In the early days of his career Eddie Murphy demonstrated a certain level of anarchy that actually made him stand out from the crowd. He didn't take prisoners hilarious profanities came thick and fast, he subverted the whole issue of racial image brilliantly, and his on-screen energy was contagious. Somewhere along the line, Murphy seemed to get tamer and cleaner. Consequently he wasn't as funny as he used to be. The Nutty Professor marks a welcome return to the chaotic, vulgar, energetic side of Murphy. He still holds back a little (certainly in terms of bad language), but this is the first film since Harlem Nights in which he ignores political correctness and good taste, instead giving the audience the kind of devilish excesses they expect of him.
Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) is an obese lecturer working at a college in America. The dean, Richmond (Larry Miller), thinks that Klump is a ridiculous buffoon and continually threatens to fire him if he doesn't buck up his ideas. But against his better judgement, he gives Klump one last chance to prove his worth. There is a possibility that the college might stand to receive a huge financial grant from a rich business-man called Harlan Hartley (James Coburn). However the successful receipt of the grant depends very much on whether Klump can dazzle Hartley by proving what innovative and ambitious work is being carried out in his science department. His most promising project involves a weight reduction serum that is being trialled on a hamster. Around this time, a beautiful new member of staff arrives at the college in the shape of Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett). She immediately takes a liking to Klump and asks him if he'd like to go out on a date. Sadly, the date goes horribly wrong when Klump falls foul of a stand-up comedian who taunts him mercilessly about his obesity. Thoroughly ashamed by the whole affair, Klump returns to the laboratory and in a fit of depression drinks his own weight reduction serum. It is at this point that he transforms into a super-thin, hyper-active ego-maniac who calls himself Buddy Love. To begin with, Buddy Love seems to be everything that Klump would love to be but isn't . but as time goes by, Buddy's testosterone levels soar off the chart and he becomes an uncontrollable lunatic. In true Jekyll & Hyde fashion, Klump finds himself having to fight against his own alter ego before he changes into him permanently!
The Nutty Professor saw life before as a frantic Jerry Lewis comedy in 1963. In this remake, Murphy gives a poignant performance as Klump but saves his best for his scenes as Buddy Love. At these moments he becomes the much-missed Murphy of old, literally exploding with energy and brashness. There is a sentimental undertone to the film - about learning to live with and love yourself exactly as you are - but for the most part the film concentrates on Murphy's larger-than-life persona. The special effects are quite good, with some scenes in which Buddy/Klump transforms from lean love machine to obese professor before our very eyes. In an extraordinary climax Murphy's two characters actually fight against each other from inside the same body, his good half and bad half trying to beat and choke the life out of each other while a group of on-lookers watch in stunned bewilderment. There's nothing subtle about The Nutty Professor but, as broad, vulgar comedies go, it hits its goals quite effectively.
Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) is an obese lecturer working at a college in America. The dean, Richmond (Larry Miller), thinks that Klump is a ridiculous buffoon and continually threatens to fire him if he doesn't buck up his ideas. But against his better judgement, he gives Klump one last chance to prove his worth. There is a possibility that the college might stand to receive a huge financial grant from a rich business-man called Harlan Hartley (James Coburn). However the successful receipt of the grant depends very much on whether Klump can dazzle Hartley by proving what innovative and ambitious work is being carried out in his science department. His most promising project involves a weight reduction serum that is being trialled on a hamster. Around this time, a beautiful new member of staff arrives at the college in the shape of Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett). She immediately takes a liking to Klump and asks him if he'd like to go out on a date. Sadly, the date goes horribly wrong when Klump falls foul of a stand-up comedian who taunts him mercilessly about his obesity. Thoroughly ashamed by the whole affair, Klump returns to the laboratory and in a fit of depression drinks his own weight reduction serum. It is at this point that he transforms into a super-thin, hyper-active ego-maniac who calls himself Buddy Love. To begin with, Buddy Love seems to be everything that Klump would love to be but isn't . but as time goes by, Buddy's testosterone levels soar off the chart and he becomes an uncontrollable lunatic. In true Jekyll & Hyde fashion, Klump finds himself having to fight against his own alter ego before he changes into him permanently!
The Nutty Professor saw life before as a frantic Jerry Lewis comedy in 1963. In this remake, Murphy gives a poignant performance as Klump but saves his best for his scenes as Buddy Love. At these moments he becomes the much-missed Murphy of old, literally exploding with energy and brashness. There is a sentimental undertone to the film - about learning to live with and love yourself exactly as you are - but for the most part the film concentrates on Murphy's larger-than-life persona. The special effects are quite good, with some scenes in which Buddy/Klump transforms from lean love machine to obese professor before our very eyes. In an extraordinary climax Murphy's two characters actually fight against each other from inside the same body, his good half and bad half trying to beat and choke the life out of each other while a group of on-lookers watch in stunned bewilderment. There's nothing subtle about The Nutty Professor but, as broad, vulgar comedies go, it hits its goals quite effectively.