Two weeks after “The Cable Guy” opens, there arrives another movie featuring another gifted comedian and veteran of TV sketch comedy.
But for “The Nutty Professor” and Eddie Murphy, there is a lot more at stake.
Murphy loyalists are holding their breath in anticipation that his next picture, “The Nutty Professor,” will inspire a comeback of Travolta-like proportions.
Last winter, those same hopes rested on the forgettable “Vampire in Brooklyn.” On June 28, the jury will begin deliberating on the heavily promoted updating of the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy, in which Murphy plays eight roles (including the obese Professor Klump featured in ads).
In such entertaining and profitable films as “48 HRS,” “Trading Places,” “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Coming to America,” the former “Saturday Night Live” standout established himself as an actor of diverse appeal and undeniable charisma. The irreverent comic filled the screen with disarming humor and brash confidence.
His first two “Beverly Hills Cop” movies remain among the 50 top-grossing films of all time. But, like many young stars, he began to believe his own press clippings, then demanded and received creative control of his movies.
Murphy’s name dominated the credits on two pivotal projects in the late ’80s. Each, in their own way, proved he didn’t know when to hit the brakes.
While “Eddie Murphy Raw” showcased his dynamic on-stage persona, it also managed to offend many fans with its incessantly coarse language and nasty, ill-informed takes on women and gays. His directorial debut, “Harlem Nights,” while profitable and loaded with talented actors, was a shapeless mess and widely panned as being little more than a loud, violent, unfunny ego trip.
Later, “Another 48 HRS” and “Beverly Hills Cop III” would come off as cynical attempts to milk a few more bucks from a nearly dry cash cow. “Boomerang” and “The Distinguished Gentleman” won back some critics, but the films proved to be only marginally successful.
Clearly, Murphy misjudged the depth of support among his core audience. No one, it seems, wanted to be bombarded with expletives or shortchanged by half-hearted storytelling.
Now 35, Murphy appears willing to assume the role of team player.
For “The Nutty Professor,” he received an estimated $12 million but gave up director and script approval. He reportedly worked hard and kept his entourage in check on the set, freeing Tom Shadyac (“Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”) to choreograph the comic mayhem, which includes plenty of jokes about fat people and excessive intestinal gas.