 Non stop laughs |
| Review Date: December 22, 1999 |
| Reviewer: jeff adams, Colorado Springs |
| This has got to be one of the fuuniest movies I have seen in a long time. I was laughing so hard that I was crying. My friend was the one who wanted to go see this movie. I was very very skeptical about his choice. I thought that this movie looked so stupid and I had no intentions of spending $6.50 to go and see it. But I was dead wrong. In fact I spent $6.50 two more times. The movie is about Bobby Bowfinger, who is played by Steve Martin, a movie producer that is going through some hard times when he thinks that his bad luck has come to an end, when he reads the script of a movie he thinks will be big. He wants a big time actor to star in the movie. So he offers the role to Kit Ramsey, played by Eddie Murphy. Kit turns him down, so Bowfinger decides to make him the star of the film without him knowing he is being filmed. Bowfinger also puts together a bunch of no name actors to be in the movie and interact with Kit Ramsey without Kit knowing that it is a movie. Thats all I'm going to say. So if you want to see a movie that is very funny and original then check out Bowfinger. I am very anxious for this movie to come out on dvd. |
underrated
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| Review Date: August 6, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Orrin C. Judd, Hanover, NH USA |
| What lifts this film up and makes it not just funny but great is that lurking behind the facade of a light-hearted slapstick about movie-making is a fairly devastating satire of Hollywood and its denizens.Ê So on the surface you've got Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin), B-movie producer/director, using his last $2000 to make the film, Chubby Rain, from a script by his earnest Muslim accountant.Ê Promised major studio backing if he can just secure the services of action-film superstar, Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), but realizing he's got no chance of doing so, Bowfinger decides to just surreptitiously include Kit in the movie.Ê This leads to some hilarious guerilla filmmaking, in which the other characters from Chubby Rain, to whom Bowfinger has not explained what's really going on, run up and interact with an increasingly bewildered and terrified Ramsey.Ê As we soon learn, Kit's frantic reaction to the dialogue and special effects of Bowfinger's invading-space-aliens film is exacerbated by some significant prior mental problems, which include an obsession with exposing himself to the Laker girls. Also assisting in the production of the film are : a devious studio prop man, who steals everything from cars to cameras for Bowfinger; a seemingly fresh-scrubbed country girl, Daisy (Heather Graham); a serious, but bad, professional actress (Christine Baranski); Kit's twin, but excessively geeky, brother, Jiff (also played by Eddie Murphy);Ê a gaggle of illegal Mexicans, picked up at the border; and even Bowfinger's multi-talented dog.Ê All add to theÊ mayhem in their own ways. But meanwhile, Kit turns out to be a member of a cult called Mind Head, led by Terrence Stamp in a funny turn, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Scientology.Ê Heather Graham's supposedly innocent character sleeps her way through the entire Bowfinger operation, whoring for more lines and a bigger role.Ê In the final scene of the movie she even turns up with a lesbian girlfriend, who just happens to be a major Hollywood player, summoning memories of Steve Martin's own relationship with a pre-Ellen Anne Heche.Ê And Graham's entire role appears to be an implicit critique of her own career which seems to be likewise based almost exclusively on her breasts.Ê Kit Ramsey's claims of racism in the industry are made fun of as he at one point adds up the "k's" in a movie script and divides by three to show his agent how often "KKK" appears.Ê Several other ostensibly good-natured bits that we can see on further examination have an edge to them include a scene where Bowfinger gets Jiff to run across a busy thruway by telling him that the cars are driven by stunt men, but which also shows how little he cares about the actor's safety, and a conversation where Jiff asks wonderingly why someone's willing to pay him just for looking like someone else, raises inevitable questions about an industry where mere physical appearance can mean millions.Ê In fact, the whole conceit of the story, that you could basically make a successful action flick without the big-salaried star knowing he'd been in the movie, and that everyone in the movie business is just using everyone else, is a pretty tough commentary on the current state of Hollywood. This harsher undercurrent gives the movie a nasty, though subtle, edge that I really liked, but which some critics found off-putting.Ê Much of the potential tension is defused by Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy who give tremendous performances, Murphy in the seemingly tougher dual role, and Martin in the actually more difficult balancing act of making Bobby Bowfinger likable even as he cheats, lies to, and steals from everyone in sight.Ê The end result is a picture that works on two levels, one of mostly broad physical comedy, the other darker and more satirical.Ê Comedy is hard enough to get right, but to nail it above and below the surface is an exceedingly rare achievement; that it manages this unusual fate makes Bowfinger one of the best comedies of the '90s and vastly underrrated. GRADE : A |
Unjustly overlooked, well-worth it
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| Review Date: January 13, 2000 |
| Reviewer: , NYC |
| No thanks to one of the worst promotional campaigns in history, "Bowfinger" died in theaters domestically, but may enjoy a well-deserved resurrection as a video cult item. That campaign, by the way, told us nothing about the movie and instead focused on Eddie Murphy's nerdish performance -- well, half of his performance, anyway -- which made no sense out of context. But the film itself is just shy of brilliance: Steve Martin plays a washed-up moviemaker of the Ed Wood school (he doesn't know he's bad, but he gives it his best anyway), who's guaranteed financing for the movie "Chubby Rain" if he can get one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Kit Ramsey (Murphy in bad-attitude mode). Since Ramsey wants nothing to do with Bowfinger, the filmmaker decides to have the movie shot on the sly, involving the actor without his knowledge or consent. This leads to some of the funniest scenes in any movie around -- which, alas, are not followed up as completely as they could be, but the fact that they got as far as they did is nothing short of wonderful. Martin and Murphy are both terrific; the rest of the cast is fun, too. This one deserved better. |
damn funny.....
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| Review Date: August 21, 2007 |
| Reviewer: D. Pawl, Seattle |
I saw BOWFINGER in the movie theater and couldn't stop laughing my head off throughout the duration of the film. I happen to find Steve Martin's brand of humor quirky, witty and deliriously off the wall. This film is probably an example of his comedy at its best. Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is part con artist/part trashy film visionary. Yes, you could compare his calibre of genius to Ed Wood, who prided himself in making "the worst film of all time," the wonderfully campy PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE. Bowfinger's vision of CHUBBY RAIN, an alien film, is no different from the low budget B movies that Wood prided himself on churning out. In this case, Bowfinger is fixated on a certain movie star, Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), playing in the film. Since there is no chance of his ever agreeing to appear in it, Bowfinger's crew must film Kit without him knowing it, while the cast recites their lines at the unsuspecting (and rather paranoid) celebrity. What's more, Kit's "stand in" is played by a really geeky guy nothing remotely like the arrogant star (also played by Eddie Murphy).
Frank Oz brilliantly directed this over-the-top fantasy of celebritydom. The cast is terrrific, the concept is delightfully absurd, and Steve Martin truly had me wondering just what PLANET his character came from. This is one of those films that is great to watch when you are feeling down in the dumps and in need of some fast and furious humor. |
My Favorite Movie All Time
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| Review Date: June 26, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Bluecuervo, New York |
| This is the most hilarious movie ever, yet very few people I know have ever even seen it. The cast just works so well together and are so innocently silly it literally makes me laugh until I choke. No matter how many times I watch it, I have the same reaction. Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy in his dual role, Christine Baranski, Heather Graham - they all are just fabulously loveable and gullible in their respective characters. A real spoof on all the celebrity tabloid gossip that we have come to know as Hollywood. Whether it's Eddie's near breakdown reciting his MindHead manta of Keep It Together or Christine in all her glory with a butchers knife screaming "bastard!" this movie will have something that will crack you up into side splitting, tear streaming laugher time and again. |
A Comic Gem
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| Review Date: August 14, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Scott Rivers, Los Angeles, CA USA |
| "Bowfinger" (1999) excels in its satiric attack on Hollywood filmmaking. Thanks to Frank Oz's razor-sharp direction, the inventive characterizations of Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy far surpass their current formulaic efforts. Heather Graham, Christine Baranski and Terence Stamp provide memorable support. The "Fake Purse Ninjas" finale is hilarious. |
"I'll see you at the Oscars!"
