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Movies / On DVD / Bowfinger
Bowfinger

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Bowfinger (1999)

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79 %
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Reviews Counted: 107

Fresh: 85

Rotten:22

Average Rating: 7/10

Consensus: A witty commentary on modern film-making, with enough jokes to keep it entertaining throughout.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: When never-has-been director Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) finds a movie script he's convinced will take him to the Oscars, he'll do anything to get the movie made--including lying to his actors,... When never-has-been director Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) finds a movie script he's convinced will take him to the Oscars, he'll do anything to get the movie made--including lying to his actors, "borrowing" film and equipment from a major studio, and coercing border-jumping Mexicans to be his camera crew. With a budget of only $2,000 and no Hollywood clout, Bowfinger can only get backing by casting famous action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy). When the actor turns down the offer, Bowfinger stages elaborate scenes where his overly eager actors approach Kit, say their lines, and run off while Bowfinger films it, making Kit the unwitting star of the movie. Meanwhile, these strange encounters cause the already edgy actor to become even more anxious, building toward a complete nervous breakdown that might jeopardize the film's big finale. Gleefully spoofing Hollywood staples such as promiscuous actresses, Scientology, sleazy producers, and empty promises, the film celebrates the magic of the movies as much as it pokes fun at it. Director Frank Oz wisely gives free rein to screenwriter Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, who turns in not one but two winning performances as Kit Ramsey and his goofy look-alike named Jiff. A meeting of great comic minds, BOWFINGER is a Tinsel Town-skewering delight. [More]

Starring: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Robert Downey

Starring: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Robert Downey, Christine Baranski, Jamie Kennedy, Terence Stamp

Director: Frank Oz

Director: Frank Oz
Screenwriter: Steve Martin
Producer: Brian Grazer
Composer: David Newman

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 6, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Bowfinger

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The best thing about Bowfinger is the way the script by Steve Martin is tooled to his own and Murphy's comic strengths.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/02/09
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hugely funny film that mixes knowing satire with winning stupidity, and has Martin and Murphy in form they have rarely managed in recent years.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/27/08
Mark Morris
Channel 4 Film

This is enjoyable but thin, which is no doubt what was intended.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/27/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A showcase for wit.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Mr. Murphy chews the scenery every chance he gets and it recalls what made him such a star in the first place.

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

Murphy is wonderful ... The plot is mechanical, clunky and boring.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
02/04/07
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Preposterous and utterly self-absorbed, this has la-la land down to a tee.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out

Just watch two of the still funniest guys in the country do what they do best, without a bad script to get in the way.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Film Threat

You'll laugh 'til you stop!

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

This all has the potential to become a sidesplitting caper. ... Unfortunately, only a few of the manic scenes work.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer

[An] entertaining little comedy that should be forgiven for not living to its potential.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
12/02/04
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

It's lively and frequently funny -- but why does it leave such a sour aftertaste?

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
07/15/03
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Lest the movie get too saccharine (and it never does), Eddie Murphy is on hand to juice things up.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Hilarious.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

The movie reaches giddy, cartoonish heights, even while it carefully dodges any chance to move beyond skin-deep.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

A wicked satire of the absurdity of the Los Angeles lifestyle.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

Martin the writer plants some wicked barbs in Hollywood's rear end about creative financing of movies and hoarding of profits, the art of the deal, hipper-than-thou attitudes and exploitation.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is his first screenplay since L.A. Story, yet you get the sense that Martin has lost some of the artistic aspiration he once brought to the movie business. This effort feels like it's just business.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bowfinger bears the same relation to satire as reports of the weekend grosses do to journalism.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
03/03/02
Charles Taylor
Sight and Sound

This movie is a wonderful satire of Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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