Mark Lipsky Movies
A couple from the less fashionable side of New York learns the hard way about the nuts and bolts of staging a wedding in this broad comedy based on the long-running off-Broadway play. Tony (Joey McIntyre) and Tina (Mila Kunis) are a couple from Queens who have decided to take the big step and get married. However, while they have no qualms about matrimony, they're not so sure about their wedding -- Tina's mother (Priscilla Lopez), a widow, and Tony's dad (John Fiore), who split up with Tony's mother some time ago, used to be an item, and they've never gotten over their bitter breakup. As the two families try to put together a social event worthy of their children, the parents are constantly at one another's throat, and as the bride and groom deal with a priest who prefers to do the wedding his own way, a wedding singer who feels requests are beneath his dignity, a wildly eccentric photographer, a pack of brutally hung-over groomsmen, and some unhappy bridesmaids, Tony and Tina begin to wonder if their relationship can survive the wedding -- or if the antagonism of their parents is a sign of things to come. Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joey McIntyre, Mila Kunis, (more)
Executive produced by John Cusack, the dark independent comedy Never Get Outta the Boat is the sophomore effort from director Paul Quinn and features a script by first time screenwriter Nick Gillie. Gillie stars along with Sebastian Roche, Devon Gummersall, Harry J. Lennix, Dwain A. Perry, and Emilio Rivera as an eclectic group of drug addicts trying to stay clean together in a Los Angeles rehab center. Never Get Outta the Boat, whose title is a reference to a line from Apocolypse Now, had its premiere at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alley Mills, Devon Gummersall, (more)
Eddie Murphy once again finds himself exchanging both wisecracks and gunfire in this comic action-thriller. Scott Roper (Murphy) is a hostage negotiator with the San Francisco Police Department; Roper has his own way of doing things, which doesn't always mean following department proceedure, but he's good at his job and has the respect of his colleagues. Roper has been given a new partner, Kevin McCall (Michael Rapaport), a former SWAT team member whom Roper is training in the fine art of handing dangerous criminals with words as well as weapons; in his spare time, Roper tries to smooth out his stormy relationship with his girlfriend, Ronnie Tate (Carmen Ejogo), and deal with his addiction to gambling. However, Roper has his hands full when Michael Korda (Michael Wincott), a psychotic criminal, claims some hostages in the midst of a jewel heist. Roper finds it hard to be cool and detached in dealing with Korda, since the thief killed a cop who was one of his best friends, and one of the people taken by Korda happens to be Ronnie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, (more)
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. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett Smith, (more)
Comedian Eddie Murphy tried something different with this 1995 film that he produced and co-wrote, enlisting veteran horror director Wes Craven to give the story some chills. The uneven comedy-horror tale features Murphy as a vampire named Maximillian who arrives in Brooklyn on a ship full of people who have been brutally murdered. One of the corpses on board closely resembles that of Rita (Angela Bassett), one of the detectives assigned to the case. Maximillian targets Rita, hoping to get a dance with her that will bring her under his control. He enlists the help of a worker named Julius (Kadeem Hardison), biting his neck and turning him into a slowly decaying ghoul. Also seeking to romance Rita, though in a less sinister way, is her longtime detective partner Justice (Allen Payne). Maximillian uses his supernatural powers to interfere with the budding romance. Murphy also plays a preacher and an Italian gangster in this bizarre film. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, (more)
The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)
Eddie Murphy plays Marcus Graham, a hotshot ad exec who's also an insatiable womanizer. He is thus hardly prepared for his new boss, Jacqueline, played by Robin Givens. In terms of things romantic, Jacqueline is nothing more or less than a female version of Marcus -- and now, for the first time, he's getting the runaround. Boomerang boasts supporting-cast contributions from Halle Berry, David Alan Grier, Martin Lawrence, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt, Geoffrey Holder, and Melvin Van Peebles. Watch closely and you'll see director Reginald Hudlin in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Halle Berry, (more)
At times, Another 48 Hrs. seems less like a sequel to than a parody of the first 48 Hrs., especially when Nick Nolte, repeating his role from the earlier film, begins commenting on the cliched absurdity of the goings on. This time, Nolte risks life, limb and career as he obsessively tries to bring an elusive master criminal known as "The Iceman" to justice. Eddie Murphy, who stole the show in the first 48 Hrs. as the wheeler-dealer convict who becomes Nolte's reluctant partner, is brought into the plotline of the second film when a contract is taken out on his life. The adversarial relationship between Nolte and Murphy, supposedly dissipated by the end of the first film, is revivified in the sequel via a couple of plot devices. Still, Murphy rallies to the occasion, in the process saving Nolte from being thrown off the force. Though not as successful as the first film, Another 48 Hrs. proved that there were still enough Eddie Murphy fans around in 1990 to insure a strong box-office showing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, (more)
Eddie Murphy, in addition to starring as Quick, the son of 1930s Harlem gambling-house proprietor Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor), also wrote and directed the film. The plotline details the combined efforts of Quick and Sugar Ray to prevent white gangster Bugsy Calhoune (Michael Lerner) from muscling in on their operation. The supporting players include Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello and Jasmine Guy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, (more)
Coming to America casts comedian Eddie Murphy as pampered African prince Akeem, who rebels against an arranged marriage and heads to America to find a new bride. Murphy's regal father (James Earl Jones) agrees to allow the prince 40 days to roam the U.S., sending the prince's faithful retainer Semmi (Arsenio Hall) along to make sure nothing untoward happens. To avoid fortune hunters, Prince Akeem conceals his true identity and gets a "Joe job" at a fast-food restaurant. Murphy and Hall play multiple roles, and there are innumerable celebrity cameos peppered throughout the proceedings -- including the Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) from Trading Places. Coming to America made further headlines when humorist Art Buchwald sued the film's producers for plagiarizing one of his works. Buchwald carried the case to trial, where he won a sizeable judgement against the film's producers. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, (more)
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