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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 fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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

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

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

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

Martin, who wrote the screenplay, gives Murphy the creative space to strut his stuff.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stunningly good!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew Essex
Andrew Essex
Citysearch

Martin's decision to tell the story from a bottom feeder's point of view is what keeps it fresh and innovative--never have we seen on screen a group of people struggle this hard to complete a motion picture.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Your sides will hurt when the film fades out. It is a comedy event not to be missed.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
rec.arts.movies.reviews

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

Audiences are guaranteed to leave the theatre smiling.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Grunden
Chris Grunden
Film Journal International

With its highly original, clever and well-paced script, Bowfinger scams edgy but light-hearted laughs from 'Action!' to wrap.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

Bowfinger gives Eddie Murphy one of his funniest roles ever.

Full Review Source: Credo | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Forsmark
David Forsmark
Credo

Martin and Murphy were never funnier ...

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The comedy you've been waiting for all summer!

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

[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

Too many problems detract from Bowfinger to make it be considered a 'great' comedy, but it is a good one.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Frivolous, wispy and quite disposable, this is cinematic cotton candy, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Full Review Source: NUVO Newsweekly | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Johnson-Ott
Edward Johnson-Ott
NUVO Newsweekly

Bowfinger succeeds as both a sweet, sometimes hilarious fable and as an indictment of everything that's wrong with modern moviemaking, skewering the absurdity and speciousness of Hollywood along the way.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eleonore Snow
Eleonore Snow
Mr. Showbiz

Go see this jam-packed fun-filled flick and do it now!

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Steve Martin is one of the most versatile actors in the business; he is also one of the funniest comics, one of the few capable of making the viewer believe any situation, no matter how farfetched.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

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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