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Bowfinger

(7/10)
  • Runtime: 97min.
  • Director: Frank Oz
  • MPAA Rating:
  • Year: 1999

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Current Rating 7.37/10 | 46 Votes

     When I first watched "Bowfinger" over two years ago, I left the theater convinced that it was the worst comedy ever! Since then I've seen bits of it TV sometimes, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I watched it complete once again. Surprisingly, this time I ended up thinking it was a pretty well made comedy, and I just couldn't figure out why I disliked it so much the first time I saw it. Guess I wasn't in the mood that day.

The plot is actually quite original and funny. Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is a small film producer/director who is desperate to make a film. He has very little money, and the things he will do to get his film done are unbelievable. He has a script written called "Chubby Rain", about aliens coming to earth, but nobody will listen to him. He tries to impress a big time poducer called Jerry Renfro (Robert Downey Jr.) by walking into a restaurant and fake a conversation over his cell phone -which was phone he ripped off a car- and speaking lodly so Renfro would hear him. No luck over there it seems.

He has a couple of crew members, such as Dave (Jamie Kennedy), who has access to camera equipment during daytime; Carol (Christine Baraksni), an actress with experience who has been waiting long to make a movie like this; Daisy (Heather Graham), a young woman who just got to town with nothing, wanting to become an actress, who is willing to have sex with just about anyone who'll help her get what she wants; And four mexican immigrants Bowfinger picked up with his minivan. The screenwritter is a guy who works for him, Afirm (Adam Alexi-Malle). But the crew need a motivatino, so Bowfinger tells them he'll get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to work with them.

Kit Ramsey is a huge black movie star, all his films are a hit at the box office; But Kit is a weird guy, he's totally paranoid and likes to do some weird stuff sometimes; To controll this he goes to Mind Head, a place where they help people to keep things together. The man who helps him over there is played by Terence Stamp. Kit refuses to work with Bowfinger, so the latter comes up with an amazing plan: They'll shoot the scenes without telling Kit he's in the movie. He tells the crew Kit will work with them, but he will not talk to anyone. The crew -to make the film works- believe him. Some problems happen and when they can't find Kit for a few days, they need a double, so they hire a guy called Jiff, who looks a lot like Kit, but is a bit dumb. Jiff is also played by Murphy.

On my latest viewing of the film, I was convinced this was a great comedy. It has all the possible elements you can ask for, and the humor is not even disgusting or anything, so it's for all ages and tastes. Eddie Murphy was brilliant, as both Kit and Jiff, none of the characters is what you'd call a 'normal' person, and yet he plays them so differently and manages to be funny as both. A great performance.

Steve Martin was also very funny, he did a great job delivering his lines and writting everyone else's, since he wrote the script for this one. The rest of the cast was pretty fine too, I think everyone did a great job, and none of the actors were annoying.

Although the film is certainly a bit stupid, I believe everyone who is willing to accept the fact that it's dumb will certainly enjoy it, some of the stuff seen in here is truly funny. Also, a good thing is that the jokes themselves aren't that stupid, the only unbelievable thing is the story itself, but that doesn't matter at all. If you're in the mood for some good comedy, watch "Bowfinger".

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