Runtime:
94 minutes
Directed
by: Ron Underwood
Starring:
Eddie Murphy, Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson, Joey Pants (as I like to
call him), Jay Mohr
From:
Warner Bros./Castle Rock/Village Roadshow
While this isn't the worst thing you'll ever watch... that doesn't mean you should watch it:
Yes,
I decided to watch this film due to my recent watches of actual
worthwhile films featuring Eddie Murphy and Pam Grier; yes, she's in
this... for a few minutes as Murphy's mom; yes, despite her only being
like 12 years older than he is. The film jokes about it but c'mon now.
It may come as a shock to some when I say I've actually seen this
before... it's true. That was like 15 years ago and truth be told, to
steal a quote from someone, “the movie is the kind you forget about 5
minutes after you watch it.” Honestly I might as well have been seeing
this for the first time as much of this I had no memory of.
It is another case of the production woes being a lot more interesting than the actual film. The script was from the mid 80's but was rewritten by who knows how many people until it reached production. Murphy ended up arguing with the producers and director Ron Underwood; Eddie ended up using some of his own money to pay for shooting to continue; well, an editor came in and realized that there needed to be lengthy reshoots, which happened (and Underwood had nothing to do with approving of the finished product as a lot of it was not shot by him)... but Eddie eventually lost interest. It then sat on the shelf for 2 years until it was dumped and became one of the biggest flops of all time, as the protracted shooting schedule cost at least $100 million, which even now is ridiculous for what is allegedly a comedy.
The finished product is an absolute mess; the titular Pluto Nash owns a successful nightclub on the moon in 2087 but Rex Crater (yes, that's a real name also) wants to own it as part of his plot to have gambling all over the area. Nash and Rosario Dawson are on the run from the goons that wish to kill them; oh wait, there's also Bruno, played by Randy Quaid. Lord, I felt as bad for him here as I do in recent years due to all the mental health issues he and his spouse suffer from. He's an android who is bald, has painted-on eyebrows, speaks in a synthetic voice, wears a suit that is supposed to look like metal, and usually has a doofy expression on his face. You can see why I felt sympathy for him.
The plot is totally forgettable; a bunch of nonsense happens that is not really worth recapping. Characters that you think may be important later just vanish with no further mention of them, and there are some lengthy exposition dumps. The movie also has a bizarre understanding of what cloning is & how it works. Just judging by what's on screen, giving this only 1 star may be a little harsh. Yet look at all the talent they wasted: besides all the names mentioned already, there's Joey Pants (as me and others like to call him), Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas, Luis Guzman, Peter Boyle, Burt Young, John Cleese, James Rebhorn, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., and even Alec Baldwin in what amounts to an unbilled cameo. All those people involved and you couldn't come up with anything more entertaining?
While the effects look piss-poor, the actual look of “Little America” (what the colony on the moon is called) isn't bad; I wouldn't mind actually visiting it if I could. The movie did not really NEED to be set in a futuristic science fiction world, to be honest; I have no idea if the original script was ever worthwhile but what was presented: usually not funny. Sure, I laugh now that there was references to both Hillary (on $10,000 bills) and Trump (he even has real estate on the moon) and there are references to better science fiction films I'd rather watch again instead-the same goes for briefly seeing footage from Angels With Dirty Faces-and honestly, people shouldn't watch Pluto Nash even once.
Oh, and the opening of the movie is a harbinger of things to come as there is a TERRIBLE cover of Blue Moon, which made me want to watch An American Werewolf in London to hear the song done right; also, there's a crappy version of Dancin' in the Moonlight but worst of all was that Earth Wind & Fire (!) did a song for the movie; I say that as EW&F is awesome and are far better than this dreck. Besides, the song is far from all the tremendous 70's classics they created.
It is another case of the production woes being a lot more interesting than the actual film. The script was from the mid 80's but was rewritten by who knows how many people until it reached production. Murphy ended up arguing with the producers and director Ron Underwood; Eddie ended up using some of his own money to pay for shooting to continue; well, an editor came in and realized that there needed to be lengthy reshoots, which happened (and Underwood had nothing to do with approving of the finished product as a lot of it was not shot by him)... but Eddie eventually lost interest. It then sat on the shelf for 2 years until it was dumped and became one of the biggest flops of all time, as the protracted shooting schedule cost at least $100 million, which even now is ridiculous for what is allegedly a comedy.
The finished product is an absolute mess; the titular Pluto Nash owns a successful nightclub on the moon in 2087 but Rex Crater (yes, that's a real name also) wants to own it as part of his plot to have gambling all over the area. Nash and Rosario Dawson are on the run from the goons that wish to kill them; oh wait, there's also Bruno, played by Randy Quaid. Lord, I felt as bad for him here as I do in recent years due to all the mental health issues he and his spouse suffer from. He's an android who is bald, has painted-on eyebrows, speaks in a synthetic voice, wears a suit that is supposed to look like metal, and usually has a doofy expression on his face. You can see why I felt sympathy for him.
The plot is totally forgettable; a bunch of nonsense happens that is not really worth recapping. Characters that you think may be important later just vanish with no further mention of them, and there are some lengthy exposition dumps. The movie also has a bizarre understanding of what cloning is & how it works. Just judging by what's on screen, giving this only 1 star may be a little harsh. Yet look at all the talent they wasted: besides all the names mentioned already, there's Joey Pants (as me and others like to call him), Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas, Luis Guzman, Peter Boyle, Burt Young, John Cleese, James Rebhorn, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., and even Alec Baldwin in what amounts to an unbilled cameo. All those people involved and you couldn't come up with anything more entertaining?
While the effects look piss-poor, the actual look of “Little America” (what the colony on the moon is called) isn't bad; I wouldn't mind actually visiting it if I could. The movie did not really NEED to be set in a futuristic science fiction world, to be honest; I have no idea if the original script was ever worthwhile but what was presented: usually not funny. Sure, I laugh now that there was references to both Hillary (on $10,000 bills) and Trump (he even has real estate on the moon) and there are references to better science fiction films I'd rather watch again instead-the same goes for briefly seeing footage from Angels With Dirty Faces-and honestly, people shouldn't watch Pluto Nash even once.
Oh, and the opening of the movie is a harbinger of things to come as there is a TERRIBLE cover of Blue Moon, which made me want to watch An American Werewolf in London to hear the song done right; also, there's a crappy version of Dancin' in the Moonlight but worst of all was that Earth Wind & Fire (!) did a song for the movie; I say that as EW&F is awesome and are far better than this dreck. Besides, the song is far from all the tremendous 70's classics they created.
No comments:
Post a Comment