FilmBuff1994 The Nutty Professor is a great movie with a well developed storyline and a terrific comedic cast. It's a very funny and enjoyable movie, mostly due to the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy, this film easily could have been a disaster without a good comedic lead to hold it together, and thankfully Murphy did with over seven roles, and he shines in every single one, it is pure movie magic to believe that he plays the majority of the main characters in this, and it also won itself a deserving Best Makeup Academy Award. For the most part I enjoy the humour in the movie, although there are certainly too many fart jokes to the degree that it gets a bit irritating and the scene between Murphy and Dave Chappelle was unnecessary, I also felt like Jason was a very underdeveloped character, I enjoyed John Ales portrayal of him but we never get to know very much about him, I would have liked to have gotten a clearer indication on the friendship between him and Klump. A redeeming aspect of this movie that you wouldn't normally see in these types of comedies is that there is a lot of heart, the love story between Klump and Carla is very sweet and this is the engine that really gets the film running, having something like this adds an extra layer to the character and makes him more relatable for the audience. Funny and well acted, I would recommend the Nutty Professor to anyone looking for a good comedy. An overweight professor takes a special chemical in order to look good for a woman he has fallen for, but it has some disastrous side effects. Best Performance: Eddie Murphy Worst Performance: Dave Chappelle

gilligan1965 Since day one, Eddie Murphy has been a favorite of mine - he's a great comedian (probably the greatest ever); has a great presence; great talent; a lot of charisma; is great with the ladies; a great writer and storyteller; a great entertainer all-around; etc., etc., etc!This movie, like 'all' of his others, is GREAT! In fact, I've never seen an Eddie Murphy movie that I didn't like. Sure, this movie pokes fun at people who're fat; naive; elderly; uncouth; etc...but, so does everyone else in real-life!?!? However, it also pokes fun at cocky and arrogant people (Klump's boss; Reggie the comedian; etc.), so...if you can accept and laugh at one group, accept and laugh at them all!Despite all of this, Eddie Murphy has gone way above-and-beyond with his portrayal of multiple characters - is there anything that this guy can't do!?!? To me, a talented actor makes what they're doing believable. An 'extremely' talented actor does this, but, also adds touches such as different voices, accents, personae, and, so forth. Eddie Murphy does all of that here!Anyone who down-grades a movie, a song, a painting, etc. because they feel that it makes fun of them - 'improve yourself.' One way of improving yourself is to become comfortable with the way you are, and, learn to laugh at yourself. If you can't laugh at yourself, you have no right laughing at all...mostly, because you're the same kind of hypocrite who laughs at others in secrecy!I find this movie to be a great work by an extremely talented and funny comedian, and, I really like it! :)

amahlanand Along with 'Beverly Hills Cop', it was the 'Nutty Professor' that cemented that signature Eddie Murphy smile as iconic. It's infectious and more often than not, serves to draw you more towards his characters. Although the protagonist is the sweet and unassuming Professor Klump, good old Eddie Murphy truly struts his stuff with the cocky, hyperactive alter ego, Buddy Love, the self proclaimed star of the show. The humour did, at times, descend to a very kiddish level with a comically obese man falling over and pushing things over, but the more mature hilarity really ensues with the 'embarassing family scenes', all the members of whom are portrayed by Murphy, underlining his prowess as a terrific multi character comedian regardless of age, gender or size. The chemistry between Murphy and Jada Pinkett was far from sizzling but Pinkett fulfilled the basic criteria of the love interest which allowed more attention to be shifted towards Murphy's two personas.A nice story which won't leave you in bouts of laughter upon finishing, but will bring more than a few throughout as you enjoy Eddie Murphy in his prime.

