The Nutty Professor is a
1996The year 1996 in film involved some significant events. Major releases this year included Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Independence Day, Twister, Scream, Jerry Maguire and Madonna's Evita.-Events:...
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
-
romantic comedy filmRomantic comedy films are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles...
starring
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. He is the second-highest grossing actor in motion picture history. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian...
. It is a
remakeA remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1963 film
of the same nameThe Nutty Professor is a Paramount Pictures feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
starring
Jerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
. The original music score was composed by
David NewmanDavid Newman may refer to:*David Newman , aka David "Fathead" Newman, American jazz saxophonist*David Newman , American composer*David Newman , Canadian politician*David Newman , American filmmaker...
.
Murphy plays benevolent university professor
Sherman KlumpProfessor Sherman Klump is a fictional character portrayed by actor Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, similar to the Julius Kelp character played by Jerry Lewis in the original film. Sherman is a jolly, kind hearted science teacher at Welman College...
who is severely obese. He invents a miracle
weight lossWeight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
potion and, hoping to win the girl of his dreams, tries it on himself. Social situations demand that he call himself by a different name while he is using the potion, and his slim self becomes an independent personality. Like the original film's Julius Kelp, Klump's trim and stylish, but arrogant, alter ego is also named Buddy Love. Murphy plays a total of seven characters in the film, including Sherman, most of Sherman's family (except for Sherman's nephew, Ernie "Hercules" Klump Jr. played by actor Jamal Mixon) and an over-the-top parody of
Richard SimmonsMilton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his aerobics videos and eccentric personality...
.
Overview
The film co-stars
Jada Pinkett SmithJada Koren Pinkett-Smith is an American actress, producer, director, model, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. Her success began to build when she starred in A Different World, produced...
,
John AlesJohn Ales is an actor best known for being in Spy Hard, The Nutty Professor, You Wish, and more.-Filmography:*Crime Killer - Kids*Spy Hard - Kabul*The Nutty Professor - Jason...
,
James CoburnJames Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
,
Larry MillerLawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American stand-up comedian, actor and columnist. Miller frequently portrays babbling, obsequious yes-men, slightly odd friends, wisecracking professionals and other second-banana characters to headlining comedians in movies and television shows.-Personal life and...
and a then little-known
Dave ChappelleDavid Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up...
. Singer
Montell JordanMontell Jordan is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan was the second R&B artist signed to the Def Jam label and became the main male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003.-Biography:Jordan attended Pepperdine University in California, where he...
has a
cameoA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and...
role as himself.
This was Murphy's second film not to be released by
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
- which, coincidentally, had produced the 1963 original (and has a
joint ventureUnited International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios films theatrically outside United States and Canada...
with this version's distributor,
Universal PicturesThis is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
, for international distribution of both companies' films).
The film's theme song is
Macho Man"Macho Man" is a 1978 disco song performed by the Village People. It extols the virtues of working out and jogging: Every man ought to be a macho macho man / to live a life of freedom, machos make a stand....
by The Village People.
Plot
Lance Perkins (Murphy) is hosting an exercise program on TV for overweight people. Professor Sherman Klump (also Murphy) gets ready for work. Meanwhile, hamsters are overrunning Wellman College and causing general chaos. It turns out that these are the school's laboratory hamsters that 400-pound Sherman accidentally released the night before. The problem contained, Sherman is given an update by his assistant Jason (Ales) about their latest project – an experimental formula that reconstructs the DNA of an obese person to make weight loss easy. It seems that their fattest hamster, Shelley, has lost 3 ounces, proving that the serum works. Jason suggests increasing the amount Shelley is fed, but the ever-kindly Sherman argues against it, saying it could be dangerous.
He then has an unpleasant meeting with Dean Richmond (Miller). The Dean tells him that the incident with the hamsters has cost the science department most of its funding. Harlan Hartley (Coburn) is the school's last remaining wealthy alumnus and is planning to award a $10 million grant to the college, and Klump is warned not to alienate him as well.
After class, Sherman meets the lovely Miss Carla Purty (Pinkett), a chemistry grad student teaching a class across the hall who is a big fan of his work, and falls instantly in love with her. Later that night, Sherman dines with his portly family (most of whom are also played by Murphy), and argues with them about obesity. Cletus, his ravenous father, starts his habit of randomly passing gas. Treating this disgraceful procedure religiously, he breaks wind to the point where he has soiled himself (6 times). Sherman is hurt by the comments his father, Cletus, makes, but Sherman's mother, Anna, tells him that he is "beautiful inside and out", prompting Sherman to attempt to ask Carla out on a date, which she accepts.
