This film surprised me. I wouldn't expect a film starring Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, David Alan Grier, Halle Berry and Robin Givens to be an amusing, quirky, and well-acted film. Each of them have talent in their own right, but are normally type-cast actors who are predictable in terms of what to expect. Well Grier, Givens and Berry gave no surprises. And Martin Lawrence, though he played his role to a tee, was pretty much Martin Lawrence. The real surprise was Murphy. This is the true Eddie Murphy charisma. A character that is beyond what I would normally expect from him, this film proves that he has talent, and was pretty much the peak of his career. If for no other reason than because it's not simply another goofy comedy a la Golden Child or Coming to America. Those films are really funny, but here, Murphy proves that he can act, too...and I don't think he's ever done it again. The problems with this film were few. The supporting cast were fairly strong...even though some were quite predictable in terms of character, they still worked out well. Robin Givens was a bit one-dimensional, but she served her purpose well. David Alan Grier was a weakness; he went overboard in this role; he played the same role in a much stronger manner (also opposite Halle Berry) in Strictly Business. And the smaller roles were all amusing: Grace Jones was hilarious, especially the restaurant scene! Leonard Jackson's facial expressions were priceless, John Witherspoon was great (as was the whole Thanksgiving dinner!!) and Geoffrey Holder was funny and charismatic as the quirky commercial designer, Nelson. So what were the problems? Well the length was an issue. This film could've been 20-30 minutes shorter; two hours is just too much. Start by cutting out the sex scenes, they were yawnable and pretty much useless. Look It's Robin Givens in her panties. Look it's Robin Givens in her panties again. And guess what? Yup, three time's the charm, Robin Givens in her panties once again...granted, Robin Givens is quite the looker, but not on top of Eddie Murphy. And this film really didn't need it. While we're at it, you can take out the whole Eartha Kitt-Eddie Murphy seduction scene. Could have been done in a quarter of the time, and frankly the whole scene still makes me shudder;) As well, the cinematography was poor, with generic shots an choppy cuts (and worse fades). Now, I don't expect art-school experimentation, nor do I expect Coen Brothers quality, but they could've at least made it look pretty. The scenes are nice, but they do nothing with them. This is textbook film-making. All in all, the film is a fun watch. The scenes that are on are *really* on; absolutely hilarious. As it is the film's quite good. Cut out even fifteen minutes and the film would be so much better! 7/10
Review of Boomerang
