The Nutty Professor (1996)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Sherman Klump, Buddy Love, Lance Perkins, Papa Klump, Mama Klump, Grandma Klump, Ernie Klump	Eddie Murphy	½
Carla Purty	Jada Pinkett
Harlan Hartley	James Coburn	-
Dean Richmond	Larry Miller
Reggie Warrington	Dave Chappelle	-

Review

This remake of the 1963 film by and starring Jerry Lewis has become an engaging comedy thanks to Eddie Murphy's brilliant talent and some frenzied antics. Murphy gives such an enthusiastic performance that even the award-winning makeup artistry and other visual effects are outshined, even if they are brilliant – and a lot less predictable than the tedious idealistic moralizing we are being fed at the very end. But don't let this overly explicit message ruin the movie experience for you. As a comedy, most of the film is a riot. Eddie Murphy has always had a special screen-presence, and here he also gets to showcase his talent for physical comedy in no less than seven different parts. No other than he and Jim Carrey could have carried this out so expertly as Murphy does here. Especially the two lengthy segments around the Klump family's dinner table are remarkable. And director Tom Shadyac, who first demonstrated his ability with Ace Ventura - Pet Detective in 1994, shows that he knows how to populate his images with fun details in addition to giving his star a perfect platform from which to work. And for observant viewers, there are actually quite a few curious parallels between Ace and The Nutty Professor.