Eddie Murphy’s last three comedies have opened to $34.2 million, $24.3 million, and $27.6 million and have earned between $75 and $105 million domestically. And that’s not counting Shrek movies. While the former Saturday Night Live star has had an erratic film career featuring numerous disasters such as The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Holy Man and Best Defense, the last five years have been the most consistent period of his career. He even received an Academy Award nomination for his acting, an achievement that left many who had followed his career repenting their sins while they prepared for the end of days. Seriously, if Eddie Murphy can get a Best Supporting Actor nod, Dennis Miller and Dana Carvey should start angling for that Best Actor win that Cary Grant never claimed. Anything is possible now. But I digress.
The point is that Murphy has re-discovered the magic touch for making audiences laugh. The result is that any time he picks a new comedy, odds are good that the project will succeed. This is particularly true of his latest project, NowhereLand, because it has the additional benefit of the genius of Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. These two gentlemen have my eternal gratitude for coming up with the storyline premise for that 1980s classic, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Now comes their latest burst of creativity. The story this time involves a struggling executive whose daughter offers him the keys to a wonderful new realm. This six-year-old allows him to enter her imaginary paradise, thereby bringing him an inner piece he had never known before. The project has been described as the next Bruce Almighty, making it a production of huge interest in late 2008. (David Mumpower/BOP)
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