The Nutty Professor (1996)

The Nutty Professor (1996)

6/10

Starring

Eddie Murphy

Jada Pinkett

James Coburn

Directed by Tom Shadyac

The Nutty Professor is a remake of the 1963 comedy of the same name. In this version, Eddie Murphy takes on dual roles, showcasing his comedic brilliance. Murphy is at his best here, playing the main character and several supporting roles, delivering a performance that drives the movie’s humor and charm.

The fun of the movie lies in Murphy’s portrayal of these characters and the humor he brings to the table. While there are plenty of loose ends in the plot, it’s a slapstick comedy, so that’s to be expected. What surprised me, though, was just how much I ended up enjoying it.

The movie is a parody of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It borrows the core concept—a man who takes a potion to become someone else—while dropping most other elements of Stevenson’s story.

In this movie, Professor Klump serves as our Dr. Jekyll. Klump is extremely obese, kind-hearted, and struggles to fit in. All he wants is to lose weight and feel “normal.” He conducts an experiment on hamsters to see if he can help a fat one slim down. When he notices progress, Klump tweaks the formula to work on humans. Late one night, without telling his lab assistants, he drinks the formula himself. The result? He transforms into a skinny, energetic man named Buddy Love—his Mr. Hyde.

Buddy is brimming with confidence, charm, and boldness—the complete opposite of Klump. The trouble begins, as expected, with a woman. Klump is in love with her and hopes Buddy can woo her on his behalf. But Buddy’s unpredictable, reckless nature complicates things. The movie then revolves around how Klump and Buddy navigate their shared existence and which side of Klump will ultimately prevail.

One interesting difference from Stevenson’s book is how the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde is portrayed. In the book, Jekyll is fully aware of what Hyde does after the transformation and vice versa. The transformation also brings a shift in perspective, leading Hyde to act in ways that Jekyll might disapprove of, even though he knows what’s happening.

In The Nutty Professor, however, Klump and Buddy seem more independent of each other, unaware of what the other has done. This inconsistency creates a plot hole. For instance, there’s a scene where Klump recalls an incident at a restaurant involving Buddy and apologizes for it, suggesting he knows what Buddy did. Yet later, Buddy tricks Klump in a way that only works if Klump is entirely unaware of Buddy’s actions.

Despite its flaws, the movie was a commercial success, leading to a sequel—which, unfortunately, didn’t measure up and isn’t worth remembering.