Directed by: Brian Robbins
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Ariel Winter, Kerry Washington
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Running Time: 91 minutes
Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars
When it comes to Eddie Murphy, he has been hit or miss (mostly miss) recently. His decisions to constantly do kid’s films are really hurting his career. I mean if they were good kids film’s that one thing but besides “Shrek” franchise…they aren’t. This film is no different and actually has sat on the shelf since 2008. My main concern why would you have Eddie Murphy in a film where he can only speak a thousand words when he is the funniest when he goes on long-winded rants. It doesn’t seem like a smart move. Due to this the film really doesn’t deliver beyond a few chuckles.
Eddie Murphy plays Jack McCall, a literary agent who in order to sign huge client, a New Age guru, he must agree to the following the guru’s ways in order to get the contract. When a tree suddenly appears in Jack’s backyard, he finds that it loses a leaf every time Jack says speaks or writes a word. He has to choose his words carefully and aims to learn a valuable lesson on the consequences of every word we speak…Yawn.
The Blu-ray is not bad for a comedy. The 1080p transfer looks good and is presented in its original aspect ratio: 2.39:1. The audio track included is an DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, which sounds decent also. The special features are lacking though like the film itself. There are a whooping 11 deleted scenes included and an alternate ending. That is about it. The scenes are decent and worth a watch but nothing that could have helped the film.
I like Eddie Murphy; he is still one of my favorite actors even though I haven’t seen him act lately.