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Bowfinger (PG-13, 1999)

common sense media says

Entertaining, great actors but not a home run.

parents & educators say
See all 4 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the movie has a number of sexual references. The character played by Heather Graham has (offscreen) sex with just about every other character (male and female) purely to advance her career. While this is played for humor, without any suggestion that she is being exploited (quite the other way around), parents may want to talk to kids who see this movie about this behavior, as well as the choices Bowfinger himself makes by cheating, stealing, blackmailing, and lying to get his movie made.

Violence: Mild comic peril, some gross.
Sex: Many sexual references, character uses sex for professional advancement (played as humorous).
Language: Some.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Social drinking.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Bowfinger

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about what kind of movie could be made by filming family members as they go about their daily lives.

What's the story?

What's the story?

Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) wants desperately to make a movie, and as he approaches his 50th birthday he thinks he is running out of time. He tries to interest a studio executive in a script called "Chubby Rain," written by an accountant, and is told the studio will make the movie IF Bowfinger can get Kit Ramsey, Hollywood's biggest action star, to agree to appear in it. When Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) won't even look at the script, Bowfinger decides to go ahead and make the movie around him, just filming him wherever he is without telling him anything about it. Bowfinger takes his $2184 lifetime stash and gets started, with the help of a studio gofer who borrows the equipment (Jamie Kennedy), a very theatrical stage actress (Christine Baranski), and an ambitious ingenue literally just off the bus from Ohio (Heather Graham), who plans to become a star in one week. They set up the camera wherever Ramsey is going to be, and just stage the various scenes around him.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
BOWFINGER has some very funny moments but is oddly low-key, from its slow set-up of the premise to its lack of follow-through on some of the comic possibilities. Some of the humor may be too inside for those who do not follow Hollywood gossip. Watching Martin, Murphy, Baranski, and Graham -- all in fine form here -- is reason enough to see any movie, but in this case the script (written by Martin) is not as strong as it could have been.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Frank Oz
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Steve Martin
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 97 minutes
Theatrical release: August 13, 1999
DVD release: January 18, 2000
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: sex-related material and language
This review was written by Nell Minow
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

MovieMan26
adult
14
 
Not the best comedy you'll ever see, but still a good one
A great comedy, although very sexual in nature. The cast is really great and works together well. But, no matter how many good parts there are in this film, it just doesn't fell like a great movie overall. There are some serious flaws, such as the rediculousness of the situation (although, most of the time it's quite fun). This movie is very conflicting for me. Oh well, I still like it. Bottom Line: Try it out. You might like it. Thanks for reading! - Movie Man
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SD
teen, 14 years old
 
Great movie! Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy are very funny!
OK!! So this is a very funny movie and the stars are fantastic!!! One of the funniest movies. Leonard Maltin is an old grouch without a sence of humor!!! I watched it with Aunt "The Big Pink Puppy" Kathy! SD (my brob brob) did not watch this until I showed him it! My brother watched Big Momma with the Big Baby Pink Puppy! Eddie murphy's best! Steve Martin is funny,too! Sex is an issue! Commonsense is right by 13+! Bravo globs!
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Darkdani17
teen, 17 years old
12
 
Haha this movie is so funny, it's really creative on how his movie gets made. I'm looking to go into the film bussiness and this showed me how things work haha.
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fif
educator
13
 
Mostly funny, some sexual humor
Having studied film and worked on films I found most of the jokes hilarious. There is a lot of mild sexual humor, so it may not be for everyone.
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helped me decide (4) | had useful details (4) | read my mind (4)

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