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Last Updated: Aug 15th, 2008 - 11:06:05 |
Who knew? Eddie Murphy may have finally found a comedic role—as an extra-terrestrial— that both suits him and won’t offend anyone else.
Murphy’s new B-movie, “Meet Dave,” does not have the deft humor or humanity of the 1984 John Sayles—Joe Morton classic “Brother From Another Planet,” but it does allow for a funny and blacker take on the tried-and-true theme of space invaders. In “Meet Dave,” the invader is a Black man, clad in a white, three-piece suit, who crash lands, head-first, at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Of course, the “man” is really a mechanical ship-robot that houses a host of smaller creatures inside of him, including the captain, (Eddie Murphy), who is the physical model for the robot.
These miniature aliens have come here searching for a golf-ball sized rock that they intend to use to suck the earth dry of its salty oceans and seas. Apparently, the technology for green energy is farther along on their planet and they can use sea salt to power their world for ages to come.
This movie has a very simplistic plot and humor that relies on Murphy to carry it. The physical humor, which involves the robot’s effort to mimic human walking, facial expressions and everyday habits, is the perfect match for Murphy’s classic routines in which he (imitating Richard Pryor) ridiculed the supposed stiffness and living habits of white people. But humans of many backgrounds become the object of ridicule as the aliens adopt habits common on planet earth. The film is at its funniest in these moments when the robot tries too hard to contort its face into a human smile or accepts the offer of some ketchup and then, assuming that it is a drink, downs the entire bottle.
Even though Murphy carries off much of the physical humor, the writers must be given some credit for funny moments that rise above the stereotypes in the plot. I won’t give away too much but I will say that my biggest laugh in the movie involves a scene with a stuffed animal.
Alas, there’s nothing deep about “Meet Dave.” It is brightly lit and evocative of old-fashioned family fare such as the 1965 TV series “Lost in Space,” which had easy heroes and easy villains. There is some attempt to point out the difference between critical thinking and a herd mentality in the United States and, along with this comparison, some ribbing at the federal government’s Department of Homeland Security.
Some may make a quick comparison of this flick to Murphy’s 2002 outer space action flick “Pluto Nash” but, really, the better comparison is “Coming to America,” in which Murphy played an African prince who comes to New York City—Queens to be exact—to find a mate.
There are moments in “Meet Dave” when the robot’s wide-eyed wonderment, confusion and blissful ignorance are reminiscent of those same characteristics in Prince Akeem. To create the robot Dave, Murphy exchanges Akeem’s macho smile for a robotic stare, then adds a robotic walk and speech for good measure. Hey…maybe there are the making of a sequel here. Maybe next time, Dave will land in Africa!
This review also appeared on Tom Joyner's BlackAmericaWeb.com,/i>
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