Bowfinger (1999) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham and Christine Baranski. Written by Martin. Directed by Frank Oz.
We movie critics usually are an impassive lot. We sit at screening after screening, detached, perhaps jotting a note or two. In public, we hardly ever react to what is being shown - be it good or bad.
However, there are exceptions.
The latest is "Bowfinger," a hilarious comedy about the magic of movie making. Bowfinger could be the grandson - or distant cousin - to Tim Burton's "Ed Wood." Both overflow with an affectionate, loopy love of filmmaking. Both forego cynicism and condescension about the process.
"Bowfinger" also hits the Marx. While lacking the anarchy of an outing with Groucho, Chico and Harpo, Bowfinger - at 97 minutes - is reminiscent of the frenetic pace of the early Marx Bros. films such as "Horse Feathers" and "Duck Soup."
"Bowfinger" offers more laughs than any other film this year. It is express-train comedy, written by and starring Steve Martin.
Martin plays Bobby Bowfinger, a producer-director on the edge of the industry, whose shanty office is a ramshackle dump miles from the glitter and glamour of Hollywood.
Bowfinger is desperate to hit the big time and feels that "Chubby Rain," a science fiction action flick written by his accountant, Afrim, is his ticket. The only hitch is he doesn't have a big-name star.
No problem. Gathering his motley crew of filmmakers, he sets out to trick the biggest action star in the business, Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), and, without his knowledge, make him the star of his ultra-low budget flick.
Bowfinger does this by having people spy on Ramsey and fashioning his scenes around the locales at which Ramsey is scheduled to appear.
It's hijinks hilarity as the already-paranoid Ramsey - he turned down a script because it contained about 1,400 K's, which, when divided by three, equals about 445 KKKs - is driven to higher heights of paranoia by these strange people, some of whom act like aliens, who continually accost him.
To fill in the long shots, Bowfinger hires Jiff, a not-too-bright, but earnest young man without much acting ability whose only attribute is a resemblance to Kit Ramsey. The reason for that resemblance is made clear later in the movie.
Martin's script hardly allows you time to catch your breath between laughs. Scenes continually top each other.
For instance, Bowfinger says he's going to get the best crew available, and the camera cuts to his van picking up a group of illegal aliens coming across the border. The joke is topped at the end of the movie when these men - who could not speak English nor who knew one end of a clapboard from another - all have cell phones and are talking industry lingo.
The strong supporting cast also is responsible for much of "Bowfinger's" jocularity.
Heather Graham is Daisy, a wannabe starlet who will do anything to get more screen time in Bowfinger's movie. She is smarter than she lets on, at one point telling one of her paramours, "I may be from Ohio, but I'm not from Ohio." She knows the score and who to score with to get her way.
The always-reliable Christine Baranski plays Carol, the over-the-hill diva, for all she's worth. She dominates most of her scenes with a comic abandon.
Murphy is the funniest he has been in years. Forget "Dr. Dolittle" and "The Nutty Professor." This is the Eddie Murphy of "Trading Places," of the first "48 HRS." As Kit, he's a profane, spoiled, motor-mouthed nutcase. As Jiff, he's vulnerable, sweet and shy. And Murphy draws a clear demarcation between the two.
Martin is in top form. Not since "All of Me" has he shined so brightly in a comedic role. His Bobby Bowfinger is a quick-thinking con artist whose only goal is to complete his dream movie. To do so, he will lie, cheat, connive, steal. If Groucho Marx were to play a down-and-out movie producer, he would be Bobby Bowfinger.
"Bowfinger" is a 97-minute laugh-a-thon. Your sides will hurt when the film fades out. It is a comedy event not to be missed.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net
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