Nutty Professor 2:The Klumps

I I have reasonably fond memories of the first Nutty Professor. It was a fun, occasionally humorous romp with Eddie Murphy indulging in his love of the make-up chair and the beautiful Jada Pinkett shining exuberantly. Now, I'm not a movie snob or anything, I actually enjoy sequels, but a comedy sequel is another case entirely. As I sit here, I'm struggling to think of one that has remotely improved upon or at the very least equalled the prequel. Horror sequels are just fun, you can never get enough of dumb teenagers getting sliced and diced IMHO and they tend to, more often than not develop some central plot. But when a joke's old, a joke IS old. No-one likes hearing the same old joke repeated time and again. In spite of all this evidence, I couldn't just not see The Klumps. For better or worse, I give every movie a chance, even *wretch, shudder* Hollow Man. Dammit, the memory has yet to fade.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I would say I'm a fairly easy-going kind-of guy when it comes to movies. I am usually able to accept a movie for what it is and just go with it, avoiding all and any pretension. However, out of all the movie genres, comedy has to be held as an exception. Stating the obvious perhaps but comedies live or die on their jokes and set-pieces. A comedy is the hardest kind of film to pull off successfully. The only real important aspect of these movies is the humour. You can have the most repellent characters ever i.e. There's Something about Mary and Being John Malkovich just so long as there are laughs to be had. Nothing else is overly important. There are elements in The Klumps that work, but there are far more that don't, unfortunately the many attempts at humour rank among the latter.



Okay, so this movie was written by four, yes FOUR people - two of whom were responsible for the fun-filled laughter zone American Pie. These guys seem to find the following things amusing: old people having sex, emaciated corpses with erections, emaciated female corpses with

droop-down-to-the-waist breasts, obese families who delight in their obesity and oh yes, did I forget hamster rape? Now, I know the rodent penetration episode may sound like it could be the stand-out gross-out laugh but the way it is approached - think sitcom set-up allows it to fall mercilessly flat. For the most part The Klumps is not a funny film but there is one on-going gag that works - well at least it did for this viewer. It involves Buddy Love and his … shall we say canine instincts. 



Outside of the comedy, the nutty professor himself, Sherman Klump is the movie's trump card. Murphy returns to the character much as he left him the prior movie, filled with the sweet, honest dignity that endeared him to the audience two years ago. His central romance with fellow professor, Denise Gaines supplies much-needed heart to an otherwise mechanical sequel.

What kind of Eddie Murphy movie would be complete if the man himself did not indulge in a little onscreen schizophrenia? This time, the Murph has taken on seven other roles, outside of Sherman. As with The Nutty Professor, he inhabits each of the Klumps with similar energy. In their individual scenes he brings each family member amazingly to life, allowing each some pathos and their own singular personality. Despite the obvious make-up, you soon forget that there is indeed the one man under all these guises. However, when the family come together, things start to fall apart, the script descending into an abyss of lame, unintelligible rants.



Elsewhere, Janet Jackson, stuck with a role that is clearly labelled "love interest" fairs well, playing Denise with an open sweetness that makes her impossible to dislike. People are usually quick to dismiss music stars when they attempt to make the crossover but Michael's baby sis does well within her limited role. Larry Miller reprises his unctuous, slimy, fully-deserving-of-rape-by-hamster college dean with enjoyable gusto.


At the end of the day, Eddie Murphy is someone I've always liked. His energy is infectious and comedic talent - when given the right material - a delight to view, but this strange affection toward sequels, has GOT to stop. Yet, even after this mess of a movie, there seems no end in sight with a Dr Dolittle 2 on the horizon. Although Harlem Nights was a big disaster, it would be nice to see him honing his dramatic talent in more serious fare as he has proven through Life and Sherman Klump that there is more to Eddie Murphy than class clown.