Long before Eddie Murphy received near universal ridicule and harsh words of criticism for his recent box office bomb "Norbit," he was wearing fat suits and taking on multiple roles in a comedy in the 1996 remake of Walt Disney´s 1963 Jerry Lewis film of the same name, "The Nutty Professor." The Eddie Murphy remake found Eddie surpassing the number of roles Jerry Lewis pulled off by taking on seven roles. Murphy was the Jekyll and Hyde characters of Professor Sherman Klump and Buddy Love, but he was also the entire extended Klump clan. Helmed by Tom Shadyac, who helped boost the career of Jim Carrey, "The Nutty Professor" was Eddie Murphy´s first foray into more family friendly comedies after making a name for himself as a foul mouthed comedian in the "48 Hours" and "Beverly Hills Cop" films.
Whether or not Eddie Murphy and Tom Shadyac´s rendition of "The Nutty Professor" is superior to the Jerry Lewis directed film is up to debate. They are both showcases for the physical comedy talents of each actor and their ability to play a wide array of characters. Lewis was the 1963 film´s good doctor, Professor Julius Kelp and the Hyde-like alternate ego, Buddy Love. His third role in that film was that of Baby Kelp. Murphy was both the good doctor and the bad influence, but also Lance Perkins, Cletus ´Papa´ Klump, Anna Pearl ´Mama´ Jensen Klump, Ida Mae ´Granny´ Jensen and Ernie Klump, Sr. All of the Klump roles portrayed by Murphy interacted together during a pair of dinner scenes that featured the older Klumps taking turns insulting poor overweight Sherman.
The general plot of "The Nutty Professor" is relatively unchanged from the original film. Lewis was an overly nerdy fellow who had trouble with the ladies. Murphy is an overly fat and nerdy fellow who has trouble with the ladies. The bumbling Professor is a joke about campus, as his hamsters routinely escape and invade the campus grounds and his fat belly erases every word he writes on the chalkboard. Klump is working on a formula with dietary effects and after meeting the incredibly gorgeous Professor Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith), he decides to imbibe his own formula in an attempt to quickly lose weight and gain her favor. The side effects are far more severe than he would have ever anticipated and he instantly becomes the chiseled and fit Buddy Love. Instantaneous weight loss is not the only effect of the formula; testosterone levels are off the charts and Buddy Love is an egotistical monster who just wants to get into the pants of Ms. Purty.
"The Nutty Professor" is a comedic retelling of the near ancient story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. About the only frightening thing about this film are a few of the jokes that fall flat or the horrendous fit of laughter that Buddy Love puts himself into to insult a vulgar comedian in the film, portrayed by Dave Chappelle. The plot for the film is not very deep, and most of the film´s story is designed to provide Eddie Murphy with as much opportunity as possible to ham it up in fat suits or as Buddy Love. Now at over eleven years old, the visual effects of "The Nutty Professor" still holds up and the true redeeming quality of "The Nutty Professor" is the efforts the now family friendly comedian to portray a large number of characters. I still prefer Axel Foley over Sherman Klump, but Murphy has had great success in appealing to a wider audience.
I have yet to see the recent and heavily maligned "Norbit," but from what I´ve heard thus far, "The Nutty Professor" is a far superior film. I´ll be the judge of this comparison myself in about a month when the film debuts on DVD and the high definition formats, but "The Nutty Professor" has sparked my interest enough to want to see the recent film. "The Nutty Professor" will never make it onto anybody´s top ten lists. It is more of a guilty pleasure than it is a respected film. Eddie Murphy has proved again and again that he is a versatile comedian and "The Nutty Professor" was one of his first successful ventures that helped him break out of the typecast he was cornered into after "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." It´s not a great film, but it has some great laughs.
Whether or not Eddie Murphy and Tom Shadyac´s rendition of "The Nutty Professor" is superior to the Jerry Lewis directed film is up to debate. They are both showcases for the physical comedy talents of each actor and their ability to play a wide array of characters. Lewis was the 1963 film´s good doctor, Professor Julius Kelp and the Hyde-like alternate ego, Buddy Love. His third role in that film was that of Baby Kelp. Murphy was both the good doctor and the bad influence, but also Lance Perkins, Cletus ´Papa´ Klump, Anna Pearl ´Mama´ Jensen Klump, Ida Mae ´Granny´ Jensen and Ernie Klump, Sr. All of the Klump roles portrayed by Murphy interacted together during a pair of dinner scenes that featured the older Klumps taking turns insulting poor overweight Sherman.
