Bowfinger (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com Member: Online Film Critics Society
"That's it, we're finished, we're over!" "Why?" "You had sex with Jiff!" "So?" "Well I never thought of it that way."
Starring Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Adam Alexi-Malle. Rated PG-13.
Steve Martin is one of the most versatile actors in the business; he is also one of the funniest comics, one of the few capable of making the viewer believe any situation, no matter how farfetched. That much I knew before Bowfinger. What I didn't know, and was pleasantly surprised to learn, is that he is also a marvelous screenwriter. Mind you, this is not Martin's first stab at scripting his own movie, but with the possible exception of L.A. Story, it's his first real achievement in the field (The Man With Two Brains, anyone? No? How 'bout A Simple Twist of Fate?), a satirical yet good-natured, broad yet riotously funny spoof of the movie business.
Martin is Bobby Bowfinger, a man with lifelong, so far unrealized dreams of making a movie, who has kept his actress friend from taking many promising opportunities with his hopes of making a Hollywood picture. His accountant buddy writes a script for an action movie, "Chubby Rain". Bowfinger brings the script to a big shot Hollywood producer. The producer likes it and agrees to sponsor and release the movie under one condition: Bowfinger must get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), the biggest action star around, to sign up for the project.
Ramsey says no but Bowfinger is not ready to give up on his lifelong dream so easily. He decides to make the movie with Ramsey anyway: without him knowing it. The problem is that Bowfinger's own performers (a young, ambitious, sleazy wanna-be actress (Heather Graham) and a self-proclaimed thespian (Christine Baranski)) both believe that they are actually acting with Kit as opposed to coming up to him on the street (in the parking lot, at a restaraunt, etc.), shouting lines and having him run away in fear and confusion. Bowfinger tells them that Ramsey's acting style dictates that he never socially interact with his co-stars.
Sooner than later, a frightened Kit Ramsey starts hiding out and Bobby must find an alternative method of starring the coveted actor in "Chubby Rain". He holds auditions for Kit look-alikes (a requirement: a nice ass, because Kit Ramsey, much like real-life Ewan McGregor, has a running streak of showing his derrier on screen) and finds a near-twin. Jiff (Murphy again) is exactly like Kit in everyway save the braces, the stupid laugh and outgoing personality.
Bowfinger may not be the best satire of Hollywood ever but it's up there with gems like The Player. It's also one of the best films of 1999. Steve Martin's writing is sharp, witty and dead-on. Bowfinger, as a whole, is a very, very funny movie but even during the the times when the jokes take a break it's still entertaining because unlike a lot of otherwise funny comedies it has a legitimate plot and characters we can care about. Not even Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me could claim that.
There is not a trace of anger in Bowfinger despite the fact that it is rightfully classified as a satire. It exaggerates and it makes fun but it's never mean or mocking. In fact, if I was asked for one word to most aptly describe Bowfinger my answer would be "affectionate". Much like the Austin Powers movies, here is a spoof that has no animosity towards its subject. And that can make for good viewing.
In addition to his glorious script, Steve Martin's performance is likewise on the ball; frantic, energetic, appealing and hilarious. He put thought and love into his acting here and it shows: his Bobby Bowfinger is one of the most likable -- and human -- screen characters I have seen in a Hollywood movie. As for his similarly big-name co-star, for the first time in years and possibly for the first time since he became popular, Eddie Murphy contents himself with a supporting performance. Indeed, he has only about half of the screentime that Martin was allotted. Still, Murphy makes his presence felt. For the time that he is on screen, he is as funny as ever. Eddie Murphy may be taking the back seat on this one but damned if he isn't a good back seat driver.
Bowfinger is entertaining, smart and unpretentious. It never claims to be a meditation on the state of the film business but it is an effective satire; a good-natured, funny and enjoyable combination of wildly talented comics and a killer script. ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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