While watching Lance Perkins on TV giving one his speeches of motivation, Sherman falls asleep and dreams he is making out with Carla on a beach but she gets buried into the sand by Sherman's weight, Sherman awakes to Perkins telling the viewers to get up and tell themselves "Yes I can!", which Sherman does. Now Sherman is motivated and full of energy and is determined to lose some weight. A
RockyRocky is a 1976 film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John G. Avildsen. It tells the rags-to-riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but good-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in Philadelphia. Balboa is also a club fighter who gets a shot at the...
-style montage ensues, showing Sherman trying various methods to get fit before the big date. However, although the date begins well, with Carla showing great admiration for Sherman's work with Shelley, it turns into a disaster when Sherman falls victim to the evening's star entertainer, an insult
comicStand-up comedy is a style of comedy where a comedian performs for a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. It is usually performed by a single comedian with the aid of a microphone, either hand-held or mounted on a stand...
called Reggie Warrington (Chappelle), who humiliates him with cruel jokes about his
obesityObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
. Back at Carla's home, with tears in his eyes, Sherman says goodbye to his date.
Later that night, alone and depressed at home, Sherman stuffs himself with junk food while watching Perkins console a fat woman who tells a sad story about how a man from a
fraternityA fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
who asked her out as an excuse to make fun of her obesity. Sherman dozes off in front of the TV set, and has another nightmare in which he becomes a giant and lays waste to the city with a single fart which is lit on fire accidentally. When he wakes, he finally yields to the temptation to try his new serum on himself. It seems to work perfectly: in seconds, he loses 250 pounds and becomes slim and fit. However, with his new body, Sherman also develops a split personality as well, the high testosterone levels causing his new personality to be overly confident and assertive, as well as demonstrating a desire to resort to violence on more than one occasion.
The following day, while still slim, he starts to
flirtFlirting is an expression of sexuality and a common form of social interaction whereby one person obliquely indicates a romantic or sexual interest towards another. It can consist of conversation, body language, or brief physical contact...
with Carla, who comes to the lab looking for Sherman. Quickly inventing the name "Buddy Love" for his new
alter egoAn alter ego is a second self, a second personality or persona within a person. It was coined in the early nineteenth century when schizophrenia was first described by early psychologists...
- based on a security guard saying "Hey, buddy, what the hell happened here?", although 'Love' is his own contribution-, he invites Carla back to The Scream. However, the serum then begins to wear off, one hand bulking up and his voice returning to normal, and he ushers Carla out. Carla later tells Sherman about Buddy, and Sherman encourages her to go out with him. At The Scream, Buddy turns up very late in a brand new
Dodge ViperThe Dodge Viper is a V10-powered sports car manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler LLC. Production of the two seat sports car began at New Mack Assembly in 1992 and moved to its current home at Conner Avenue Assembly in October 1995...
and persuades an angry Carla (who is about to leave) to go back inside. This time, when Reggie appears, Buddy
hecklesA heckler is a person who shouts a disparaging comment at a performance or event, or interrupting set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting, with intent to disturb its performers or participants.-Origin:...
him mercilessly, fires off a barrage of jokes about his mother's weight, and finally takes the stage himself as he performed a piece from
Minnie RipertonMinnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her vocal range of more than five octaves and her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph...
's 1975 hit
Lovin' You-Film:*Loving You, an Elvis Presley movie and soundtrack album*Loving You , a melodramatic love story film produced and distributed by Regal Films-1950s:*I'll Never Stop Loving You , written by Nicholas Brodzsky and Sammy Cahn...
and forced Reggie to do Minnie's signature high-pitched squeal, then throwing the comedian into a piano.
Buddy returns to Carla, who is delighted with him. He gives a
waiterWaiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested...
a
credit cardA credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
to pay for the meal. Buddy and Carla then share a
kissA kiss is the touching of one person's lips to another place, which is used as an expression of affection, respect, greeting, farewell, good luck, romantic affection or sexual desire...
. Immediately after, the serum begins to wear off and Buddy makes a quick exit, attributing it to an allergic reaction to Carla's lipstick (The 'bulking up' began with his lower lip). Jason happens to be at the bar and notes the card Buddy is using belongs to Sherman. He follows Buddy into the sports car to confront him, only to learn Sherman's secret when he discovers him in mid-transformation, culminating in Sherman having to be cut out of the car when he is too big to use the door.
