Starring: Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Scott Caan, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Mike O'Malley, Pat Kilbane, Judah Friedlander, Austyn Myers

Directed by: Brian Robbins

Twentieth Century Fox

The Official Site of Meet Dave

Discuss Meet Dave on the boards!

I know – the last thing you expected/wanted to see here on the Monday after the release of a movie like The Dark Knight was a comic and review for the latest “what the hell happened to Eddie Murphy� movie release. I’m just as excited about The Dark Knight as all of you, have enjoyed my long weekend of reflection and debate (beware the spoilers), but I don’t want to rush into the review. I found that as soon as I got home from the film I was praising it… perhaps a little too much. By Sunday I had a whole new take on it and I’d like for that to be reflected in the finished review.

I’m seeing the movie a second time this afternoon with a group of friends, one of which happens to be a huge Joker fan, so by the end of the movie/round-table lunch discussion at which we will pick the film apart, I should be a lot clearer in my thoughts on this truly impressive movie.. So, again – sorry that all that awaited you here today was something less than what you might have expected. By midnight tonight The Dark Knight stuff will be up.

At some point in the 90’s the multi-part, heavy make-up, outrageous concept movie’s from Eddie Murphy lost their appeal. The Klump movies were funny and I could go on and on for days about how much I love the clever sting of Bowfinger, but between the talking animal movies, the buddy cop movies, and whatever the hell Holy Man was supposed to be, I was starting to accept that Eddie Murphy would cash out his days in Shrek sequels.

Wouldn’t it be grand if his latest film, Meet Dave, a family friendly adventure about a crew of tiny aliens that travel to Earth on a ship that looks like Eddie Murphy, was his triumphant return? After last year’s career reboot head-fake with two huge movies at drastically different ends of the quality spectrum (Norbit, Dreamgirls), one so bad and one so good that the negative buzz from the first stole the Oscar nomination from the second, I don’t think anyone honestly believed that “Honey I Shrunk the Aliens� would be anything other than a reason to run back to the DreamWorks sound both. But here’s the thing – Meet Dave isn’t bad. It was actually kind of fun. Seriously.

The premise is kind of goofy and that stinging clever comedy I was talking about enjoying so much in Bowfinger is as alien to Meet Dave as its tiny little stars, but if you’re willing to enjoy the movie for what it is and not compare it to Murphy’s glory days then there’s a lot to enjoy here. Not necessarily enough to make it competitive in a crowded summer of really cool movies, but if you waited in line for the Dark Knight watching tumbleweeds roll out of the Meet Dave theater, then you already knew as much.

In the film Murphy plays the ship (named Dave during an awkward but entertaining exchange) and the miniature captain that controls it. They’ve come to Earth to retrieve a small orb that was found and cherished by a boy in New York City. The crew finds the rock pretty quickly, courtesy of a run in with the boys mother (the always wonderful Elizabeth Banks) but also finds that their short time around the expressive and opinionated humans of the planet has had a major effect on their normally stiff and rigid behavior. It’s one of those “they learn something about themselves in the process� kind of movies with a little “just because your small doesn’t mean you can’t do big things� thrown in for good measure. Nice messages, not overdone.

With the introduction of the characters and the reveal of the aliens I admit I was a little bored. I was a little bothered being there, but things really pick up once Dave hits the streets.

The fish out of water laughs that come along with the aliens adapting themselves and their spaceship to life on Earth is where this movie will win you back. Murphy goes big with it. Not a lot of people can pull off the fake smiles and colon humor that goes hand-in-hand with a movie like this. Not a lot of people can still make trying on a sweater for the first time a memorable movie moment, but Murphy shows us why he was, at one time, kind of a big deal.

I’d like to think he still is, but Meet Dave isn’t going to convince anyone of that. It’s a step in the right direction though.

Rating: 6 out of 10 - After 2 weeks in theaters Meet Dave hasn’t scratched the 10 million dollar mark and has already dropped out of the top ten movies in the country. Not good news for its 60 million dollar budget. It’s not as devastating as that whole Pluto Nash disaster but I’m sure it’ll draw some comparisons.

It’s not like they weren’t promoting the thing either. Check out this giant-sized Murphy head parked in times square for the kids to climb on, take pictures with and then wonder forever what the hell it was supposed to be exactly, because there’s no way their parents actually took them to see the film. Giant heads like this were even seen on the back of trucks driving around California. As it stands though, the probably spent more on gas promoting the movie than it actually made in its per-screen average this past weekend.

Nope. Not for me. I certainly enjoyed it for what it is but I’ve had my fill. I’ll just look forward to Murphy’s next movie hoping it’ll be the one to bring him back! Good luck “Nowhereland�! (Nowhereland synopsis - A financial executive (Murphy) who can't stop his career downspiral is invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await.) Oh well… maybe the one after next will be the one.

I don’t know if you could tell but I’m kind of an Eddie Murphy fan. At the very least I certainly respect the man. It feels though like he’s been in a slump for so long. Even with the Shrek films doing so well, and the really great turn in Dreamgirls it feels like Murphy has steadily been losing his grip as one of the funniest people on the planet. I would love to see him abandon the multiple parts thing for a few years, even if it means we have to see things like Beverly Hills Cop 4 and 48 hrs. Later: Cates Goes Crazy come to fruition. Today’s comic shows how excited I am at the prospect of a new Eddie Murphy movie, and how bummed out I get when I find out he’s pulling double duty.

He and Mike Myers should make a movie where they both play all of their collected characters… and they just fight. Whoever wins gets to keep making movies like this for another 5 years. The other has to actually try and rebuild their career working with other people.

In fact, why don’t we make that the new vote incentive image. Then after you do that, head over to the boards to see the archived incentive images!.

Vote now to see Eddie Murphy vs. Mike Myers!

Well I hope that wasn’t too painful. I’m looking forward to getting into The Dark Knight but I want to do it with a clear head. A second time through is the best way to get a true reaction. In the meanwhile I hope you did enjoy today’s update, and if you need more then please head over to Turtlevsbunny.com where I’ll be updating every single day this week!

For the past few months Turtle vs bunny: Distractions has been on a MWF schedule but while drawing this battle between Penguin and ninja on Friday afternoon I realized it just wasn’t epic enough. Part of the reason I got excited about this series in the first place was because of the opportunity to have cute animals beat the tar out of each other, so I decided to run with it a little. Now everyday this week you’ll be able to see this battle unfold! Penguin vs ninja at Turtle vs. Bunny! Okay, that sounds ridiculous but check it out anyway. Thanks for reading!