The Nutty Professor
Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 28, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
More than just a walking fat joke, Sherman Klump is Eddie Murphy's winking rebuke of his own arrogance. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Tasteful, subtle and sophisticated are a few of the words that aren't going to be applied to Eddie Murphy's version of The Nutty Professor. But funny, funny is something else again. Read full review
80
NewsweekAllison Samuels
Directed by Tom Shadyac ("Ace Ventura"), it's nearly sociopathic in its quest for laughs, and busts a very big gut. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
Murphy, abetted by director Tom Shadyac and a whole raft of writers, cannot entirely escape the curious blend of aspiration and sloppiness that marked the earlier film. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
And the movie succeeds in two different ways: It's sweet and good-hearted, and then again it's raucous slapstick and bathroom humor. I liked both parts. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Eddie Murphy is funny again. Sadly, he lacks the guts to follow through on the cathartic self-satire that gives the film its distinction. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
But it does mine Murphy's gifts, and the payoff is both nutty and funny. Sometimes even touching, too. [28Jun1996 Pg.01.D]
70
Washington PostKevin McManus
This is good, seamless comedy, even if it's not terribly sophisticated. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
Murphy owes much of his success to the amazing special-effects makeup by Rick Baker ("An American Werewolf in London"), but he brings a tenderness and dignity to the performance that he has never shown before. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Without ever posing a serious challenge to the original, the new Nutty Professor is much more respectful of its source and funnier than I'd anticipated. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Not that The Nutty Professor should ever be confused with a good movie, but it is a perfect vehicle for the redisplay of Murphy's neglected talents, steering him away from the smug persona of his recent disasters and whisking him back to the cozy locale of his Saturday Night Live roots. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineStaff(not credited)
This remake of Jerry Lewis's 1963 Jekyll and Hyde comedy is slackly directed and overloaded with flatulence jokes. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Nutty Professor aims for guffaws at the lowest level -- anyone with a double-digit IQ will get every joke. Whether you laugh at them or not is often more of a matter of taste than a question of having a sense of humor. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie Errigo
Occasionally irritating farce but inventive and boasting an endearing as well as laugh-out-loud performance from Murphy in and out of fat suit. Read full review
60
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
Mr. Murphy proves himself a surprisingly strong actor here, playing Sherman with sweetness and poignancy, not to mention loads of funny weight-related humor. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Murphy is wonderful -- I wouldn't begrudge him an Oscar nomination -- but The Nutty Professor is a mess. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
Be that as it may, the movie offers the uplifting news bulletin that life is not about being happy with how much you weigh but with what kind of person you are. This is where the movie starts getting sloppy. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Arguably better than the last five Eddie Murphy films taken together, The Nutty Professor still seems to be playing down to its audience much of the time, though you'd never know it to hear the gales of laughter erupting at the screening I attended. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Eddie Murphy has impressive energy, but he needs mountains of makeup and special effects to accomplish what Jerry Lewis did with sheer talent in the original 1963 version of the comedy. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubMaria Schneider
The film is otherwise plastic; the supporting players stink and a few too many fart jokes exist where wit belonged. Read full review
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