The general plot of "The Nutty Professor" is relatively unchanged from the original film. Lewis was an overly nerdy fellow who had trouble with the ladies. Murphy is an overly fat and nerdy fellow who has trouble with the ladies. The bumbling Professor is a joke about campus, as his hamsters routinely escape and invade the campus grounds and his fat belly erases every word he writes on the chalkboard. Klump is working on a formula with dietary effects and after meeting the incredibly gorgeous Professor Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith), he decides to imbibe his own formula in an attempt to quickly lose weight and gain her favor. The side effects are far more severe than he would have ever anticipated and he instantly becomes the chiseled and fit Buddy Love. Instantaneous weight loss is not the only effect of the formula; testosterone levels are off the charts and Buddy Love is an egotistical monster who just wants to get into the pants of Ms. Purty.
"The Nutty Professor" is a comedic retelling of the near ancient story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. About the only frightening thing about this film are a few of the jokes that fall flat or the horrendous fit of laughter that Buddy Love puts himself into to insult a vulgar comedian in the film, portrayed by Dave Chappelle. The plot for the film is not very deep, and most of the film´s story is designed to provide Eddie Murphy with as much opportunity as possible to ham it up in fat suits or as Buddy Love. Now at over eleven years old, the visual effects of "The Nutty Professor" still holds up and the true redeeming quality of "The Nutty Professor" is the efforts the now family friendly comedian to portray a large number of characters. I still prefer Axel Foley over Sherman Klump, but Murphy has had great success in appealing to a wider audience.
I have yet to see the recent and heavily maligned "Norbit," but from what I´ve heard thus far, "The Nutty Professor" is a far superior film. I´ll be the judge of this comparison myself in about a month when the film debuts on DVD and the high definition formats, but "The Nutty Professor" has sparked my interest enough to want to see the recent film. "The Nutty Professor" will never make it onto anybody´s top ten lists. It is more of a guilty pleasure than it is a respected film. Eddie Murphy has proved again and again that he is a versatile comedian and "The Nutty Professor" was one of his first successful ventures that helped him break out of the typecast he was cornered into after "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." It´s not a great film, but it has some great laughs.
Long before Eddie Murphy received near universal ridicule and harsh words of criticism for his recent box office bomb "Norbit," he was wearing fat suits and taking on multiple roles in a comedy in the 1996 remake of Walt Disney´s 1963 Jerry Lewis film of the same name, "The Nutty Professor." The Eddie Murphy remake found Eddie surpassing the number of roles Jerry Lewis pulled off by taking on seven roles. Murphy was the Jekyll and Hyde characters of Professor Sherman Klump and Buddy Love, but he was also the entire extended Klump clan. Helmed by Tom Shadyac, who helped boost the career of Jim Carrey, "The Nutty Professor" was Eddie Murphy´s first foray into more family friendly comedies after making a name for himself as a foul mouthed comedian in the "48 Hours" and "Beverly Hills Cop" films.
Whether or not Eddie Murphy and Tom Shadyac´s rendition of "The Nutty Professor" is superior to the Jerry Lewis directed film is up to debate. They are both showcases for the physical comedy talents of each actor and their ability to play a wide array of characters. Lewis was the 1963 film´s good doctor, Professor Julius Kelp and the Hyde-like alternate ego, Buddy Love. His third role in that film was that of Baby Kelp. Murphy was both the good doctor and the bad influence, but also Lance Perkins, Cletus ´Papa´ Klump, Anna Pearl ´Mama´ Jensen Klump, Ida Mae ´Granny´ Jensen and Ernie Klump, Sr. All of the Klump roles portrayed by Murphy interacted together during a pair of dinner scenes that featured the older Klumps taking turns insulting poor overweight Sherman.
The general plot of "The Nutty Professor" is relatively unchanged from the original film. Lewis was an overly nerdy fellow who had trouble with the ladies. Murphy is an overly fat and nerdy fellow who has trouble with the ladies. The bumbling Professor is a joke about campus, as his hamsters routinely escape and invade the campus grounds and his fat belly erases every word he writes on the chalkboard. Klump is working on a formula with dietary effects and after meeting the incredibly gorgeous Professor Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith), he decides to imbibe his own formula in an attempt to quickly lose weight and gain her favor. The side effects are far more severe than he would have ever anticipated and he instantly becomes the chiseled and fit Buddy Love. Instantaneous weight loss is not the only effect of the formula; testosterone levels are off the charts and Buddy Love is an egotistical monster who just wants to get into the pants of Ms. Purty.
