The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

User Rating:

3.7/10   

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writer (WGA):

Neil Cuthbert (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Man On The Moon

Plot:

In the future, a man struggles to keep control of his nightclub from mafia control in space.

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | Moon | Explosion | Bodyguard | Fall From Height

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Pluto Nash
Randy Quaid	...	Bruno
Rosario Dawson	...	Dina Lake
Joe Pantoliano	...	Mogan
Jay Mohr	...	Tony Francis
Luis Guzmán	...	Felix Laranga
James Rebhorn	...	Belcher
Peter Boyle	...	Rowland
Burt Young	...	Gino
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Miguel
Pam Grier	...	Flura Nash
John Cleese	...	James
Victor Varnado	...	Kelp
Illeana Douglas	...	Dr. Mona Zimmer
Jacynthe René	...	Babette

Also Known As:

Pluto Nash (UK) (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:AL | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

In absolute terms, this movie made the largest financial loss of any movie to date, with a budget of $100 million and a total US gross of $4.41 million (total loss, $95.59 million).

Goofs:

Continuity: While Pluto is in his hidden moon warehouse/lair and checking his computer to find the crook, he is given a sandwich. From behind we see he takes a big bite from the middle of the sandwich. When we cut to face Pluto, the bite has moved to the edge and the middle is bite-free.

Quotes:

Pluto Nash: So where'd you do your singing back Earth?
Dina Lake: Oh, weddings, bar mitzvahs, reincarnation rituals. The usual gigs.

Movie Connections:

References Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Soundtrack:

Do You Love Me?

Weak script and big budget handed to an incapable director!

See a lot of guys giving this a one out of ten, not really fair I feel. To me there are lots of worse movies in all categories. But that said - it's not a top notch movie.

I've never been a fan of director Ron Underwood - he might be decent for TV but features aren't his strong side in my opinion. You'll notice best when it comes to the comedy parts (the attempts I should say) and the actions sequences.

As for comedy, the directing does nothing to enhance the seemingly weak script. Since comedy seems to be what this movie was to be about and the pace seems intended to be rather fast - maybe they should have gone for a director who could make something out of it? The action sequences are incredibly lame. It resembles grown people playing war without saying "pow pow". Here the director's at a loss as well, which shows in sequences as when Randy Quaid's robot character is taking out his two canons for guns. I take it, this is supposed to be a "cool" shot but the angle of camera, timing and pace makes it about as cool as when your dad hangs up his coat upon returning home from work.

The budget ($100 million allegedly) didn't seem to be a problem and the special effects as well as the sets seem pretty well done, along with a pretty nice cast (even tiny sub-minute parts are mostly done by actors you at least recognize). This must be seen as further critique of the director, since he seemed to have all the necessary tools at hand.

The actors put in from a half-hearted to a decent effort. A lot of great character actors (Joe Pantoliano) didn't get enough space to be interesting and there is a lot of untapped comedy resource in both Jay Mohr and Eddie Murphy. Though it has to be said – Pam Grier put in what has to be her worst performance ever as the mother of Eddie Murphy's character. One you can always trust to give his spirit is Luis Guzmán, and he doesn't disappoint in this one either.

All in all I would say there was a weak script to start with, that grew even weaker when it was handed to a director that couldn't handle the sort of comedy it was supposed to be, nor the action it was supposed to contain. Probably actors underachieved, especially in the comedy department, due to this directing. The end result was nor a comedy, nor an action – simply a bleak sci-fi that was one of the biggest net-losses in movie history if I got it right. My guess is that the guys at Warner Brothers probably are killing themselves for not picking a more suitable director.