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The Underrated Bowfinger Is A Great Comedy Flick

A comedy film with the likes of ex- Saturday Night Live members Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy in the ensemble cast doesn't go amiss, and thus Bowfinger is a terrific example that demonstrates their abilities. It's just as well really because this is a very original effort with an interesting support cast and although the film takes a while for the laughs to generate, Bowfinger is solid and yet it is a somewhat of a clever dig at the Hollywood movie industry. Martin and Murphy both put on excellent performances and after the insipid efforts of Martin's Sgt Bilko, Mixed Nuts and Cheaper by the Dozen (though I liked Bringing Down the House) and Murphy's Coming to America, Holy Man, Vampire in Brooklyn and Life, it's good to see a film such as Bowfinger that demonstrates their comedic talents and performances on screen. Despite the fact it was virtually ignored by the mainstream cinema/theatre goers, as well as the film press, it is well written and the comedic moments are amusing to watch. The final scene where Bowfinger (Steve Martin)and Jiff (Kitt Ramsey's twin brother played by Murphy) are donned in kung fu outfits and performing a farcical routine (with pop number kung fu fighting playing in the background) and where they fight the bad guys is the main highlight of the film. Another example is when Kit has to run through a busy highway and cars are speeding past, as he attempts to get to the other side of the road.Jamie Kennedy, Christine Baranski and Adam Alex Malle in particular shine in their own performances, although with Heather Graham, she didn't have much to do, in contrast to the other actors, in her role in this film. In all, Bowfinger is a highly amusing and yet entertaining movie that is well worth seeing. Particularly for the performances from the two male leads, Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin. So underrated and yet is just brilliant and so funny to watch. Give it a go!

Funny Satire of Hollywood

When watching Steve Martin's take on the Hollywood process, I couldn't stop thinking about "The Player", the Robert Altman film with Tim Robbins. It's the same take on the perverse nature of Hollywood, from an obviously different perspective.

Bowfinger is funny. Eddie Murphy is a great caricature of an action film. The barbs pointed at Scientology are as funny as they are obvious (how did Martin not get sued by the paranoid, litigious religion?).

The only complaints are that the film seems to drag at points.

As for the DVD extras, all I can say is that Christine Baranski does not come across as someone I would want to have dinner with. She appears to take herself, her role, and this film FAR too seriously. Perhaps she was remaining in character (unforutunately, I don't think so).

Sharp, funny satire of Hollywood

It is widely believed that a good comedy is hard to create and that a great one is almost impossible to make. Judging by most of what has been produced in the last decade or so, that may be true. I know, however, that it wasn't always true. From the 1930s through the 1970s, Hollywood released a number of funny movies every year. I don't know what caused the laughter to die down. All I can tell you is that, when a good comedy comes along, you ought to take the opportunity to see it, since it may be months until the next one. Bowfinger is such a movie.

Steve Martin, who also wrote the script, is Bobby Bowfinger, the least successful producer in Tinseltown. He gets a screenplay he thinks is great, but how is he going to finance any project? A studio executive tells him jokingly that if he can get Kitt Ramsey [Eddy Murphy] to play the lead, the studio will finance the movie. Bowfinger takes the offer seriously. When Ramsey throws him out of his limo, Bowfinger is down but not out. He hatches a scheme. Suppose he and his motley crew were to sneak around and film Ramsey secretly? What if Ramsey were to star in a movie and not even know it? Only in Hollywood, I hear you saying.

What follows is an antidote to the cynical, sophomoric or gross-out comedies that have been so prevalent these days. Frankly, some of these were amusing, but Bowfinger is a return to a gentler form of satire. People are made fun of, but there is no meanness to the humor. Bowfinger may be an Everyman in a world of wolves, but he is a well-adjusted one. He always has a plan. The ending proved to be a little too simplistic and upbeat for my tastes, but it does little to ruin the fun.

This is Steve Martin's best comedy work since LA Story in 1991, but it is Eddy Murphy who easily takes the acting honors. He plays both Kitt Ramsey and another character named Jiff. We know Murphy can make people laugh, but as an actor, he in underrated. Bowfinger hires Jiff because he looks so much like Ramsey. Murphy gives them each a unique personality. Ramsey is hyper and totally paranoid, while Jiff is nerdy and not very fast. Each has a different body language, and it is part of Murphy's genius that he can create two characters so physically similar yet different at the same time.

