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Movies / On DVD / Bowfinger
Bowfinger

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Bowfinger (1999)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:22

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.2/10

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]

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Release:

Jun 6, 2000

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Reviews for Bowfinger

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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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
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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
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This is his first screenplay since L.A. Story, yet you get the sense that Martin has lost some of the artistic aspiration he once brought to the movie business. This effort feels like it's just business.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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Martin may express himself more gracefully than Bobby Bowfinger does, but the two share a certain quality of vagueness or absence that has plagued Martin's entire career as an actor and writer.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
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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
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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
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Witty and spirited!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Henry Cabot Beck
Henry Cabot Beck
Film.com
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Bowfinger never hits a note of high hilarity.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
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Powered by a hilarious, high-octane performance by Eddie Murphy and a witty, boisterous script by his co-star, Steve Martin, Bowfinger offers 90-plus minutes of solid entertainment.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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Hilarious, good-hearted.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
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Bowfinger isn't quite the deliriously slap-happy farce it wants to be, but Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy generate just enough laughs to keep you watching it.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
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The movie's funny enough. But you can't help thinking it might be funnier.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
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It assures Murphy's comeback as one of our most brilliant comic talents.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post
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Murphy is able, with the help of writer and co-star Steve Martin, to create two completely different characters whose cumulative comic impact is overwhelming.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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A mirthful comedy certain to send audiences into multiple spasms of laughter!

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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Bitingly funny but tolerant, bemused rather than bitter!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
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A wonderfully sharp-witted, goofily exuberant movie!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
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Aside from The Nutty Professor, this is the funniest Eddie Murphy comedy since the Reagan administration.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
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Bowfinger manages to be funny without a single semen or shit joke or scene in which a character has carnal relations with a dessert.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Brunette
Peter Brunette
Film.com
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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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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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