DVD Hollywood's least successful director, Bobby Bowfinger, is attempting to cast Kit Ramsey, Hollywood's biggest star, in his mega low-budget film Chubby Rain. Turned down at every corner, he comes up with an ingenious scheme involving Kit's enthusiastic, and nerdy, brother Jiff.
Details
Bobby Bowfinger is a struggling Hollywood director with big dreams but absolutely no budget. After finally getting hold of a script he believes will be his ticket to success, the sci-fi epic Chubby Rain, he becomes convinced that the only way the film will ever get noticed is if he can persuade Hollywood's biggest action star, Kit Ramsey, to appear in it.
Unfortunately Kit refuses to have anything to do with the production, largely thanks to the intervention of his controlling agent Terry Stricter. Not willing to let a small detail like that stop him, Bobby comes up with a completely mad solution: make the film with Kit in it without the star ever realising he is actually in the movie. With the help of a loyal but equally desperate group of actors, a naïve young actress called Daisy, and a film crew made up largely of illegal Mexican immigrants, Bobby begins secretly filming Kit as he goes about his day-to-day life.
To fill in the missing scenes Bobby recruits Kit's slightly dim but enthusiastic brother Jiff to act as a stand-in. As filming progresses Bobby's actors begin interacting with the increasingly paranoid Kit, who is already convinced that aliens are trying to invade Earth. Naturally Bobby uses Kit's paranoia to his advantage, orchestrating ever more elaborate situations to capture the footage he needs, all whilst desperately trying to keep his chaotic production from completely falling apart.
Picture & Sound
Again Universal manage to provide a sparkling picture with a high bit-rate throughout. This is yet another title with dual Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, albeit at the lower 768kb/s to accommodate them both. The scene where Kit has to cross a busy highway really brings out the quality of the DTS soundtrack; the separation is simply outstanding. There's even room for a director's commentary plus some outtakes with a wonderful repartee between Martin and Murphy.
Overall
After a few recent poor films Steve Martin is really back on form in a film he both wrote and stars in. Eddie Murphy plays his two roles wonderfully, with Kit standing out, and it is probably one of his funniest and most cynical performances for a long time. I think he even manages to send himself up by modelling his pretentious character on himself.
The chemistry between Martin and Murphy really works and I would be very surprised if they didn't do another film together. The final scenes where Jiff and Bobby are starring in Fake Purse Ninjas are probably the highlight of the film, and it wasn't even going to be in the original cut!
With The Bone Collector also offering similar soundtrack options along with numerous extras, let's just hope Universal keep this excellent trait going. It is just a pity they can't offer these options on their region 2 discs. If you have a DTS-compatible system then this disc is simply a must.
Special features
- Spotlight on Location
- Feature commentary with Director Frank Oz
- Dolby Digital and DTS Audio Soundtracks
- Theatrical Trailer
- Universal Showcase
- Production Notes
- Cast and Filmmakers
- DVD-ROM Enhanced