John Panagopoulos Even though a vast majority of the human population (present company included) does not possess, shall we say, a Greco-Roman physique, we nevertheless often belittle and disregard the overweight as somehow inferior. In the movies, this hypocritical bias is even more extreme. If an overweight person is (seldom) portrayed in a movie (whether as a star or in a supporting role), he/she will be either slow-witted, ill-tempered, clumsy, lazy, or some combination of all four. Most often, the overweight person will be there for one-dimensional comic relief. Eddie Murphy's character Sherman Klump in "The Nutty Professor" (hereafter "Nutty") goes a long way to correct most, if not all, of the overweight movie stereotypes, and against those hostile odds present an admirable human being indeed.Actually, Sherman in "Nutty" is mainly an inimitable character with many positive qualities. He is a brilliant, mostly well-respected biologist capable of revolutionary discoveries. Sherman is cultured, polite, dignified, charismatic and gracious, even under the most trying circumstances. He lives in a respectable apartment. He has a loving, if outspoken, family. Actually, apart from his obesity (and the inevitable maladroitness that comes with it), Sherman's only real shortcoming is his shyness and lack of self-assertion, especially around women. Even so, when Sherman meets beautiful but demure Wellman College colleague Carla Purdy (Jada Pinkett-Smith), her demure demeanor somehow gives him the courage to ask her out on a date. Sherman's life seems complete. However, when Sherman and Carla attend a comedy show, and Sherman endures a withering (but funny) barrage of fat jokes by kamikaze comedian Reggie (Dave Chappelle), the hurt and humiliation compel Sherman into a fateful decision.Never one to whine about his lot, Sherman determinedly (and hilariously) has tried every conceivable regimen (diet, exercise, acupuncture) to lose the pounds. Eventually, he begins to make progress, but not quickly enough. However, the weight-reduction serum Sherman has been distilling and testing on hamsters will accelerate the process. So after the comedy club debacle, Sherman impulsively swigs some of the serum, which astoundingly transforms him into the svelte, dynamic Buddy Love (Eddie in "real life", without the padding).Trouble is, Sherman/Buddy may be more slender, but the serum somehow boosts his testosterone levels alarmingly so that the handsome stud also becomes insufferable, loud, and embarrassing. These qualities simultaneously attract and repel Carla and the audience. Buddy's abrasive manner isn't the only problem. It seems that the serum has only a temporary effect and tends to wear off at inopportune moments, such as when Buddy's transformation back to portly Sherman interrupts his date with Carla and eventually gets him wedged inside a Viper sports car. And so it progresses. With each Sherman/Buddy change and reversion, the audience slowly learns that, counter to what Sherman initially believes, fewer and fewer people prefer Buddy. In fact, the subconscious impermanence of the serum indicates, to me anyway, that Sherman really, and correctly, prefers himself to Buddy.However, alter ego Buddy soon shows his selfish monstrousness. With his devious talk, his promiscuity, and his plotting, Buddy causes Sherman to lose just about everything good in his life - job, home, a social life. Worst of all, Sherman will lose his very identity if Buddy manages to take two timed gulps of his formula to remain Buddy forever. Like Jekyll fighting Hyde, Sherman literally has to get his life back. At an ornate gala where a pharmaceutical manufacturer Harlan Hartley (James Coburn) is expected to fund Sherman's college research, the fight does occur. After a titanic struggle, Sherman reclaims his body. Again, in a dignified heartfelt speech Sherman apologizes for the calamities, hurt, and chaos he has caused as Buddy and finally learns that you have to love and be comfortable with yourself. This candor impresses Harlan enough to make the grant, and charms Carla enough to accept a dance with Sherman.Funny thing about the fat jokes, comments, and slapstick throughout the movie - we laugh at them, but not at the person who endures them. Whether getting stuck in a chair or car, or erasing a blackboard with his belly, or getting chewed out by a venal, insulting, weaselly dean (Larry Miller) or struggling to walk up stairs or exercise, Sherman preserves his dignity and likability. We even wince a little, because such a nice, accomplished person should not have to put up with such misadventures. Through the laughter, we urge Sherman to find the courage, self-assertion, and self-love to get the happiness he deserves. Even his seemingly uncouth and raunchy family (most members played by the versatile Murphy himself) point him in that direction; they may be fat and flatulent and undisciplined, but they also love and accept themselves exactly as they are. In a distorted way, even Sherman's alter ego Buddy tries to urge Sherman forward. "No matter what, you got to strut!" And so Sherman ultimately does, because at heart, he was always a scholar and a gentleman.