While you'd expect that any movie with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy would have to be hilarious. That's what we thought with flicks like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Beverly Hills Cop 3 and so yawn. So, this is, by no means, a guaranteed hit.
But it's a great, fun and funny film.
Eddie Murphy pretty much steals the show. Playing dual roles, this is almost as funny as Nutty Professor and its multi-role performance. He plays a brash, self-absorbed action/adventure actor who's just a bit off-center. This seems, in some way, the way Murphy really is. But then he also plays this goofy guy with braces who talks in a really mild "white" accent that really stretches Murphy's acting. And he does a superb job.
Steve Martin is solid as Bowfinger, an unsuccessful filmmaker who makes C-movies, if there's such a thing. The lovable loser, he seems to attract other people who have dreams unfulfilled. And they, for whatever reason, believe in him.
Heather Graham plays a different character than she did in Austin Powers a few months ago. But she's making a name for herself by making films where she bares her chest, only not to us, the filmviewer. She starts off as a naive girl right off the bus, and we see her blossom before our very eyes as she learns how things in Hollywood are done.
Bowfinger is a playful fun romp that tweaks the nose of the Hollywood "establishment" with lots of jokes that would be really funny if I worked in the industry. But Uncle Mel does, and I'm sure he'll love it.
Great bits, a product placement scene that I'm sure FedEx paid BIG money for, and a super, silly, funny story. This film is a high 7.