Nutty Professor 2:The Klumps

Release Date: July 28th, 2000

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There is no easy or gentle way to put this.  Nutty Professor 2 is a vulgar, rehashed, unfunny waste of celluloid and make-up.  Eddie Murphy’s mass characterization balance cannot save what is little more than sequence of skits obsessed with sex and bodily functions.  The whole is a mess, as is the sum of its parts.  There is nothing funny, entertaining, or original in existence here.  Only the remnant of what was a very funny sequence in a fairly entertaining original.  This sequel even gives that movie a bad reputation, since now the two will be forever linked by name.

Nutty Professor 2:The Klumps takes one successful scene from its predecessor and proceeds to milk it to dust.  The family sequence in the original was one of the funniest in cinema history.  The makers of the film realized this, and the ability of Murphy to portray multiple characters. As in most sequels, this one fails to generate much in the way of originality or humor, instead deciding to rest back on the original’s successes (and failures) and wait for the cash to come rolling in.

This time around, Professor Sherman Klump is a revered presence on the campus of Wellman College.  He is respected by his peers, his boss and his family, and has a new, sexy girlfriend, a fellow professor played by Janet Jackson.  However the past is still haunting Klump, his evil incarnate, Buddy Love still exists inside him and conveniently manifests at the most inopportune times.  These include crude sexual references and gestures at fellow students, and even his obligatory love interest.  Mixed in with all of this, in a bigger capacity, both figuratively and literally, is the rest of the Klump family.  His mother and father are having “relation” problems, while the grandmother is having no problem except for not being able to get enough, or talk enough, about it.  The attempt at originality comes this time from the Professor’s discovery of a fountain of youth formula.  When he tries to exorcise Buddy from his system by isolating, than extracting the genetic makeup that makes him up, he begins to lose intelligence, while gaining a flesh and blood ally in Mr. Love.  Buddy then sets out to maintain his independence by passing off the formula as his own, as Klump degrades toward idiocy.  The digression of Sherman would normally typify the rest of the movie, if there were an ounce of intelligence to begin with.  The plot wedges too many stories together so that each individual Klump can get their due screen time.  None of them are interesting, none of them are funny, and nothing here is unique or entertaining. 

Murphy can be lauded for his portrayal in pulling of multiple roles for as long as he does here. In Coming to America, and the original Nutty Professor, he displayed the ability to successfully handle multiple characters for a short period of time. This talent displays a flexibility as an actor that is hard to find these days. However this time around, the multiple roles seem like an actor who is over compensating for a screenplay that lacks humor, intelligence or anything even remotely entertaining. When all else fails, the writers throw in a sexual reference, flatulence joke, or as in one truly disgusting scene, an overgrown and over anxious rodent.  This all concludes in an ending reminiscent of recent Mike Tyson comments regarding his future opponents. The supporting characters fit right in they should, as straightmen or foils for Murphy's over compensating attempts. Larry Miller returns as the put upon college dean, and delivers lines in his sarcastic manner, which is good for a smirk, but nothing more. He deserves better than this. Janet Jackson exists only to look adorable, and be the obligatory love interest. She isn't bad, nor outstanding, but like Miller, the desperation and realization of being trapped in this mess.

Ultimately, Nutty Professor 2 is a fitting example of why good enough should be left alone.  The original movie succeeded, by taking a classic, modernizing it, throwing in some genuine, sometimes offensive, but always entertaining humor and wrapping it all into a sweet, enjoyable package.  This time around, be afraid to unwrap this package because what is inside is not pleasant at all.  The movie falls prey to the negative aspect of sequels.  Instead of building off of the original, into something based around, but different, this film recognizes what worked, and thus tries to duplicate the efforts (another family dinner scene, another Sherman dream sequence).  Going to the well once many times comes up dry for Grazer and crew, and if we all indeed have some Buddy Love inside us, his style and creativity escaped the makers of this film. ($ out of $$$$)

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