“Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” was officially released in 2000. (same year Meet the Parents came out) Unlike the first movie, the sequel earned negative reviews from critics. Although not a box office flop, it made less money than its predecessor. There are two reasons why I wanna share my thoughts on The Klumps. One, Eddie Murphy will appear in a comedy with Jonah Hill titled, “You People” streaming exclusively on Netflix. Second, Eddie is working on a fourth installment of “Beverly Hills Cop.”
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. The Klumps is a rehash of the first movie.
Big & Small Aspects
Big: Eddie Murphy reprises his roles as the titular family and Buddy Love. He did a funny as heck job for his performances.
Other Cast Members such as Janet Jackson, (MJ’s real-life sister) & Larry Miller both did a solid job for their respective performances.
Fun Fact: Eddie was good friends with Michael Jackson. They met on the set of the music video “Remember the Time.” He’s also friends with Janet.
Humor retains farting, visual gags and jokes that went over my head as a kid. Gotta love fart jokes.
My favorite line is this bit, “I’m not that kind of GUY!!!!!!!” I have to give it Bonus Points for making me laugh with the hamster “dominating” Richmond.
Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Men in Black) transformed Eddie into the Klumps via fatsuit.
The Klumps have more screentime. Papa Klump is my favorite.
Wanda Sykes makes a brief appearance at a beauty salon.
Dr. Silberman from “The Terminator” makes a brief appearance as Sherman’s therapist. Does this mean The Nutty Professor is tied to The Terminator series?
Chris Elliott makes a tiny appearance.
Denise receives a skimpy topless outfit. Three Years Later, Janet became the butt of jokes at The 38th Super Bowl when Justin Timberlake accidentally removes a piece of her outfit exposing her breast.
Janet song’s “Doesn’t Really Matter” is used in one scene. It’s a catchy song.
Outtakes are shown during the end credits. You can tell Eddie and the crew are having a good time.
Small: Remember last time Sherman beat Buddy by regaining full control of his body? How the heck did the latter survive? To paraphrase Poe Dameron’s line from “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” “Somehow, