Bowfinger Review
by Tim Chandler (timbit AT canada DOT com)August 26th, 1999
Bowfinger
Rating: 3.5 on 4
The Info
Directed by: Frank Oz
Written by: Steve Martin
Starring: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Terence Stamp, Jamie Kennedy
Produced by: Brian Grazer
The Basic Plot
An unknown producer makes a movie with action star Kit Ramsey, only Kit doesn't know he is in the film.
The Review
Bowfinger, the new comedy written by and starring Steve Martin and directed by Frank Oz takes on several Hollywood institutions, and has a whole lot of fun along the way. An incredibly clever concept coupled with the best acting the leads have done in years make this one of the smartest comedies of 1999; this is saying quite a bit in the year of Election, Drop Dead Gorgeous, American Pie and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. The cast has a lot of fun and their energy is transplanted on to us, the audience.
Steve Martin is Bobby Bowfinger, a broke jobless producer who wants desperately to one day make it big. His accountant and part time receptionist Afrim hands him a screenplay for an alien action film titled Chubby Rain (chubby because the aliens hide in the rain drops). He loves it, assembles his team of usual two-bit actors and hatches a plan to lure in bigtime director Jerry Renfro (Robert Downey Jr.), which promptly fails. Once action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) also turns him down, he comes up wit the plan on which Bowfinger hinges; shoot Kit Ramsey in the film without him knowing it.
There is a parallel that can likely be made between Bobby Bowfinger's excitement at coming up with his brilliant if implausible idea, and Steve Martin's deciding to write the story. You can almost see the glint that must surely have shone in Mr. Martin's eye when the concept struck him. What if someone covertly filmed a big star, threw actors at him to film spontaneous scenes and made a movie without the actor ever knowing he or she was in it? The same glint strikes Bowfinger as his assistant stalks Ramsey, tracking his every move. This is Steve Martin's ode to Hollywood and all of its flaws, hitting star power, Scientology (with a corporation called MindHead run by Terrence Stamp) and even his former flame Anne Heche and her coming out with Ellen DeGeneres.
The humour moves between slapstick physical gags and biting satire, mostly working. Innumerable scenes caused the audience to laugh uproariously at my screening, often blocking out parts of the dialogue. Scenes involving Bowfinger's dog Betsy, a busy highway, cheap special effects gags and a movie star who is absolutely clueless from start to finish combine to make a damn funny movie. Eddie Murphy is the perfect choice to play Kit Ramsey (though originally the part was written for a white star, it was largely revamped for Murphy, with great results). Much as Julia Roberts had no problem acting the part of a spoiled Hollywood star in Notting Hill, Murphy slips into Ramsey's flamboyant world with ease. It is his best role in years, and continues his tradition of playing multiple characters as he also plays Kit's brother Jiff. Jiff is the most un-Eddie Murphy-ish character he has ever played, and Murphy gets almost too silly with it. Heather Graham is funnier than in Austin Powers 2, her previous comedic effort, yet still seems wooden at times. Christine Baranski is more relaxed as Carol, Bowfinger's regular actress and Jamie Kennedy is solid as Bowfinger's assistant.
To appreciate this film, you have to lose yourself in the possibilities of the concept. Forget for the duration that it is highly implausible that such a scam could ever be pulled off. Forget the fact that you've seen Eddie Murphy play multiple characters before, and forget the fact that some of the physical humour that Frank Oz stages doesn't quite work. Just lose yourself in the fun, in the glee with which Bowfinger stalks Kit Ramsey and films him in a lame sci-fi alien movie. Think about how silly Scientology seems when it is parodied by MindHead, about the hilarious way in which Bowfinger hires a film crew, and about how well-trained Betsy the dog is. This is a highly intelligent comedy and a bit of a comeback for both Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy. You'll feel good and giddy after seeing Bowfinger. Trust me.
Tim Chandler
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