Heather Graham is, as Jiff puts it, awesome. Hers is the role of Daisy, an actress fresh off the bus from Ohio who will sleep with anyone to get what she wants. Graham gives her character a hysterical combination of worldliness and sweetness. Also great is Christine Baraski, of Now and Again, who plays an aging actress who never once acknowledges that her career is on the skids.

If I have any problem with Bowfinger, it is due to director Frank Oz. Many movies today are so long. I looked in the newspaper the other day, and nearly everything playing ran from two to three hours. It's as though studios, which are now run by accountants, accept whatever cut the director hands them these days. Oz has the opposite problem. He cuts his movies to the bone. As a result, there are a couple of spots in Bowfinger where it seems like something has been omitted.

Lots of laughs, but you can wait for the video.

Nothing too special about this movie, but I had a lot of fun. The swipes at Hollywood are funny, but have been done before. Steve Martin is fine, and Eddie Murphy's crazed character is fun to watch. Heather Graham is very good as well. Christine Baranski is irritating, though.The plot -- filming a movie starring a major action star without the star's knowledge -- has been discussed a lot; it's very clever and funny. What's less clever is that they're making the world's worst movie. I actually think Bowfinger would have been a better movie if the movie being filmed was a better one.Still, much of the slapstick will make you laugh out loud.

The funniest movie of the year!

When I went to see this movie, I expected funny and my expectations were filled and then some. This is the funniest movie I have ever seen! It made me laugh till I had tears in my eyes! I've never laughed that hard, that much in my whole life! This is the funniest movie since Tom Hanks' 1986 film "The Money Pit". Five stars out of four! If you haven't seen the movie you might not want to read any further.The scene with the high heels in the parking lot had me almost rolling on the floor laughing. And Kit's paranoia about aliens was hysterical ! Eddie Murphy is brilliant in both roles. Steve Martin is excellent! The whole cast was incredible.

Star power backed by great storyline.

With the likes of Steve Martin, Heather Graham, and Eddie Murphy in the lineup, there is no doubt that many movie-goers will be attracted to Bowfinger by this constellation of star power.But when they leave the cinema two hours later, what they'll remember most is a very clever story about showbiz
-- one in which the characters are anything but Hollywood movie stars.Bowfinger is a movie-maker (Steve Martin) who is plenty shady, which is actually a plus in tinsletown, but is cursed by a glaring fault -- exquisitely bad taste.About to enter his sunset years as far as the movie business goes, Bowfinger's dream of making a profitable feature-length movie is also turning into a desperate need as he sees his career slipping away.He comes across a script, written by his bookkeeper and phone answerer, Afrim, (Adam Alexi-Malle) about aliens who invade planet earth in the form of large raindrops. Following on the logic of this amazingly absurd premise, the title of this movie is `Chubby Rain.'Strangely enough Bowfinger knows people willing to help him make a movie so bad it would even make Ed Wood cringe. There is Carol (Christine Baranski) a thespian prone to overacting and on the verge of having to give up Hollywood for a life of bit parts in places like Edmonton.There is Dave (Jamie Kennedy), an air-headed hunk, whose flatness as an actor is exceeded only by his sense of self-importance.There is Slater (Kohl Sadduth), a felon who wants to be a cameraman but is valued mostly for his knack for stealing cars.All Bowfinger needs is a leading lady and a leading man.As it turns out getting the leading lady is easy. In walks Daisy (Heather Graham), the proverbial girl-next-door who, no sooner than arriving in Los Angeles from Ohio, begins sleeping her way to the top.The challenge is getting the leading man. Bowfinger has his sights set on Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), an action-movie titan. But Bowfinger is so far down the Hollywood food chain that, as we soon find out, his chances of signing Ramsey to a contract are as about as good as the longevity of a snowball on a Malibu beach.But Bowfinger does not give up, and this is where the fun begins: Bowfinger decides to make Kit Ramsey the star of the movie without him actually knowing that he is being filmed. It takes plenty of well-choreographed planning to get Bowfinger's actors into situations where they are interacting with Ramsey.Adding to the fun, Ramsey suffers from paranoid delusions which, when he's having a bad moment, cause him to honestly believe that the world really is being attacked by aliens. So when people he doesn't know run up to him and start screaming about invading space monsters, his mental balance goes a little whacky.The whole premise makes for plenty of great moments throughout the movie. And for a movie about non-actors, there is plenty of good acting. Murphy, for one, takes on two roles, the other being Kit's nerdy brother Jiff, who plays the role of Kit's butt in the Chubby Rain, while not out fetching the coffee.Baranski is hilarious as the actress `dedicated to the craft,' while Martin and Graham are perfect as the cad and caddess.There is also a nice touch when Bowfinger, in search of cheap labour, drives a van to the U.S.-Mexico border, opens the doors and simply waits for three illegal aliens to hop in. By the end of the show, they're well on the way to establishing themselves in the industry, making one wonder if we're not being a little tough on the recent arrivals from China. (For those of you not aware, five loads of boat people have arrived on the shores of British Columbia).Either way, Bowfinger, which was written by Martin and directed by Frank Oz (What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Little Shop of Horrors), shows that among their other talents, these stars can pick a good script.

