Starring: Eddie Murphy
Pitchforks: 2/5
Eddie Murphy’s latest film, “A Thousand Words,” seems like the perfect conundrum for the comedic actor because it explores what would happen if every time he opened his mouth he brought himself a step closer to death.
That’s the situation Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy), the hot-shot literary agent, inattentive father and insensitive husband falls into when a magical Bodhi tree suddenly sprouts up in his backyard after he tries to acquire the publishing rights to a book by famous spiritual guru, Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis).
For every word he speaks, the tree loses a leaf, and when all 1,000 of its leaves are gone, he dies. Naturally, he needs to learn to conserve his words. This leads to many humorous situations that force him to either allow people to speak on his behalf or haphazardly navigate the world without speaking.
There are also gags that show the bond he and the tree have. When the tree is watered, for example, Jack starts perspiring water. When insecticides are used around the tree, he gets high off the fumes.
Murphy’s bantering with other characters in the film’s opening scenes hold some promise for moviegoers. Anyone who has followed the actor through the years will see a glimmer the comedic savvy of his younger days.
The film marks the third time director Brian Robbins and Murphy have worked together on a project. As with much of Robbins's work, it doesn’t aim for big aspirations.
In “A Thousand Words,” the characters do not find it the least bit odd that Jack, the regular motor mouth, has suddenly clammed up. When his assistant (Clark Duke) finds out why, he reacts nonchalantly.
This does not mean all of Robbins’ characters are hopelessly dim. Remember how charming “Good Burger” was in its idiocy?
Robbins and Murphy’s past two films together, “Norbit” and “Meet Dave,” share the same outrageous comedic concepts with Murphy as a dweeb who is married to a obese harpy or Murphy as a alien spaceship with the outer shell being piloted by aliens.
“A Thousand Words” is not as shocking or jaw droppingly awful as “Norbit,” nor does it possess the juvenile tendencies of “Meet Dave.” This film meets these movies somewhere in the middle by also not being too obnoxious, but not too sophomoric. As a middle-of-the-road comedy, audiences will know what to expect with the premise.
If the casual moviegoer finds any of those films funny, good for them. If “A Thousand Words” is compared to a Murphy classic like “Trading Places” or even one of his action-comedies such as “48 Hrs.” or “Beverly Hills Cop,” though it doesn’t measure up.
“A Thousand Words” simply represents the average family-friendly fare the actor has predominantly starred in during the last decade. Murphy needs to get back to that image of the smart, streetwise comedian he crafted for himself 30 years ago — otherwise these safe movies are where he’ll be trapped for the rest of his career.
Reach the reporter at tccoste1@asu.edu
