Bowfinger (1999)
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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 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 will be too late. Bobby has a script, and he has a cast, including an ingenue straight off the bus from Ohio (Heather Graham), a one-time regional stage star who fondly recalls her brief moment of glory (Christine Baranski), and a hunky aspiring matinee idol (Kohl Sudduth). He also has a young associate named Dave (Jamie Kennedy), who has a low-level job at a movie studio as a gofer -- which means that he has keys to every part of the lot and can "borrow" whatever they need. All they need is a star, but without any money, how do they get one? Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) is a leading action star, and he is obviously beyond Bowfinger's budget. But Bobby has an idea: what if he tricked Kit into appearing in the film without his knowing it? Steve Martin also wrote the film's screenplay, and former Muppets performer Frank Oz directs. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Oz
- Written By
- Steve Martin
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Aug 13, 1999 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Studios
Critic Reviews
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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.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
This is enjoyable but thin, which is no doubt what was intended.
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, Time Out
Preposterous and utterly self-absorbed, this has la-la land down to a tee.
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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.
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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.
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)
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Cast
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Steve Martin
as Bobby Bowfinger
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Eddie Murphy
as Jiff Ramsey, Kit Ramsey
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Heather Graham
as Daisy
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Christine Baranski
as Carol
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Jamie Kennedy
as Dave
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Robert Downey Jr.
as Jerry Renfro
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Terence Stamp
as Terry Stricter
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Adam Alexi-Malle
as Afrim
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Kohl Sudduth
as Slater
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Barry Newman
as Kit's Agent
- Marisol Nichols