Laugh Out Loud!

Bowfinger is a truly original comedy! Steve Martin has written a very funny movie! Eddie Murphy is great...again in dual roles! especially as the paranoid actor! Anyone who says that this is the "worst movie they've ever seen" have led very sheltered lives! This one's a definite DVD purchase! 3 0f 4 stars

Not a bad rental, but ...

Had I paid $8 to see this movie, I'd be wondering how I could buy back those wasted hours. However, I only spent the price of a movie rental and wasn't bored.If you've got a couple of hours to kill and you'd like a chuckle or two this is not a bad rental, or better yet, wait until it comes on one of the networks.

Bowfinger

One of the funniest movies to come along in a long time. I was laughing so hard that I had to rewind several times so as not to miss a thing. Don't miss this one! If anyone thinks this is not a funny movie, then they are probably dead and no one has told them yet.

Quiver

Spoilers herein.I like films that are explicitly about filmmaking, and so much the better if they are about the making of themselves. We've had films before (`13th Floor' comes to mind) where the participants in the film-within were unwitting. This treatment is very clever. Naturally it involves the self-referential devices, but it also wraps them in self-referential incidentals: the bit about alien invaders, the whole thing about the cult, even the wistful desire to get a (Fedex) message.Along the way we get some more common conventions: the twin (here the brother) and the actors-as-whores routine.Of Eddie Murphy's roles, this is probably the one that best shows his remarkable talent.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 4: Worth watching.

Bowfinger

I loved this movie. Eddie and Martin are great together. See This movie. 10/10

What a team!!!

What happens when you bring two of the biggest comical actors from the eighties (after that they haven't made many good movies), who both have an enormous career of their own, together in one movie. There are two possible ways that this can go. Either it doesn't work at all, because the two gigantic ego's can't be combined, either you get an excellent comedy. In this case it has become the second option.Until today, Bobby Bowfinger hasn't had a very successful career as an actor / producer / director in Hollywood. But that will all change. He's reading the script which a friend has written and he is so convinced of its quality, that he decides to take a last shot at fame and fortune. However, there is one small problem: no-one wants to buy the script ... except for one famous producer who promises him to do it, when he agrees with one extra line in the contract: Kit Ramsey, Hollywood's number one star, has to be in it. Bobby Bowfinger pays a visit to Kit, but the man says no. But no problem! Bowfinger has an 'excellent' solution for that problem. He'll hire the cheapest film crew available and adds an unknown beauty from Ohio, a mentally retarded man, someone who has an unimportant job at a studio... and together they start shooting the SF-film starring Kit Ramsey who doesn't even know he's in it. As they keep following the man through the city, they make him go completely paranoid because of all the strange things that happen around him, but in the end they are able to finish the movie.What probably surprised me the most was how well Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy perform together. I don't think it is very easy for these actors, who are used to be the only ones that offer the comical note in a movie, to share that role. But it works perfectly and together they have made an hilarious movie. Especially Eddie Murphy did an extraordinary job. Not because he was so much funnier than Martin, but because he did not play one, but two roles and still was able to convince me. Of course they have been helped a lot by Frank Oz. This director hasn't got a big career in directing, but what I've seen from him so far certainly wasn't bad (except for the remake of "The Stepford Wives" which really didn't do it for me).All in all this is a very good comedy about Hollywood and film-making. It's perhaps not the most intelligent movie ever, but it offered me some great laughter and that's still the most important thing for me when watching a comedy. I give this movie a 7.5/10, perhaps even an 8/10.

