Film Review: A Thousand Words

When Tower Heist was released at the end of last year, there was an interview with Eddie Murphy where he stated he wanted to make "edgier" films, and move away from the family stuff he had been churning out for the past few years.

For long-term fans of Murphy, this was probably the best news in ages. Having to tolerate steaming hot garbage like Meet Dave, Pluto Nash and the reprehensible Norbit for well over a decade, we were long overdue the return of a guy who (believe it or not) was at one point one of the funniest people on the planet.

Coincidentally, what I was doing by the end of the film...

So along comes A Thousand Words, and technically this one isn't entirely Murphy's fault, at least historically speaking, as it was made 3 years BEFORE he made his statement about edgier films...

This time Murphy plays a literary agent, Jack McCall who makes a slightly dodgy book deal with a spiritual guru (Cliff Curtis) which results in a tree growing in his backyard. Every time Jack says a word, a leaf falls from the tree. When the tree drops its last leaf, it and Jack both die. Cue "hilarious" hijinks as Jack tries to live his live without being the egotistical motormouth he is.

You'd think a film these days where Eddie Murphy doesn't speak would be a good thing, but it's not to be. It's just brutally unfunny mugging at work dealing with his assistant Aaron (Clark Duke) and his boss Samantha (West Wing alumni Allison Janney slumming it) and at home with his wife Caroline (Kerry Washington) and young child.

Most attempts at humour throughout remain exactly that. Attempts. A brief, tiny ray of light comes in the form of Jack McBrayer playing a coffee shop barista attempting to work out Jack's orders but that is as far as it goes. The film is just not funny.

To make matters even worse, the third act of the film turns into the most sentimental, stomach churning mush I have had the misfortune to witness in years. Deciding to change moods almost completely, we see Jack come to terms with his impending demise, in the most heavy handed way imaginable, before reaching a soul saving conclusion the viewer reached about 20 minutes into the film.

It's getting to the point where it's like shooting fish in a barrel slating Eddie Murphy films, it's just too easy. But when utter drivel is served up, you can't help it. One can only hope that now, unreleased films released, Murphy can feature in something that recalls the glory days. I'm not expecting anything like his stand-up but anything reminiscent of films like Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Place would be nice, right?

*
Another Murphy film, another single star. Not only painfully unfunny, but ridiculously sentimental and sickly sweet at a drop of a hat. Sigh.

Film Review: Tower Heist

It's been a hideous 12 years, watching Eddie Murphy lurch from one terrible project to another. After 1999's Bowfinger, Murphy seemingly wanted to make the most offensively piss-poor cinema possible, and eradicate any memories of films like 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places.

In the space of 12 years, he committed the following celluloid crimes - Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (at least the first one had a few amusing moments), Dr. Dolittle 2, Pluto Nash, I Spy, Daddy Day Care, The Haunted Mansion, Norbit (possibly one of the worst films I've ever seen, and definitely the nadir of Murphy's career), Meet Dave and Imagine That. He did bag critical acclaim for a supporting role in Dreamgirls, but that's kind of like finding a quid after you stick your hand in a pile of manure.

Meanwhile Brett Ratner spent the last few years getting ideas above his station. Best suited to easy to watch stuff like Rush Hour and The Family Man (a film I really dig, when every bone in body tells me not to), he had no business going near the likes of X-Men: The Last Stand (Notice after this disaster, there has still yet to be a straight sequel) or Red Dragon (a film that dared to remake Manhunter, the cast was there, the correct director was not.)

These two wayward careers combine in Tower Heist, which is exactly the kind of stuff both men need to be doing. Frivolous, throwaway fun with more adult jokes and language. Hell, I've been waiting over a decade for Eddie Murphy to swear again...

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) manages an apartment complex in New York, where only the wealthiest live. When he discovers that a financier, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who lives in the buildings penthouse, has perpetrated a pension scam that has robbed most of the employees of the complex of their money, Kovacs hatches a plan to rob Shaw's safe, enlisting the help of his robber neighbour Slide (Murphy.)

Tower Heist isn't a particularly challenging film, but assembles a good cast (Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Tea Leoni, and Michael Pena also star) and kept my interest throughout. There's no spectacularly funny moment, or a wham-bam set piece, but it's an amusing, watchable action/comedy.

Ratner is so much better suited to this kind of thing, and it's an actual joy to watch Murphy reel off his fast-talking rants that are so reminiscent of his 80's and early 90's work. After years of dreadful kids films, it's brilliant just to see the guy curse again!

There's really not a great deal to say about Tower Heist. It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it's entertaining while it's on, and amuses throughout. It's more interesting for returning two people to the sort of work they should have been doing all along. Let's just hope they don't drift away again.

***
Fun while it's on, but nothing more. Good to see Brett Ratner direct something more suited to his talents, and brilliant to see Eddie Murphy do something a little more grown up. Worth a rent.