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| Review Date: May 18, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Damian Gunn, I am everywhere |
| Whats so great about this movie is that it relentlessly makes fun of itself and works every minute. The film revolves around failed actor-producer-directed Bobby Bowfinger (Martin) as he tries to give his dead career a jump-start. After reading a script for a sci-fi film entitled 'Chubby Rain' that was written by his accountant (and friend) Bowfinger decides that this is the next big hit. He tries to get a famous producer to take it (Downey Jr.) and he's told (in sarcasm) that if he gets international action star Kit Ramsey (Murphey) to star then he'll take on the film. Theres only one problem, and the problem is Kit Ramsey. Kit is one of my favorite comedic characters, mostly because he's so obsesive compulsive and downright paranoid that everything he says and does is histerical. Kit believes that aliens, amoung other things, are coming to get him (and he has this obsession with the Laker's cheerleaders). That's important to the comedy in the film because, while it's a little thing, it plays big on laughs. You see, when Kit turns down the film Bowfinger decides, instead of telling his cast that the film won't happen, he tells them that Kit signed on, but that he doesn't want to talk to anyone about the film, he doesn't want to see the camera during the shoot, and they only get one take with Kit so they better put in all they have. In other words, he decides to film Kit without Kit knowing it. This results in Kit believing aliens are really following him and he resorts to hiding out in the 'MindHead' facility (a spoof on the ever popular scientoligy or 'Tom-Cruise-Syndrome') Without his star he has no picture and so Bowfinger shops around for a look-alike, and he finds him in Jiff (Murphey). Jiff is shy, Jiff is eager...but Jiff is stupid and so that makes filming with him a feat in itself. The film, from start to finish, is just downright hysterical with a brilliant performance (yes I said brilliant) by Eddie Murphey who masters two completly different roles within the same film. Heather Graham plays a young actress-wannabe who is willing to sleep with EVERYONE to get ahead, and Christine Baranski (my personal favorite) does a brilliant job of playing the 'professional' actress waiting for her big break. This is chuck-full of laughs and fun and is worth every moment. |
THIS Is Comedy, Folks.
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| Review Date: January 20, 2000 |
| Reviewer: Joe, Gulf Shores, Al |
| What can I say? Steve Martin has proved himself to be one of the wittiest, savviest and funniest writers to come along in the movies. Also, Frank Oz has established himself as THE comedy director in my opinion. He's helmed such comic masterpieces as "What About Bob?", "Housesitter", "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and his other most recent film, "In and Out". The performances and writing in these films are the best in terms of comedy. Eddie Murphy gives the performance of a lifetime. Not since his earlier days at "Saturday Night Live" has he had a better chance to ham it up with great comic chracters. His Kit is vile and vulgar while his Jiff is sweet, lovable and a complete innocent. It's a testament to Murphy's acting ability where he has NO prothetics whatsoever, yet he looks like a DIFFERENT person (he does wear braces, though). Getting back to the writing, Martin KNOWS comedy. His comedy isn't like the comedy alot of people like. You wont find toilet humor or blatent obscenities here. Martin goes for honest laughs. His style is graceful and hysterical. For those of you who liked "Big Daddy", "Austin Powers", "Waterboy" etc. . .you'll most likely be bored here. For those of us who love great comedy. . .You've come to the right place. |
The Last good Steve Martin movie
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| Review Date: August 12, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Steve, Kenosha, WI |
| I thought the film was great. Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy have two different comedy styles but the movie was good. The storyline was original and Eddie Murphy's multiple role technique was good but not like the nutty professor movies. Chubby Rain and Fake Purse Ninjas are probably the more memorable moments in this movie. |
Bowfinger. Its so funny !
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| Review Date: July 8, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Kurt Olav Helle, Lonevåg, Osteroy Norway |
| Steve Martin are funny again. With Eddie Murphy too, this one is a real treat. Even the dog in the movie, is an exellent "method actor". The story of Bowfinger, a struggling director, which hope for sucsess is something which we can identified with. And Frank Oz commentary track on the DVD is a mini filmschool in itself. Weel worth the money. Should been a classic !!!. |
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