...if only this was the 1980's and both still made good movies every year. Steve Martin's descent into comedy hell has been well documented. Everyone knows he hasn't been funny for ten years.
It's hardly a consolation that at his lowest he was still better than Robin Williams and Dan Ackroyd. You see, Steve Martin was never in Soul Man.
Eddie Murphy has appeared on more than one occasion to be trading on past glories. But Steve Martin is such a nice guy that everyone hoped he could regain some pride.
The reputations of both Murphy and Martin are resurrected in Bowfinger, drawn from a typically polite and inoffensive Martin script, which shows just how at odds his brand of humour is with modern comedy practices. Unfortunately, director Frank Oz - responsible for IN AND OUT - has directed a film similar to that effort in that great things are expected, but only mildly amusing ones materialise. still manages to deliver an exceptionally nice Hollywood satire, which is strange. The big question is: is it funny? Kind of. You best rank it as Martin's best film of the nineties, that way you can sit on the fence.
It promises self-parody but the material is restrained and neither star plays on their real personalities. There's more than a hint of bitterness in Graham's character. She's an awkwardly manipulated caricature, like the writer was hanging his dirty laundry out to dry in public. The end result is more embarrassing than funny.
It could have been great or it could have been terrible but BOWFINGER ends up being neither the masterpiece its inspired premise suggests or a complete failure. He's not a spent force, but if this is the best Steve Martin could muster, I wouldn't hold your breath for his next effort.
It's hardly a consolation that at his lowest he was still better than Robin Williams and Dan Ackroyd. You see, Steve Martin was never in Soul Man.
Eddie Murphy has appeared on more than one occasion to be trading on past glories. But Steve Martin is such a nice guy that everyone hoped he could regain some pride.
The reputations of both Murphy and Martin are resurrected in Bowfinger, drawn from a typically polite and inoffensive Martin script, which shows just how at odds his brand of humour is with modern comedy practices. Unfortunately, director Frank Oz - responsible for IN AND OUT - has directed a film similar to that effort in that great things are expected, but only mildly amusing ones materialise. still manages to deliver an exceptionally nice Hollywood satire, which is strange. The big question is: is it funny? Kind of. You best rank it as Martin's best film of the nineties, that way you can sit on the fence.
It promises self-parody but the material is restrained and neither star plays on their real personalities. There's more than a hint of bitterness in Graham's character. She's an awkwardly manipulated caricature, like the writer was hanging his dirty laundry out to dry in public. The end result is more embarrassing than funny.
It could have been great or it could have been terrible but BOWFINGER ends up being neither the masterpiece its inspired premise suggests or a complete failure. He's not a spent force, but if this is the best Steve Martin could muster, I wouldn't hold your breath for his next effort.