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Movies / On DVD / Bowfinger
Bowfinger

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Bowfinger (1999)

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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]

Reviews for Bowfinger

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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
Mark Morris
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
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
Charles Taylor
Sight and Sound

After a decade in the wilderness, it's good to know that Martin can still cut it with the likes of Jim Carrey and Mike Myers.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

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

A showcase for wit.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
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
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
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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
Ron Wells
Film Threat

You'll laugh 'til you stop!

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
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
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
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
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
Leonard Schwarz
Palo Alto Weekly

Hilarious.

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/04/03
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

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
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
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
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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Latest News for Bowfinger

April 02, 2009: Five Favourite Films with Bill Nighy
There can be few actors better suited to starring in a film about the golden age of British rock and roll than Bill Nighy. No wonder, then, that he's front and centre as part of... More...

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