Touches You

Great Film overall

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is the boss of Bowfinger International Pictures - a film company that has had zero big hits to its name. One of his colleagues comes up with an idea for a new film which Bobby likes and upon reading the script he takes it to big shot movie producer Jerry Renfro (Robert Downey Jr). Renfro agrees to produce the film, but only if Bowfinger can get the Hollywood star of the moment Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) to star in the film. Bowfinger approaches Ramsey and asks him if he will star in the film, but Ramsey declines. However, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to hit the big time Bowfinger decides to make the film anyway with poor Ramsey being blissfully unaware that he is starring in a film...Apologies for using the tagline for The Truman Show as my summary but I felt that this was quite a good way to summarise this film. Steve Martin has clearly been partly influenced by this film when he came up with the idea for Bowfinger; Ramsey's ordinary everyday life is being used to make a film (the same as The Truman Show except the Truman Show was a TV Series as far as I can recall). The film also has hints of Sunset Boulevard about it; except in this case it's a faded filmmaker using a prolific actor as his basis to make a huge amount of cash. Therefore, it isn't entirely original, but to be fair it is a funny film...Back in the 80's and 90's Murphy (like his character Kit Ramsey) was acting royalty and made some very high profile films and Bowfinger does show some of his greatness. His performance as Kit Ramsey is electric and my only slight criticism with this is that his performance here is perhaps too similar to his Buddy Love character in The Nutty Professor (this is more evident in the early stages of the film). Having said that though he was still fun to watch (and he plays a dual role here which is always good to see).As a satire, it isn't quite as strong as Sunset Boulevard (and isn't quite as good), but Martin does do a good job at exposing the greed of filmmakers and their unrelenting desire to use anyone and anything in order to reach the top; this is evident when Bowfinger hires a Ramsey lookalike (played unsurprisingly by Eddie Murphy in a dual role). He convinces Jiff (Murphy's double) to run across a busy freeway and tells Jiff that all of the vehicles on the freeway are driven by stunt drivers (in order to convince Jiff to carry out this dangerous manoeuvre). Jiff believes Bowfinger because he is naïve and Bowfinger exploits Jiff's naivety by telling him that what he's doing is an errand (which is something Jiff likes doing). This was quite a good critique (and was a pretty funny scene as well). Heather Graham (looking as hot as ever) plays Daisy a rather clichéd young starlet who effectively tries to sleep her way to the top - she's a rather simplistic character without much development, but Graham does fairly well in this role.I think the biggest strength with this film is how well Steve Martin and Frank Oz sell the film; we're essentially seeing Kit Ramsey's normal reactions to strange scenarios that Bowfinger is throwing at him in order to make his film and none of it ever feels contrived or unbelievable. I was sold on the fact that Bowfinger could make a film based on Ramsey's reactions alone (and his paranoia) and use this as a framework (with some editing) to make a film. It was actually pretty clever and as mentioned it was also pretty funny.If I was to levy any criticism on the film then it would lie with Robert Downey Jr (not his performance), but with him being a rather pointless addition to the film despite him seemingly being important at the start of the film.Bowfinger is still a very funny film with both Martin and Murphy being the real standouts here. It gets two thumbs up from me!!

