Hey folks, Harry here with ThePoleOfJustice saying that while THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH isn't necessarily a good movie, it is watchable and not the load of roach specks that the studio is treating it like. They've hid the film from the eyes of critics and now after an insane Rub & Tug release massage... it is finally coming. Wonder if they're happy to finally release after being this pent up for this long? Here ya go...
Heya, ThePoleOfJustice here with some shocking news: THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH is not horrible.
Now, it's certainly not a good movie, but it is far from the festering pile of crap it looked like it was going to be. I was expecting another THE AVENGERS. Instead, it inhabits that wasteland of 'maybe I'll rent it if there's nothing else out there' movies, sort of like those straight to video cop movies that star someone like James Woods and/or Brian Denehey. PLUTO NASH isn't that genre, but itÃs that level of 'not suck.'
Eddie Murphy plays Eddie Murphy, only here he's named Pluto Nash, and he's a reformed smuggler who opens a bar on the moon. A gangster wants to take over the bar, Murphy refuses, gangster blows up bar. Hijinks ensue. The story's extremely routine. You know all the situations. You know how this will end. There's even somewhat of a twist at the end (although, infuriatingly, it's given away in the trailer.)
So, if it's not good but doesn't uncontrollably suck, what's going on here? What's the problem? Well, basically, pacing. The movie just sort of drifts from one thing to another, not propelled by the actions of the characters, but propelled from instinct. Home blown up? Go to the secret hideout. Wanna know something? Ask the cop who 'has a friend' at the Bureau. Get trapped in an airless wasteland? Have a random passerby drive up at the appropriate time. You get the idea. Sort of like MEN IN BLACK II without the momentum. Not horrible, but immensely forgettable. At 90 minutes and change, the film feels padded. Wait, strike that: it IS padded. At assorted points in the film, we're treated to stuff like Murphy going through the entire, unedited process of getting a hotel room and buying tickets to a show, Jay Mohr singing THREE songs (he's a decent enough singer, but you get the point,) and Murphy preparing champagne for Rosario Dawson, only to find her sleeping. It's like the scene in SPHERE where we're treated to Dustin Hoffman brushing his teeth: alright, it's not stupid or anything, but why are we seeing this?
What's frustrating about the whole exercise is that the film, even when it's getting swamped, is still kinda likeable. If LILO AND STITCH is the fascinating guy at the party that you could talk to all night, and MASTER OF DISGUISE is the insanely annoying dickhead that won't leave you alone, PLUTO NASH is the passing acquaintance that youÃre vaguely pleased to run into.
Eddie Murphy is likeable. Rosario Dawson is hot. Randy Quaid is a little unsettling at first, but I think that's the makeup. Pam Grier kicks ass (natch.) Luis Guzman is fun, although his character strikes the one truly sour note in the whole film, being the embarrassing Hispanic stereotype it is: Fringe balls lining the windows in his car, Latino music on the stereo, smuggling contraband in the trunk. Etc. John Cleese isn't given enough to do to leave an impression one way or the other. Ditto Joe Pantoliano. And Peter Boyle.
The best part of the film is the set design. Basically, it's BLADE RUNNER with brighter lighting, and it looks pretty cool. I was reminded of THE FIFTH ELEMENT, actually, with the vaguely cheesy Sci-Fi rainbow, and the not quite over the top characters. Which leads me to my next point: PLUTO NASH isn't really a comedy. It's not really an action movie, either, although I think it wants to be. It's just sort of a lazy BEVERLY HILLS COP, only without the smartass act: a balance of chase sequences and tongue in cheek frivolity.
It's a little frustrating to me, because everyone, right down to the film's producers, seem to think this is going to tank. It took them two years to get the thing out, although I couldn't tell you particularly why. Generally, when a film has that kind of atmosphere surrounding it, bombing is a foregone conclusion. But while NASH isn't very good, it's better than SCOOBY DOO, MR. DEEDS, and a bunch of movies that made enormous amounts of cash this summer, despite their basic suckitude. If this was hyped to the Heavens, it would've done OK, I think. Not that it deserves to do SCOOBY DOOÃs numbers, but it deserves them a lot more that SCOOBY DOO itself did.
Rent it with some friends and order a pizza, but don't be surprised if you end up getting wrapped up in conversation before the 45 minute mark. Pole out.