The Nutty Professor
1996 · Directed by Tom Shadyac
Original language: English
- comedy
- science fiction
- romance
The story
When beautiful Carla Purty joins the university faculty, genetic professor Dr. Sherman Klump grows desperate to whittle his 400-pound frame down to size and win her heart. So, with one swig of his experimental fat-reducing serum, Sherman becomes 'Buddy Love', a fast-talking, pumped-up, plumped down Don Juan.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated 1990s studio comedy: sunny campus quads, warm wood-paneled faculty offices, and a crowded family dinner table lit with that soft, slightly overexposed glow of mid-nineties film stock. Much of the energy comes from makeup and prosthetics, with Eddie Murphy playing several family members in heavy fat suits and then switching to a sleek, swaggering lounge-lizard persona, so the frame keeps shifting between cramped, cluttered rooms and glossy, mirrored nightlife. The score and soundtrack lean on upbeat pop and R&B, with bouncy comic cues. The vibe is loud, goofy and sitcom-broad, best for a silly weekend night, a comfort rewatch, or a group watch where people want to laugh at big gestures and quick-fire voices. Pacing is brisk, with sight gags, rapid one-liners and set-piece scenes. Emotionally it's light and warm, with a family-loyalty thread and a romance that stays chaste and playful. Intensity is low: some crude jokes, sexual innuendo and kissing, and bumps and pratfalls, but no real violence, gore or fear. Body-based comedy about weight is central and dated, so it suits viewers who enjoy broad, old-school farce and can tolerate that.
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