The next morning, Sherman is very late for a class, and his students have all left. The Dean, however, is there, and he confronts Sherman about the sports car, which Buddy bought on Sherman's
facultyA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
account. The Dean threatens to 'strangle Sherman and cut off his air supply until he passes away' if he screws up again and asks him to meet Hartley at a
hotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
, called The Ritz, to describe the weight-loss serum.
Later, in the lab, Jason tells Sherman that he can't control Buddy, whose
testosteroneTestosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid.In men,...
levels keep rising, using his out-of-character attitude as Buddy as an example. He warns him not to use the serum again and to focus instead on the
researchResearch can be defined to be search for knowledge or any systematic investigation to establish facts. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of...
for Hartley. Later, Carla talks to Sherman about her date with Buddy, and Sherman takes the opportunity to ask Carla to
dinnerDinner is the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon region and/or social class, it may be the second or third meal of the day.-Dinner courses:...
with his family, who promptly embarrass him by making various suggestive comments about their relationship and Cletus farts again. His confidence low, and after Carla mentions that she would like the opportunity to get to know the caring person she sometimes sees in Buddy's eyes, he uses the serum again. Jason tries to stop Buddy, soon Sherman tries to communicate to Jason from deep down inside Buddy and instructs Jason to go into the storage closet to get an antidote, but the muscled
Don JuanDon Juan or Don Giovanni is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra, by Tirso de Molina, is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
regains control and locks Jason in before departing.
Buddy, who is becoming ever more aggressive, takes Carla out on a second date, this time to the hotel where Sherman was to meet Hartley. The Dean, looking for Sherman, asks Carla if she knows where Sherman is, but Carla asks Buddy if he could take Sherman's place. With the Dean desperate to get the grant, he allows Buddy to talk to Hartley, Buddy subsequently taking all the credit for the work. Hartley and the Dean are both impressed, the Dean later asking if Buddy would be willing to fill in for Sherman on a more permanent basis.
Buddy then picks up three beautiful women at the hotel, and invites Carla to participate in some "group action", only for her to dump him. Undaunted, he throws a loud
partyA party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, and recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
at Sherman's house that night, burning all the
health foodHealth food is a term that has been used in the United States since the 1920s and refers to specific foods claimed to be especially beneficial to health....
products in Sherman's fridge. Having transformed back during the night, Sherman wakes with the whole house in a humongous trashed wreck surrounded by strange women, with no
memoryIn psychology, memory is an organism's mental ability to store, retain, and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory....
of the night before. When he turns to see what has happened, he is stunned. Waking up in bed with the entire house in shambles around him, however, is the least of his problems.
Carla arrives shortly thereafter to tell Sherman that she has left Buddy, as well as to apologize about her encouraging Buddy to talk to Hartley. One of the women from the hotel the night before comes out of Sherman's room asking for Buddy, and Carla thinks Sherman is as unfaithful as Buddy-to the extent that the two of them actually
share women. To add to Sherman's problems, as he chases after her, he finds an eviction notice taped to his front door by his unseen grouchy downstairs neighbor and
landlordLandlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
, Mr. Wilson, due to all the noise Buddy and the party were making the night before. Jason then enters the scene and tells Sherman that they need to head over to the lab. Trying to collect himself, Sherman tells Jason that it needs to wait until later. However, Jason stresses that there won't
be a later, and a visit to the lab confirms that- Dean Richmond has fired Sherman, replaced him with Buddy, given him Sherman's ticket to the alumni ball, and in gloating promises to ruin Sherman.
At home, depressed, Sherman accidentally activates the VCR, where Buddy has left a message taunting Sherman and encouraging him to take the serum once again. This inspires Sherman to take his life back, resolved to prove that he can defeat Buddy. He and Jason start destroying all the serum samples, but when he sips a diet drink that Buddy has craftily filled with the serum, he transforms again. Buddy, who has "taken on a life of his own" with a vengeance, tells Jason that he has calculated that, if he drinks 500 mL of the serum, he will have enough cellular stability to be thin forever, thus "killing" Sherman; however, he cannot drink all of that serum at once, as it will (literally) kill Sherman and Buddy with it. Buddy, however, has a plan, to drink 250 mL of the serum while still in the lab and the other 250 at the alumni ball. He then knocks Jason out and heads to the alumni ball to carry out his plan, which will simultaneously prove the validity of Sherman's research.
Buddy arrives at the ball three hours late and starts acting rowdy to the disgrace of Dean Richmond, who scolds him for not being there on time. Buddy responds by threatening the Dean in the same way he threatened Sherman (by strangling him to death). He then begins to make his way to the stage, where his plan will be put into place.