VERY, VERY, VERY FUNNY

Steve Martin has provided Hollywood with some of the most innovative comedies of this century and while "Bowfinger" does not classify as one of the true greats, it is an enjoyable ride filled with some hilarious scenes and some of the best comedic acting in a long time.Martin plays Bobby Bowfinger, a down on his luck producer who still dreams of making it big. After obvious years of struggling, Bowfinger discovers a script written by his accountant and falls in love with the plot. Gathering his band of actors, and his writer the accountant, Bowfinger goes after some production company support, only to find that his only chance to get the movie produced is to have a big star signed on. The big star Bowfinger goes after is none other than Kit Ramsey, played wonderfully by Eddie Murphy. Ramsey refuses to consider doing the movie, leaving Bowfinger with only one option; to film Ramsey in the movie without Ramsey knowing it. What is left is a very witty, always enjoyable plot that never slows down.Martin is wonderful as the hapless Bowfinger and shows the characters unwaivering desire to make his movie at all costs. As usual there is a sweetness to a Steve Martin character, and while Martin could have choosen to spoof the uncaring, apathetic movie producer to a tee, he instead chose to give Bowfinger a very sensitive side to counteract the characters manipulative actions. You can't help but fall in love with Bobby Bowfinger, and a movie that gets you caring about its characters has won half the battle.Heather Graham, who plays the not so innocent Daisy, is good as the pure looking Ohio beauty who secretly will sleep with anyone to get to the top. She is not spectacular, while her appearance as usual is, but she holds her own in scenes with both Martin and Murphy, which is something not to many people could do. Christine Baranski plays the part of Carol, the over the top actress who stars in Bowfingers movie, to perfection and her comedy, I believe, unfortunately will be lost in the totality of the movie. I wish Martin had given her more lines, more parts, and more opportunities to show her talents because she is one of the better comedic actress's out there today.This movie, however, belongs to Eddie Murphy. Somewhere down the road, in the fog of action movies and record deals, many people forgot what a true comedy genius Murphy is. Names like Martin and Brooks and Allen are thrown around in the comedy circles as the deities of the profession, but Murphy is as good, and more talented than all of them. Those talents have been on diplay more these last few years, with the Nutty Professor coming out, but no where does Murphy shine more than in Bowfinger. His ability to create two equally wonderful and funny characters, so distinctly different from one another, is truly amazing. As Kit Ramsey, Murphy shows us the paranoid, racist, sometimes schizophrenic action star who relys on the cult religion of Mind Head to get him through life. Murphy is wonderful as Ramsey and while the character is made to be disliked, one can't help but truly like Ramsey all throughout the film.His true genius comes through in Jiff, the super dorky Burger King worker who Bowfinger highers to double as Ramsey and to run errands. Never has Murphy, in my opinion, created such a funny character as Jiff. With his nerdy glasses and his straightforward tone, Jiff is an absolute gem and provides the funniest moments in the film. The scene on the highway, which unfortunately has been shown at nauseum on T.V., is still a comedy classic and every moment Jiff is on the screen the audience is laughing. It shows Murphy at his best, which is always a beautiful sight to behold.This movies works because it is fun. It never takes itself seriously, never takes its characters seriously, and never expects the audience take anything seriously. There is no hidden message in Bowfinger, only the message that film is suppose to entertain, and this one definitely did. Martin never fails to make films people enjoy for many years after, and Bowfinger should be no different.

Funny in the first degree....

When I went to go see this movie, I was afraid that I was going not going to laugh. At first, I thought my fears were confirmed, since the first five minutes of the film really does not have that many laughs... but after the first five minutes, I began laugh, and after about fifteen minutes of laughing, my stomach began to hurt, and it really did not stop until the end of the movie. As I write this, I have just gotten home from seeing it, and my stomach is still sore. This is just great comedy. It is one of the most original comedies that I have ever seen. Nothing is really borrowed, and all of the jokes work (well, maybe not all...).Eddie Murphy did a great job of bringing laughs to the screen as the paranoid action star Kit Ramsey and the nerdy fast food worker Jiff. Whenever he played the character Jiff, most people in the theater were almost bawling with laughter. Steve Martin's character, Bowfinger, is less funny, and is more of the straight man, but Martin plays him well also. Then there is Daisy, played by Heather Graham, who sleeps with all the main male characters to get to the top... she does a good job also (she does a lot of great wiggling....). The rest of the actors fulfill their characters well. What surprised me was seeing Terrence Stamp as the leader of a hilarious religious enterprise very similar to Scientology, called MindHead.This movie is great; I have not laughed this hard since I last saw Monty Python's Meaning of Life. I do not think that I have seen a comedy as original as this one for a while. Frank Oz and Steve Martin made a good team at bringing this movie to life. However, I did not laugh at a few scenes. One was a scene with a few racial jokes. Is it just me, or are racial jokes just not funny? Although I admit they are better timed and placed that in Wild Wild West, and in character, but they still made me uncomfortable. The other was a funny scene at first, but after I thought of it, it was not so funny. The scene shows a bunch of Mexicans trying to run for the border while the Border Guards are shooting at them. Bowfinger then herds some of them into his van to use as film crew. That seemed like it trivialized what they go through. However, besides that, Bowfinger is the best comedy of the year. Forget that teen comedy garbage and see this. Be sure not to eat too much before you see it though, or you might actually bust your gut.**** stars (out of *****)

