Does anyone care about this movie? I don’t know, but I saw it and might as well review it.
What Works: The movie’s plot is about a fast-talking, soulless literary agent who gets thrown for a loop when he can only speak a thousand words before dying. If it sounds like an old-school concept comedy that should have starred Jim Carrey back in the day, that’s because the movie has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while. I will say that I had below-the-basement expectations for this movie (which currently has a ZERO percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and the movie was better than that. It doesn’t deserve a zero rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it is actually better than a lot of “movies” I’ve watched lately like This Means War or The Vow, that have done better at the box office. Also, I have to admit I enjoyed seeing a literary agent be forced to become a better, deeper person…although that probably has more to do with me as a person than anyone who would watch this movie.
What Doesn’t Work: Well, saying the movie is better than terrible isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. And even though I do think the movie is watchable, it’s hard to argue that it’s not pretty bad. Although, the audience seemed to really enjoy it, so I’m pretty sure most people would have a better time with this than reviewers. Also, Kerri Washington…is she a good actress? I think she probably is, but you’d never really know it from this film and most she’s been in. Too often, she badly plays a bad character (she’s the clueless, hyper-sensitive wife in this film), and if these are the roles she’s taking, I’d love to know what she’s turning down.
What I Would Have Done Differently: It’s over, there’s no point talking about it. And apparently this movie has been sitting on the shelf since 2008, so me thinking “What could have worked here?” is probably more thought than anyone else has put into this movie. I will say that there’s about a ten minute stretch where Murphy finally learns the value of words, and had the whole movie set that up better instead of going for cheap laughs, this could have been a different and better film.