Bowfinger

Bowfinger (1999)

  • 80% of critics liked it
    (108 reviews)

  • 51% of users liked it
    (72,812 ratings)

A group of wanna-be filmmakers and actors concocts a scheme to make a movie with a major star without having to pay him in this comedy. Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) has struggled for years to make it in Hollywood with no real success; he's convinced that he has to make his big break soon or it… More

Play Trailer

PG-13,
Directed By
Written By
Steve Martin
Genres
Comedy
In Theaters
Aug 13, 1999 Wide
Universal Studios

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

    The best thing about Bowfinger is the way the script by Steve Martin is tooled to his own and Murphy's comic strengths.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    This is enjoyable but thin, which is no doubt what was intended.

  • , Time Out

    Preposterous and utterly self-absorbed, this has la-la land down to a tee.

  • Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

    Martin the writer plants some wicked barbs in Hollywood's rear end about creative financing of movies and hoarding of profits, the art of the deal, hipper-than-thou attitudes and exploitation.

  • Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

    This is his first screenplay since L.A. Story, yet you get the sense that Martin has lost some of the artistic aspiration he once brought to the movie business. This effort feels like it's just business.

Read all 21 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Jeff "


    Bowfinger is a terrific comedy film. Steve Martin delivers a great performance. I'm usually not a big fan of Eddie Murphy, but in this film he truly is hilarious and gives one terrific performance. A unique comedy, Bowfinger is different from other comedies. The humour is smart,… More

  • Conner R


    I actually think this is a great movie, it's Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy at the top of their game. Neither have made a better movie since, only making this look like even more of a gem. The movie within a movie aspect is done perfectly, I almost want to see a full version of… More

  • Dan S


    Occasionally very funny film concerning a down-on-his-luck movie producer who decides to shoot a movie with the biggest action star in the world - only he doesn't know he's in the movie. While the plot is very clever and it executes some things very well, at the end of the… More

  • Anthony L


    I think this film might just be the last time we see Eddie Murphy & Steve Martin being funny.

  • Jason O


    While I was watching "Bowfinger," I was expecting it to be just a good comedy movie like most Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy movies. I was part right and part wrong. Steve Martin is a struggling filmmaker who wants to make a movie with action star Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy).… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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