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BOWFINGER Send This Review to a Friend
The ads trumpet "The Con Is On," but this comedy is no con. It's really funny, thanks to the slick, hilarious writing of Steve Martin, who did the screenplay, and the rib-tickling performances by Martin as a failing would-be movie producer and Eddie Murphy doubling as a high-powered star as well as his hapless substitute.
The concept is simple enough. Martin as the desperate Bobby Bowfinger can't get the sought-after star Kit Ramsey (Murphy) to make a movie about alien invaders who arrive disguised as raindrops, so he concocts a scheme to film him secretly. Ramsey doesn't know what’s going on as Bowfinger's actors keep accosting him before hidden cameras. This makes Bowfinger even more paranoid than he already is despite the healing efforts of a cult healing charlatan, smoothly played with deadpan control by Terence Stamp.
Bowfinger keeps cast members from his disillusioned but ever-hopeful entourage in the dark about his manipulations by telling them Ramsey doesn't want to talk with other actors. To handle some of the scenes he hires a look-alike rube (Murphy). Spice as well as more comedy are provided by Heather Graham as a wide-eyed, ambitious young beauty from Ohio who'll sleep up the hierarchy ladder if she thinks it will get her more lines.
One sequence after another affords belly-laughs, such as Bowfinger's rounding up obviously illegal aliens to work as his crew. There's plenty of comic action as well, but the humor of the film rests on the larcenous ploys by Bowfinger and the utter hilarity provided because Martin and Murphy make such a riotous team. The supporting cast is a distinct plus, including Christine Baranski as Carol, a former stage actress who keeps trying for her big movie break, Adam Alexi-Malle as the screenwriter of the dubious project, Robert Downey, Jr. as a studio executive and Jamie Kennedy as the savvy studio gofer Dave, who smuggles out equipment for Bowfinger to use.
The film also works so well because Martin has penned a comically wicked spoof of Hollywood shenanigans. Much of the dissembling that goes with making deals and getting movies made is the butt of the horseplay. Director Frank Oz has taken this material and whipped it into a smart, immensely enjoyable entertainment. A Universal Pictures release.
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