Steve Martin still Has It!

Steve Martin plays a small time movie producer, director (Bobby Bowfinger) who tells his B movie staff actors that if he can get action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to play the lead in a sci fi script Chubby Rain he can produce the film. Satires of the movie industry are done so well via the pompus movie exexutive (Jerry Kenfro) Robert Downey Jr. After an unsuccesful attempt with Kenfro Bowfinger convinces his crew that he's signed Ramsey. Bowfinger exploits Ramsey's phobia of conspiracy by meeting him at chance locations with his film crew to film him unknowngly and hysterically. The concept is that Martins crew is told this is the only way Kit Ramsey will work. Murphy also plays Ramseys goofy nerdy brother who is hired as Ramseys double. Good work by Murphy. Steve Martin is in great form with his usual clever lines. The movie Chubby Rain is so horrible you can't beleive it's actually being filmed this way. Aside from slightly insulting your intellegence this movie is worth a watch. Martin does it again!

Extremely HILARE!!!

I think this movie is extremely hilarious. My brother reccomended it to me last year. I saw and loved it! Then I bought it at Blockbuster a few months ago. Every time I watch it, the Con really is On!! I laugh and laugh and laugh forever! Last night, my dad just watched and he loves Steve Martin so of course he laughed and laughed and laughed forever, as well. It is my brother's favorite movie, and of course, one of mine, too! In fact, I wanted to use this plot in a play I recently helped write. Although, no one understood the concept, I simply said: You have to rent it!!!

deeply surprised

i was so surprised on how much i loved this comedy. i don't like Steve Martin or Eddie Murphy, there both nearly as bad as Adam Sandler. so seeing a film with these two in it made me not want to watch it but one day i ended up buying it on the clearance shelf for next to nothing. when i started watching it i was laughing and didn't stop till the end. the flaw in this film was the ending, a little too cheesy for my liking. Eddie Murphy is superb and i might be going a little over the top about this but i think he should of been nominated for an Oscar for his duo role in this. Heather Graham was brilliant too as a girl who will do anything to become a star. a good cameo performance by Robert Downey Jr too. the rest of the film apart from the end is a ten out of ten. any person who wants to be a film maker should watch this. i think thats the reason why i loved it so much. for all you Eddie Murphy and Steve martin haters out there..... don't judge this film till you've watched it. as I've said i was deeply surprised....... 9/10.........j.d Seaton

Not Out Of The Woods Yet

To continue. Films about film making. Bowfinger is a pleasant enough romp.
I do like Steve Martin's clowning antics. (The dog on the settee scene was laugh out loud. Who says you can't upstage 'em? And the Wetbacks. And the Freeway. OK. There were a few.) Eddie Murphy continues to entertain through sheer hard work and my appreciation of Heather Graham gathers pace.
But haven't we seen this before? Isn't this Ed Wood again so soon? It's all too easy isn't it?Ron

Just didn't do a lot for me...

Where do I begin ? I was so looking forward to seeing this movie, and I left the theatre feeling a bit empty and unfinished. Unfortunately, I only found one scene in the entire movie to be drop down roll over funny, and it was one from the trailer. I guess this film had a few momnets, but aside from Heather Graham's "dumb girl in disguise", the movie lacked heart. Though I must say it had some nice imagination to it. On a scale of 1-10, I gave this movie a disappointing 5.

I had higher hopes

I had a lot higher hopes for this film with Steve Martin writing it. I thought he did a great job on LA Story and Roxanne. However, this one fell fairly flat for me. Some good bits in it, but not great as a whole.