"The Nutty Professor" is a comedic retelling of the near ancient story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. About the only frightening thing about this film are a few of the jokes that fall flat or the horrendous fit of laughter that Buddy Love puts himself into to insult a vulgar comedian in the film, portrayed by Dave Chappelle. The plot for the film is not very deep, and most of the film´s story is designed to provide Eddie Murphy with as much opportunity as possible to ham it up in fat suits or as Buddy Love. Now at over eleven years old, the visual effects of "The Nutty Professor" still holds up and the true redeeming quality of "The Nutty Professor" is the efforts the now family friendly comedian to portray a large number of characters. I still prefer Axel Foley over Sherman Klump, but Murphy has had great success in appealing to a wider audience.
I have yet to see the recent and heavily maligned "Norbit," but from what I´ve heard thus far, "The Nutty Professor" is a far superior film. I´ll be the judge of this comparison myself in about a month when the film debuts on DVD and the high definition formats, but "The Nutty Professor" has sparked my interest enough to want to see the recent film. "The Nutty Professor" will never make it onto anybody´s top ten lists. It is more of a guilty pleasure than it is a respected film. Eddie Murphy has proved again and again that he is a versatile comedian and "The Nutty Professor" was one of his first successful ventures that helped him break out of the typecast he was cornered into after "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." It´s not a great film, but it has some great laughs.
Whether or not Eddie Murphy and Tom Shadyac´s rendition of "The Nutty Professor" is superior to the Jerry Lewis directed film is up to debate. They are both showcases for the physical comedy talents of each actor and their ability to play a wide array of characters. Lewis was the 1963 film´s good doctor, Professor Julius Kelp and the Hyde-like alternate ego, Buddy Love. His third role in that film was that of Baby Kelp. Murphy was both the good doctor and the bad influence, but also Lance Perkins, Cletus ´Papa´ Klump, Anna Pearl ´Mama´ Jensen Klump, Ida Mae ´Granny´ Jensen and Ernie Klump, Sr. All of the Klump roles portrayed by Murphy interacted together during a pair of dinner scenes that featured the older Klumps taking turns insulting poor overweight Sherman.
The general plot of "The Nutty Professor" is relatively unchanged from the original film. Lewis was an overly nerdy fellow who had trouble with the ladies. Murphy is an overly fat and nerdy fellow who has trouble with the ladies. The bumbling Professor is a joke about campus, as his hamsters routinely escape and invade the campus grounds and his fat belly erases every word he writes on the chalkboard. Klump is working on a formula with dietary effects and after meeting the incredibly gorgeous Professor Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett Smith), he decides to imbibe his own formula in an attempt to quickly lose weight and gain her favor. The side effects are far more severe than he would have ever anticipated and he instantly becomes the chiseled and fit Buddy Love. Instantaneous weight loss is not the only effect of the formula; testosterone levels are off the charts and Buddy Love is an egotistical monster who just wants to get into the pants of Ms. Purty.
"The Nutty Professor" is a comedic retelling of the near ancient story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. About the only frightening thing about this film are a few of the jokes that fall flat or the horrendous fit of laughter that Buddy Love puts himself into to insult a vulgar comedian in the film, portrayed by Dave Chappelle. The plot for the film is not very deep, and most of the film´s story is designed to provide Eddie Murphy with as much opportunity as possible to ham it up in fat suits or as Buddy Love. Now at over eleven years old, the visual effects of "The Nutty Professor" still holds up and the true redeeming quality of "The Nutty Professor" is the efforts the now family friendly comedian to portray a large number of characters. I still prefer Axel Foley over Sherman Klump, but Murphy has had great success in appealing to a wider audience.
I have yet to see the recent and heavily maligned "Norbit," but from what I´ve heard thus far, "The Nutty Professor" is a far superior film. I´ll be the judge of this comparison myself in about a month when the film debuts on DVD and the high definition formats, but "The Nutty Professor" has sparked my interest enough to want to see the recent film. "The Nutty Professor" will never make it onto anybody´s top ten lists. It is more of a guilty pleasure than it is a respected film. Eddie Murphy has proved again and again that he is a versatile comedian and "The Nutty Professor" was one of his first successful ventures that helped him break out of the typecast he was cornered into after "48 Hrs." and "Beverly Hills Cop." It´s not a great film, but it has some great laughs.
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