Reviewed 31 Aug 2002        Warner Bros., having found themselves in hot contractual waters, couldn't leave their offices for fear of being confronted by the lawyers of Eddy Murphy, Peter Boyle, Randy Quaid and John Cleese.   The actors had been promised a minimum amount of work in 2002, and were suspicious that Warner Bros was reneging.    The Warner Bros bigwigs decided that rather than try to sneak out of the studio, they would stay late one night and make a new movie from scratch and call it PLUTO NASH.   After many cups of coffee, and working until almost midnight, they finished the film and called Fedex to come by and pick up a couple of dozen copies for distribution.    They staggered out of the studio tired, but with the satisfied feeling that at least they were contractually now in the clear. Whew !
       Its just that I am left with all these nagging questions...    Why did it take so long to get to the 'plot'?    What does being set in the future, on the Moon, add to the story?    Was this intended to be an 'evils of gambling' piece or did I miss something?    Why did they have air-cushion cars running around on an airless Moon?
        John Cleese as James, and Randy Quaid as Bruno, both robots, provided all the real humor.   Which begs yet another question; isn't Eddie Murphy supposed to be the funny one?   Character development was non-existent (except, perversely, in the robots).    PLUTO NASH had the depth of plot of a half-hour TV drama.    AND with the added bonus of Eddy Murphy having produced it himself.    And why is this a bonus?   Its very Darwinian; Eddy Murphy will soon go broke producing garbage like this, sparing us future boredom and embarrassment.
        LEAST Enduring Line Or Phrase:   "I got it down to a pretty good science."

Reviewed by Narada for Bangkok Eyes - 31 Aug 2002 © 2002, Bangkok Eyes / bangkokeyes.com

BACK to MOVIE REWIEWS