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sci F‘I COMt'lW PLUTO NASH (PG) 94min 0
Massaging Murphy’s ego
If you already hate Eddie Murphy, Pluto Nash is not the film to change your mind. In fact, even those who once liked the star of 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop have long since reassessed their kind favour in light of the one-time funny man’s steady decline into megalomania, as evidenced by his ongoing refusal to take on any film project that sees him playing only one leading role. Versatile he may be — a total of six ‘distinct’ roles in The Klumps fer chrissakes — but capable of making a good movie he is not.
Surprisingly, Murphy has not written the screenplay, directed, produced and taken all the starring roles of Pluto Nash. No need because director Ron Underwood does a very nice job of massaging his ego by casting Murphy as a super smooth smuggler turned nightclub impresario turned king-of-the-hill on a luna space city called Little America. Saving his mate from gangsters (count, if you care, the good deeds performed by Murphy in this film), Pluto Nash must then thwart more dastardly gangsters in a series of space age shootouts. Satire, such as it is, involves comment on cloning and US bank notes bearing the head of Hilary Clinton, and plot, such as it is, can be likened to Total Recall for idiots.
What’s most upsetting about Pluto Nash, however, is the number of talented actors subjugated to Murphy’s law in the film. Randy Quaid, Pam Grier, Alec Baldwin, Luis Guzman and John Cleese all bow down and bend over, and that truly is a sad and sorry sight to see. (Catherine Bromley)
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H [)HARAA A WALK TO REMEMBER (PG) 103min O
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