It isn't that this is a bad film, it's just that it's not what we typically think of as an Eddie Murphy film...whether the time period we are referencing is his early, more gritty work, or his later cleansed work...I can enjoy his films from both eras.
I could almost see this film being a drama, but it's certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy -- for some reason (which I never quite understood), a tree suddenly grows outside the bachelor-style home of a book agent...and with every word he speaks, another leaf falls...and when they've all fallen, he will die. Huh? That's problem number one here -- the concept makes no sense. You can take just so much of even Eddie Murphy making faces. Later in the film, as his impending death looms, Eddie is quite touching as the film -- at least for a while -- transitions from a comedy to a drama. He has some very good moments as he struggles to save his relationship and figure out how to save his life...as the leaves slowly but steadily continue falling. In fact, I sat there thinking how much I'd like to see Eddie in a straight dramatic film.
Ah well, this is one of those what-could-have-been films.
I could almost see this film being a drama, but it's certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy -- for some reason (which I never quite understood), a tree suddenly grows outside the bachelor-style home of a book agent...and with every word he speaks, another leaf falls...and when they've all fallen, he will die. Huh? That's problem number one here -- the concept makes no sense. You can take just so much of even Eddie Murphy making faces. Later in the film, as his impending death looms, Eddie is quite touching as the film -- at least for a while -- transitions from a comedy to a drama. He has some very good moments as he struggles to save his relationship and figure out how to save his life...as the leaves slowly but steadily continue falling. In fact, I sat there thinking how much I'd like to see Eddie in a straight dramatic film.
Ah well, this is one of those what-could-have-been films.