'BOWFINGER' - 1999Directed by Frank Oz{The Dark Crystal; The Muppets Take Manhattan}Starring Steve Martin{Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Roxanne}. Eddie Murphy{Beverly Hills Cop; Coming to America} and Heather Graham{Boogie Nights; License to Drive}Steve MARTIN is a man that I truly admire in comedy. While I'm not always on board with his specific style of comedy, his movies NEVER cease to at least entertain and intrigue me. I love the SLIGHT cynicism to a lot of his movies and that is no different here, with 'Bowfinger'. As luck would have it,'Bowgfinger' is a Steve Martin movie that I really like and would recommend. It's not an Oscar worthy movie but it's still a fun, entertaining and slightly cynical satire of the 'dark side of Hollywood'. I definitely recommend this movie. It's well worth checking out.What do I like about this movie then? Well Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy are two very prominent reasons. Each actor delivers a very funny and at points heartfelt performance that elevates both of their pretty basic characters into multidimensional, interesting beings. I love the cynical edge to Steve Martin's character. It beautifully reflects a satire of Directors in Hollywood. On the flip side of that spectrum, Eddie Murphy's character is a perfect satire of Actors in Hollywood. I love the way they combine these two characters into this wonderful satirical adventure. An argument could be made that more time SHOULD have been dedicated to Kit(Eddie Murphy)'s character, but I disagree. I admire the mystery and intrigue behind his character. He's clearly delusional and, while I trust Steve Martin to write an interesting backstory for him, I think that ambiguity adds a lot to his character.The story for this movie is also a strong point for me. I dislike being repetitious and condescending so I wont go too much into the satire and cynical edge that this movie offers. But what I will say is I admire the bravery for openly mocking Hollywood. That aside, I also like the story and ending for it's simple entertainment value. Shooting an actor to unknowingly star in your film is an EXCELLENT and very funny premise.My one and only issue with this movie is the abrupt beginning. I admire getting into the action very swiftly but I wish the opening was dragged out slightly longer to let us get to know the characters more. It feels like they just start abruptly and thus I wish they allowed some more setup time and slowed down the movie a little. Let me get to know these characters and learn their NAMES at least before the shenanigans ensue. That is my main issue with this movie.Other than that minute flaw, this is a very fun, entertaining and joke heavy movie. The performances from our two leads are what drives the movie along and what keep it afloat. The script isn't bad but I don't think it would've worked NEARLY as well without Martin(yeah I know he wrote it) and Murphy in the leads. Their 'chemistry' and the way those characters react to the events on screen is a major selling point of the humour in this movie, and the majority of that comes down to the actors. It's a competently shot and edited movie so no complaints there. As a whole, I recommend this movie. It's very fun and has a high entertainment value. It's 100% worth a watch, in my honest opinion. I'll rate 'Bowfinger' 8 'Melty Faces' out of 10!

Giving this movie 10 stars to help even out its unacceptably low average of 6.4.I like the setups, the scripts continual jabs at Hollywood, movie- making, and actors. Steve Martin, Christine Baranski, and Heather Graham all do good work here.However... Eddie Murphy absoposilutely steals EVERY scene he is in, both as paranoid egomaniac star Kit Ramsey AND as the endearingly gullible and innocent Jiff. Steve Martin's story is the necessary plot bones that enable Murphy's comic star turns throughout this movie. As I rewatch again on my DVR, his scenes are the ones I return to over and over for continual laughs.

I found a VHS copy of this film at the bottom of a box of old movies I didn't even know I owned. After taking a look at it, I was more than a little glad I found it.Bowfinger is funny little satire about the film-making industry. Its originality may be its best feature. We see the story of a bankrupt would-be director (played wonderfully by Steve Martin) trying to make a scifi/action picture with a big star (Murphy) who doesn't even know he's in the film. Martin's character would make Ed Wood look like Orson Welles, or at the very least Ridley Scott. His crew is made up of a studio lot flunky (Kennedy), four illegal Mexican immigrants, a not-so-innocent young starlet, and several other hangers on. Kennedy is the only one of the crew initially in on the fact that Murphy's character will not know he's the star of the film they are shooting. In a stroke of luck, they find Murphy's nerdy brother (also played perfectly by Murphy) to use in scenes where a close up of his face will not be needed.Obviously, this idea is ridiculous, but the film is so well directed, that you almost for a second believe it might be able to work for a while. Martin, who wrote the script, knows all too well that Hollywood is an institution always ripe for satire. His instincts about what types of bottom feeders will do anything to break into the business are usually dead on. The film also takes a welcomed shot at Scientology, exposing it for the mind f*ck that it is. I also loved the way that by the end of the film, Martin's illegal aliens were the most professional and competent members of his staff.Bowfinger did manage to make a small profit at the box office, by many people have obviously forgotten about it. That is a shame since Murphy has made so few good films in the last decade, and Martin is showcased for being the talent that he is. And any film with the lovely Heather Graham is worth seeing at least once.If you get a chance, take a look at this one! 8 of 10.The Hound.