The Nutty Professor

1996 Comedy

Eddie Murphy gives one of Jerry Lewis' best-remembered vehicles a 1990s overhaul in this hit comedy. Sherman Klump (Murphy) is a college professor and respected biochemistry researcher who is kind, considerate, and a genuinely nice guy. Sherman is also appallingly overweight; coupled with the fact that he's painfully shy and a bit clumsy, his romantic prospects are rather bleak. When Sherman finds himself working with a pretty graduate student, Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett), he falls in love and is eager to impress her, but at an upscale nightclub, his weight attracts the attention of an insult comic (Dave Chappelle) and his bumbling spoils the evening. Sherman's latest project is a genetic weight loss formula, and despondent over his failure to win Carla's heart, he subjects himself to a massive dose. Suddenly, Sherman is transformed into the slim, trim, and handsome Buddy Love; however, the drug also boosts his testosterone level, turning the likable Sherman into the arrogant, skirt-chasing Buddy. In addition to playing Sherman and Buddy, Eddie Murphy also plays four other members of the porcine Klump family, as well as eccentric exercise guru Lance Perkins. more..

Director: Tom Shadyac

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, James Coburn, Larry Miller, Dave Chappelle

Reviews

  • More than just a walking fat joke, Sherman Klump is Eddie Murphy's winking rebuke of his own arrogance.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • Tasteful, subtle and sophisticated are a few of the words that aren't going to be applied to Eddie Murphy's version of The Nutty Professor. But funny, funny is something else again.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • And the movie succeeds in two different ways: It's sweet and good-hearted, and then again it's raucous slapstick and bathroom humor. I liked both parts.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • Eddie Murphy is funny again. Sadly, he lacks the guts to follow through on the cathartic self-satire that gives the film its distinction.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    27 April 2013

  • But it does mine Murphy's gifts, and the payoff is both nutty and funny. Sometimes even touching, too.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Makeup

    Academy Awards (1997)

  • Best Actor

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1997)

  • Best Make Up/Hair

    BAFTA Awards (1997)

  • David Newman

    BMI Film & TV Awards (1997)

  • Favorite Actor - Comedy

    Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1997)