire film a muddled mess of monotonous, potty-humor filth.
Some critics went so far as to claim that Murphy, for playing 6 roles
in this film, deserves an "Oscar nomination." Sorry, I can't buy
that one. To me, it's ludicrous to herald Murphy's acting, just because
the make-up department put different latex on him each day. In many ways,
Murphy is not unlike the typical bar-drinking buddy, who gestures wildly
while cynically impersonating the voices of people he met that day. The
difference here is, Murphy has a million-dollar FX department to
hide the man behind the voices...and even that doesn't help the story
much. The overused gag of "comedy under heavy latex" has been
done over and over by now, and there's nothing terribly new to see here.
There's so many additional flaws with the film, it's hard to end this
review short. Whatever happened to his "true love" from the
first film, Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett)? Janet Jackson's character seems thrown in from left
field. I'll admit, though, that while
it's easy to tease Janet for her
acting skills, it's hard to imagine even Meryl Streep
being able to "laugh" at yet another potty joke, for the
12th time in a row. Meanwhile, Murphy wants you to believe that the same joke is
different, because he was passing gas under different latex make-up. Gee, what a
difference that is...<YAWN!>
Fanboys' blind faith notwithstanding, Murphy needs to find a new shtick.
Anyone who'd laugh even once in this film, probably thought Jar-Jar Binks
was one really hilarious dude. Either, that, or they must think that
hamster sex is hilarious. If you're not a member of either group, you should
leave this film far,
far, far behind.
The DVD:
I know that many people --some really respected critics-- loved this film.
One even said that this was a better sequel than even Empire Strikes
Back or Godfather2. Yikes; talk about a lover of
potty humor! Anyway, for those people, I guess the DVD must be a big draw;
deleted scenes, commentary tracks, yada yada yada.
However, what do you want from deleted
scenes? After so many potty jokes, do you really need another? The credits
already showed us a few outtakes and bloopers, so there's no surprise that
there's some more of those probably lying around, too. I guess there's
something to love in these deleted scenes to someone, though not me.
The end result is Murphy back at square
one. the first Nutty Professor film seemed to show he was no longer Mr.
Cocky; now, he's back to his old conceited self. People who wish to shake
Murphy's hand for films like The Golden Child will probably
want to buy this film on DVD. Not me.
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