Back at the lab, Jason regains consciousness just in time to see a warning on the lab computer that Buddy's testosterone levels are at a lethally high 60,000% and darts out of the lab to head for the ball. There, Buddy begins to demonstrate the effects of the serum to the amazed audience (which includes the Dean, Carla, Hartley, and Sherman's parents), allowing himself to briefly 'bulk up' just enough to demonstrate how one sip of the serum is effective enough to make him thin. Then, as he prepares to drink the second dose of serum to stay Buddy Love forever, Jason runs in, and tries to stop him. Buddy punches Jason, but Jason hits back.
As Buddy stands poised to return a blow, Sherman starts to "fight" him for control of his body: fat and thin body parts- beginning with his right fist and subsequently varying around the rest of his body- alternate with increasing speed while Buddy's voice shouts "You can't beat me!" and Sherman's voice replies "Yes I can!". Eventually, after a violent transformation/confrontation, Sherman wins the struggle. Still on stage, he tells the awed alumni that, while he started out wanting to help people, what he did was selfish and foolish, and that he has learned that the important thing is to accept himself as he is, rather than being unhappy about how much he weighs. He leaves, but Carla stops him and asks why did he lie. He explains that he did not believe that she would accept him and she assures him that it does not matter if he is overweight or not. Carla asks him to dance and he agrees yes, Jason subsequently arriving with a tuxedo that fits. The two subsequently dance for the rest of the night, much to the approval of Jason and Sherman's family. Harley then tells the Dean that he's decided to give Sherman the grant because he's "a brilliant scientist, and a gentleman."
Cast and characters
- Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American actor, voice actor, film director, producer, comedian and singer. He is the second-highest grossing actor in motion picture history. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian...
as Sherman Klump, Buddy Love, Cletus Klump, Anna Pearl Jensen Klump, Ida Mae Jensen, Ernie Klump, Lance Perkins
- Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Koren Pinkett-Smith is an American actress, producer, director, model, author, singer-songwriter and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. Her success began to build when she starred in A Different World, produced...
as Carla Purty
- James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn, Jr. was an American film and television actor who appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances in his 45-year career...
as Harlan Hartley
- Larry Miller
Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American stand-up comedian, actor and columnist. Miller frequently portrays babbling, obsequious yes-men, slightly odd friends, wisecracking professionals and other second-banana characters to headlining comedians in movies and television shows.-Personal life and...
as Dean Richmond
- Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up...
as Reggie Warrington
- John Ales
John Ales is an actor best known for being in Spy Hard, The Nutty Professor, You Wish, and more.-Filmography:*Crime Killer - Kids*Spy Hard - Kabul*The Nutty Professor - Jason...
- Jason
Production notes
- The first Tom Shadyac
Thomas Peter Shadyac is an American comedian, producer, director and writer of Lebanese Christian origins from the family Chidiac. He is mostly famous for his partnership with the comedian actor Jim Carrey....
movie to feature outtakes over the closing credits. See also Liar, Liar and Bruce AlmightyBruce Almighty is a American comedy film, directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down on his luck TV reporter who seeks a promotion and a better life overall. After a series of bad incidents, such as being beaten...
.
- This film is number 70 on Bravo's
Bravo is an American cable television channel owned by NBC Universal. It is currently seen in more than 80 million homes and was the first service dedicated to film, drama, and the performing arts when it launched by Cablevision as an advertisement-free channel in December 1980...
"100 Funniest Movies".
- The film also features a series of scenes with Murphy and comedian Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, and actor. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show. Comedy Central ranked him forty-third in the list of the 100 greatest stand-up...
who plays insult comic Reggie Warrington. Much of their dialogue was improvised. Murphy was one of Chappelle's biggest comedic influences.
- The cruel nightclub comedian "Reggie Warrington" is named after Reginald and Warrington Hudlin, brothers and directors of Murphy's previous film Boomerang.
- While the film was made with the blessing of Jerry Lewis (he was an executive producer for both this film and the 2000 sequel "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"), he later recanted his position in an interview in the Jan.30th/Feb.6th 2009 edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine. He is quoted as saying, "I have such respect for Eddie, but I should not have done it. What I did was perfect the first time around and all you're going to do is diminish that perfection by letting someone else do it. When he had to do fart jokes, he lost me."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 4, 1996 by
Def Jam RecordingsDef Jam Recordings is a United States based hip-hop record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group...
. It peaked at #8 on the
Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling new music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and #1 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
.
Reception
The Nutty Professor is ranked as "fresh" on
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
with a 64% positive rating.