Bowfinger (1999)

Filmmakers often remark that it's just so hard to make a bad picture that few would take on the challenge if they weren't so naive. Steve Martin's Bobby Bowfinger is cut from that pattern, one of those sweet, indomitable operators of Hollywood who seem to be descended directly from Ed Wood (of Plan 9 from Outer Space infamy). To resurrect his ramshackle existence, Bowfinger opts to film his accountant's sci-fi spectacular, Chubby Rain, about aliens invading in raindrops. The snag is he needs to attach action megastar Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), an actor so paranoid he counts the K's in scripts to uncover possible Ku Klux Klan influences. When his effort fails, Bowfinger hits on an ingenious scheme to film Ramsey without his knowledge, throwing his actors at the hapless star whenever he appears in public. Only Kit begins to believe he's being hounded by aliens for real, and runs hysterically to his guru (Terence Stamp) at a Scientology-clone group called MindHead, where people walk around in fine suits wearing white pyramids on their heads. Deprived of his star, yet not to be undone, Bowfinger hires a look-alike, Jiff (also Eddie Murphy), to fill in. The tone of the picture is sometimes flat, rather than deadpan, but that's nitpicking. The farce is quick and engrossing, and populated with terrific performances, especially by Eddie Murphy, whose dual role as Kit and Jiff showcases his character-building gift, and by Martin, whose Bowfinger, part con man and part would-be visionary, manages to capture your sympathies. Heather Graham's would-be actress cheerfully sleeps her way to the top like she knows she's supposed to, and Christine Baranski plays her shopworn method actor with myopic self-absorption. --Jim Gay Amazon.com

Oh, yes, but, uh, it's usually better if someone else does it. I've had a few... accidents

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[First lines]
Robert K. Bowfinger: Wow. Great script. Great script!
[to his dog]
Robert K. Bowfinger: Betsy? It's now or never. We are gonna make a movie.
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"Bowfinger" is an adequate comedy, but it is not ground breaking, nor is it slap-your-knee funny. It targets a few subjects for parody, such as Scientology, but the target's bull's eye is the movie biz and the lengths people will go to make it in Tinseltown. Robert K. Bowfinger (Steve Martin) wants to make a movie in the worst way, and the worst way is the way he makes it--with reluctant star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) who doesn't even know he is in the movie. The other "actors" walk up to him and deliver their lines, getting him to react, and they film it with hidden cameras and various subterfuges.

The rag tag bunch of movie makers also utilize the talents of Kit's brother, Jiff (Eddie Murphy also). Eddie is the best actor to play dual roles since Jim Varney in "Earnest Goes to Jail." In "Bowfinger" he doesn't need any rubber suits but he has two distinct personalities and you quickly forget that both are played by Murphy.

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Kit: It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!
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Bowfinger is certainly not too cerebral. He wants to make a movie, not a film. Here he auditions Jiff for a role in his magnum opus: "Chubby Rain."

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Robert K. Bowfinger: Do you have any experience in motion pictures?
Jiff Ramsey: Uh, well, yeah, quite a bit, actually, I have quite a bit of experience. I'm an active, uh, renter at Blockbuster, and I, um, attend the filmed cinema, uh, as much as possible, weekly, bi-weekly, inter-week-... intermediately.
Robert K. Bowfinger: Would you be willing to cut your hair?
Jiff Ramsey: [sighs] Oh, yes, but, uh, it's usually better if someone else does it. I've had a few... accidents.
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"Bowfinger" is a much better movie than "Chubby Rain" the film-within-a-film--but that's not saying much, because "Chubby Rain" makes "Plan 9 From Outer Space" look like "Citizen Kane." But it is almost as much fun watching them make it as the cast and crew had at the premiere.

Eddie Murphy accepted the role because he wanted to work with Steve Martin, and both are very talented comedians, though they've both been much funnier elsewhere. Heather Graham is great as the ingénue, Daisy; and Christine Baranski is always great, but I've seen her be much funnier elsewhere. Robert Downey Jr. is also in it, in a small but pivotal part.

Directed by Frank Oz, who mostly works with The Muppets, though he also goes way back with Steve Martin, "Bowfinger" is no "The Muppets Take Manhattan" but it takes its premise to the limit with lots of laughs along the way.


Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) .... Directed by Frank Oz, Steve Martin was Freddy Benson
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) .... Directed by Frank Oz, Steve Martin was Orin Scrivello, DDS
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) .... Directed by Frank Oz
Boogie Nights (1997) .... Heather Graham was Rollergirl
Swingers (1996) .... Heather Graham was Lorraine
Bulworth (1998) .... Christine Baranski was Constance Bulworth
Wannabe: A Hollywood Experiment detailing Jamie Kennedy's miserable early showbiz career before masquerading as his own agent brought him success.
The Pick-Up Artist (1987) (as Robert Downey) .... Robert Downey Jr. was Jack Jericho, Christine Baranski was Harriet
Boomerang (1992) .... Eddie Murphy was Marcus Graham
The Jerk (1979) Steve Martin (also as Pig Eye Jackson) was .... Navin R. Johnson / Cat Juggler / Pig Eye Jackson / Engineer Fred

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[after seeing Dave's camera which he loaned without permission]
Robert K. Bowfinger: Good camera.
Dave: Yeah. I gotta have it back in every night, or it's a felony. Years you get.
Robert K. Bowfinger: [pats Dave on the shoulder] You'd get.
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December 13, 2008

A jewel of a comedy...

If you want a good laugh, this movie is the answer. The premise is fresh, the plot keeps you on your toes, not knowing where it is going, but you love watching it all happen.

Steve Martin plays the part of a Hollywood director who does not have the means to make a good movie, but he has a script that is awesome, written in 10 days by his accountant "Chubby Rain." The plot is about aliens who invade our Planet and they arrive in raindrops. He tries to engage others, to no avail.

A super star by the name of Kit Ramsey, played by Eddie Murphy is the actor that could win the movie an Oscar, but he is too important to care be part of this small time film. And here is where the movie has a twist that is fresh and such fun because they decide to film Kit Ramsey without his knowledge and they just simply find out where he will be and act, incorporating Eddie Murphy into the plot. Soon, Kit Ramsey starts to experience fear, anxiety, and feelings of persecution because so many strangers are coming up to him in such weird circumstances... and his acting is superb because he really is being attacked by aliens... the fun, the hysterics... Don't miss this comedy... it is a jewel!!!
May 5, 2008

Bowfinger

The funniest movie I have ever seen on movie-making. A must see for anyone who has ever thought about or wanted to or, especially, actually tried to make a movie. April 5, 2008

Silly fun

Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is a 49 year old combination has-been / wannabe film director. In desperation, he hatches a scheme to shoot a movie using action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) without Kit knowing that he's in the film. Using a Candid Camera style of filming, he sends his actors at Kit with their lines prepared and films the result. It's silly and bizarre, and it also plays into an existing paranoia that Ramsey happens to have which greatly adds to his reaction as they film. Bowfinger uses borrowed equipment and a virtually non-existent budget as he races to finish the film before he's discovered and/or he runs out of money.

This is not the kind of movie one watches for thinking deep thoughts, but there are a few moments that are genuinely hilarious and most of the rest is amusing enough to be endearing. One scene involving Eddie Murphy running across the freeway is especially funny and justifies watching the whole movie. Murphy plays two parts in the film, Kit Ramsey, the paranoid egomaniac star and his brother Jiff, a dorky go-fer. He's especially funny as Jiff and clearly relishes the part. Steve Martin brings a fairly understated approach to his role as the puppet master trying to orchestrate the film and it works very well. Heather Graham somehow manages to pull off being a small-town naïve girl who simultaneously sleeps her way to the top with stunning rapidity.

Bowfinger is probably not the funniest comedy you'll ever see, but it has a few great scenes and the balance of the film is reasonably entertaining. The basic story resembles Ed Wood (Special Edition) in many respects, but is presented in a much more accessible and mainstream manner. It's silly fun that requires its audience to sit back, switch off the brain, and enjoy the ride. As long as you're prepared to do that, you'll probably like the movie. December 29, 2007

More please Steve...

Bowfinger was made in 1999 and Steve Martin hasn't made a decent film since, which is a shame because he is one of the finest comedy actors out there.

This one is a minor classic, a return to 80's form in fact. Martin plays a 3rd rate movie director desperate to get leading Hollywood star Kit Ramsey in his film. Of course he fails, but decides to shoot the film anyway, filming the star without his permission. Eddie Murphy is very good as Ramsey the movie star and as Ramsey the dumb brother who stands in for his famous brother.

Martin put a lot of time into this film as a writer and it shows, because its very funny in places. Sadly Martin seems to have a problem choosing his projects. We can only hope that the wild and crazy guy will make another film this good at some point in the future.
September 19, 2007

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