Comedy.  1 hr. 26 min.
Rated PG-13 for crude humour and sexual references.
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, James Coburn, Jamal Mixon.
Directed by Tom Shadyac.
Written by David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein, Steve Oedekerk and Tom Shadyac.
Distributor:  Universal Studios Home Video

    With the sequel now out in theaters I decided to go back and relive the magic of the original.  As far as stupid, crude and tasteless humor goes this is about as good as it gets.  What Eddie Murphy did was take a classic (which I have seen, and even though I am very against old movie it was very enjoyable) and only made it better.  The formula is the same yet this one has the ability to have you rolling in the aisles.  If you have not yet seen this movie I give you my strong recommendation to go out and rent it.

    The story, in case you don't know, has a terribly obese Sherman Klump (Murphy) worrying about his weight while at the same time developing a magic potion which makes the fat, well, disappear.  After a terrible (and incredibly funny) incident at a club Sherman's had enough and decides to try the potion on himself.  Within a matter of minutes Sherman Klump has transformed into Buddy Love (Murphy), an overly self-assured ego maniac who is good looking and skinny.  Soon both of Murphy's characters are fighting over the affection of Miss Purty (Pinkett), and that results in some hilarious mix-ups and sudden transformations.

    There are so many great things I can say about this movie.  The humor may be stupid and it may be rude but if this isn't hilarious, nothing is.  Two scenes in particular stand out as being really great.  The one where Sherman makes the mistake of taking Miss Purty home to his family for dinner.  Murphy finds it necessary to play five characters in one scene and that's not even the funny part.  Let's just say it might hit home to anybody who has ever been embarrassed by their family.  Then the aforementioned scene where Sherman takes Miss Purty out to the Scream, a club for college students.  Sure it's a throw back to my elementary school days with all the "Your Momma" jokes, but who out there doesn't enjoy that cheap humor.  If you don't then you obviously don't have a funny bone.  Also the themes may be terribly obvious, but they don't speak volumes to the society we live in.  If you are skinny and good looking that automatically makes you a good person is what is the perceived truth by the people we live with.  Also, too many people believe that instead of changing things about them that they can help (personality, sense of humor, etc.) they go out of their way to torture themselves to changes something they can't (the fact that they are overweight).  People... there are no magic potions, there is nothing you can do if you are predisposed to be fat... spend your precious time making yourself a better person as opposed to a better body.  The story flows beautifully and all comes together in a very enjoyable conclusion.

    About the only bad thing I can say about this movie is that it may offend.  Eddie Murphy does go out of his way to say "I can see my dick... I CAN SEE MY DICK!!"  Not to mention that there are countless upon countless references to sex, which may make this movie a red flag for parents out here.  But hopefully I'm not speaking to a parental crowd, and everybody out there can guiltlessly appreciate the humor of this movie which may be described best as risqué.

    I have yet to see the new one so unfortunately I can't do a comparison, but the bottom line is this movie is damn entertaining.  You will laugh out loud, you will remember scenes and characters, and that is a great sign of a comedy.  Don't deprive yourself of this treat...  I would much rather watch this movie than spend time making my body more appealing for the ladies...  trust me you'll get more out of this movie.

Rating:  8.0

- Chris Roberts