Comedy encounter
Despite fetching last year's 'Worst Actor' Razzie award for his universally unloved Norbit, Eddie Murphy has teamed up once again with the film's director Brian Robbins. This time, however, the jokes and cliched plot promise to be less politically incorrect.
In Meet Dave, Murphy plays Captain Dave, the miniature captain of a bite-sized alien crew sent to destroy Earth. To go unnoticed in New York City, they travel in an adult-sized human 'ship' fashioned in the likeness of their captain (also Murphy). Oddly clad in a white suit, fake leather shoes, and a wooden facial expression, he looks like your typical New York City weirdo. Meet Dave.
Captain Dave and his crew, including #2 (Ed Helms) and #3 (Gabrielle Union), control Dave's interactions with the human world through a control room inside Dave's head. Despite their alien super-intelligence, the crew is clueless when it comes to dealing with humans; their only guides are Google, Yahoo and trashy pop culture site, Perezhilton.com.
The rest is your typical alien-discovers-emotions rom-com. In this case, the discovery begins when Dave meets Gina, a feisty single mother (Elizabeth Banks), and her lonely son (newcomer Austin Myres).
The script was written by sitcom veterans Ron Greenberg and Bill Corbett of Frasier and How I Met Your Mother fame. Producers David Friendly (Dr Doolittle), Jon Berg and Todd Komarnicki reportedly came on board mere hours after reading the script. Murphy was responsible for roping in his former director, Brian Robbins.
Robbins says: 'Eddie came up to me and asked, 'What are you doing after this?' And I said, 'I don't know, you want to get some dinner?' Eddie said, 'No, not tonight - for your next movie?' And he handed me the Meet Dave script.'
Despite the physical complexity of playing a two-inch tall alien, as well as a fake man controlled by aliens, Murphy slipped into his new roles with ease.
Co-star Elizabeth Banks, a comedic gem herself, says, 'I have never worked with someone who is more in control of his body than Eddie. I mean everything he does is so carefully planned and executed - every gesture, every movement of his hands and mouth - he's totally in control of everything.'
Friendly notes the entire cast brought out the best in Murphy, and vice versa. 'Eddie is better with funny people around him, and they are funnier because of Eddie,' he says.
'It's Eddie doing what Eddie does best,' director Robbins sums up.
If you've forgotten how funny Murphy can actually be, perhaps it's time to do as the title suggests and meet Dave.
