THE NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS -----------------------------------
Scientific genius Sherman Klump (Eddie Murphy) has discovered the fountain of youth - a serum that reverses the aging process and makes you young again. He has also discovered true love with his beautiful colleague, Denise Gains (Janet Jackson), a brilliant DNA researcher at his college. But, things go from good to bad when Sherman's dastardly alter ego, Buddy Love, again rears his handsome head and tries to steal the valuable serum in "Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps."
ROBIN:
There are six reasons to go see "Nutty 2" and they're all named Eddie Murphy. The comedian has established himself as not only a major moneymaking star for the Hollywood movie machine; he has proven himself time and again to be a fine character actor, too. When he intro'd his many faces in "The Nutty Professor" in 1996, the audience clamored for more of the portly Klump family. To satisfy that craving, executive producers Murphy and Tom Shadyac ("Liar Liar") put director Peter Segal ("Tommy Boy") to the task of bringing the weight challenged Klumps to the big screen again.
Sherman is on the verge of greatness with his new formula that can turn back the body clock. It's still in the early stages of development, but Sherman's boss, Dean Richardson (Larry Miller), sees dollar signs as he envisions selling the youth juice to a big pharmaceutical firm and making their school a ton of money. At the same time, Sherman's amorous intentions for Denise are increasing and he wants to make an honest woman out of her, except for one thing. Buddy Love.
Remember, in the '96 film, that Buddy became a part of Sherman due to an experiment that went amok. Well, Buddy still resides within and, every so often, makes his presence known to Sherman and those around him. Without warning, Buddy's irreverent and rude personality can bubble to the surface, ruining any hopes that Sherman might have for marital bliss. The stout scientist attempts to exorcise the nasty Buddy, but things go terribly wrong. Buddy Love is unleashed upon the world and the experiment causes Sherman to begin losing brain cells. It becomes a race as Buddy tries to steal and sell the secret formula for $149 million, take the money and run while Sherman, with his mental capacity quickly diminishing, is forced to stop Buddy's scheme.
That's the plot and it carries the film through with an overall even and entertaining pace. The love interest between Sherman and Denise is sweet, while the conflict betwixt Sherman and Buddy provides the angst for the film. It's all a well-packaged shell that encloses the meat of the movie's entertainment - the Klumps. Murphy gives a tour-de-force performance with his six distinctly different characters - Sherman, Mamma Klump, Papa Klump, Grandma, brother Ernie and Buddy Love. Each is a unique individual and Murphy gets the opportunity to flesh them all out (no pun intended) into funny characters with distinct personalities.
Grandma Klump steals the show when she's on the scene. She's a randy octogenarian who maintains her very active libido with both pride and energy. Hers reps the most bawdy of the film's dialogue as she unabashedly declares her amorous intentions for Buddy Love. A daydream sequence, where she fantasizes about what she wants to do with/to Buddy, provides some of the biggest laughs and groans of disgust (good-natured) for the film. Murphy is so convincing as Grandma that you forget that it's the actor.
The rest of the Klump family gets their due, too. Papa Klump has the rudest of dialogue as he rags on everyone (especially Grandma, who gives it right back). Papa also gets the chance to get down and dirty as he experiments on his own with Sherman's formula. Mama is, still, the most gentle of the family and it shows where Sherman gets his kind heart. Brother Ernie maintains an underlying resentment for his genius brother and is less than the apple of his parents' eyes. Janet Jackson gets the tough role of being second banana to the outrageous humor of the Klumps. The pretty singer/actor doesn't stand a chance in doing comedy against the Murphy juggernaut of characters, so she takes the straight road and does a decent job conveying the intelligence and caring of Denise. Buddy Love is relegated to his bad boy role and his mainstay is to shower insults upon Sherman with names like "blubber butt" and "chunky cheeks" - and, of course, that gleeful Murphy laugh.
The combination of the makeup mastery of veteran artist Rick Baker (whose work runs the gamut from "The Howling" and "Ratboy" to the upcoming "How the Grinch Stole Christmas) and the fabulous, sometimes subtle, special F/X, led by John Fahrat ("The Nutty Professor"), make "Nutty 2" special indeed. Obviously and as expected, Baker does a magnificent job (with Eddie Murphy's input) of creating each of the Klumps. Murphy is one of the few Hollywood talents who are both willing and able to undertake the grueling task of bringing the great makeup F/X to life. The special visual F/X cover a lot of ground, too, putting the art of morphing to good use.
The screenplay, by Barry Blaustein, David Sheffield and Paul & Chris Weitz, showcases Eddie Murphy as the Klumps. The goings on around the dinner table of the massive members of the Klump family make for some of the best, albeit insult driven, humor of the film. The main story, with the fountain of youth formula at its center, is really a vehicle to drive the Klumps around and give them the opportunity to banter. It's a smart move by the moviemakers, giving the audience what it wants.
Helmer Segal has been moderately successful with his previous ventures, but "Nutty 2" is going to raise his status in Hollywood, especially if the film makes the big box office bucks that I expect it will. He moves the sometimes-naughty material along briskly and doesn't bog down at all along the way.
"Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps" aims at a more mature demographic (PG-13 rating) than the first film and counts on the sometimes lewd interchanges between the Klump family members to titillate the viewing audience. It's not as raunchy as, say, "Scary Movie," but when Grandma talks about "getting' some," you have to laugh.
I give it a B.
LAURA:
N/A
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