Hey folks, seems Universal had a screening of BOWFINGER on the lot, and the good folks had to walk by a super secret set for HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS to get there. Needless to say I'm fascinated by this project. Being a life long devoutee to the dear Doctor, I just can't help but wonder what shape this... his second live action adaptation (feature film) is going to look like. After all, who can forget THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR T?
Hey how's it going harry. I just got back from Universal Studios about three minutes ago and figured I finally might have something worth posting. I got to screen BOWFINGER.
Before I get into the review, I want to mention a quick thing about HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. While walking to the screening room we got to peer around a "closed set" sign and she a whole bunch of bright colors and goofy buildings. I could only assume that this was GRINCH since there were signs all over the place. Basically it seemed like something out of a Dr. Suess Book. It had lots of bright pastels (I know that's wierd.) They seemed to have a very good Whoville on their hands.
Back to the movie. The trailer for BOWFINGER really didn't make me feel one way or another about the movie, so I was pretty neutral walking in. I must say the movie really delivered. This was almost entirely on because of the energy that Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy throw into their characters. Murphy pulls a double shift and his two characters are some of his best work.
The movie is really laugh-out-loud comedy. It's not quite as funny as THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME but it gets close and does it without fart jokes. Speaking of which, Heather Graham does a decent job with Daisy. And I should say that her character here is easier than Roller Girl! This is yet another movie where she plays a slut, and it's starting to wear thin. She's been doing this since LISCENSE TO DRIVE.
One of the dissapointing things about this movie is that it does not really pull off the Hollywood satire you would expect. There are a few funny parts for those who know the business, but they are far and few between.
Returning to positives, The characrters of Bobby Bowfing and Kit Ramsey are great. Bowfinger is the perfect low-class producer/director. As good as Hackman in GET SHORTY. Kit Ramsey is even better as the paranoid star who gets in to Mind Head, a spoof of the church of scientology. Kit aslo does have some very funny stuff when he talks about racism in Hollywood. (I wonder how many K's I used?).
Well that's about all for now. I have to go meet Loni Anderson right now, so maybe I'll get some more cool news.
Laterz,
Juvenal
