Name: Retro Film Review: The Nutty Professor (1996)
Item: The Nutty Professor
Rating: 60
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

Few Hollywood comedians can carry a film like Eddie Murphy can. Unfortunately, too many of his career choices proved to be beyond the help of his abilities. So, in mid 1990s, after series of flops, his career seemed to go nowhere and it took brave and risky move to put Murphy back in the mainstream of Hollywood stardom. This move was the remake of Jerry Lewis' 1963 comedy classic The Nutty Professor. In 1996 new version, starring Eddie Murphy, was directed by Tom Shadyac.

Protagonist of the film is Professor Sherman Clump (played by Eddie Murphy), brilliant scientist who happens to be burdened with a severe case of obesity. However, even such people have feelings, so Clump falls in love with Clara Purty (played by Jada Pinkett), fellow teacher at his college. Tortured by inferiority complex that prevents him from making a move on Clara, Clump decides to use drastic measures in the form of experimental potion that contracts body molecules. As a result, Sherman quickly transforms into much skinnier and more attractive man, but the potion has nasty side effects in the form of personality change that turn him into aggressive party animal called Buddy Love. Clara seems to be attracted to Buddy, while still preferring Sherman's true character, which all leads to whole series of romantic complications.

At first glance, The Nutty Professor looks like nothing more than just another Hollywood's exercise in gross-out humour, this time aided by aggressive use of CGI. However, two things make pleasant surprise for all those who expected standard gross-out comedy. First of them is Eddie Murphy who played not one or two, but seven different roles - some of them in the same shots. This was not just display of film magic or great make-up, but also Murphy's chameleonic abilities at their best. Another great thing about The Nutty Professor is in the film's message - despite the barrage of jokes directed at obese people, the film manages to say to the audience that the people should be judged by their character and not by their appearance. This humanist and anti Hollywood message might be the prime reason why the audiences all over the world - most of them being closer to Sherman than to Buddy - accepted this comedy despite questionable quality of its humour.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on June 6th 2003)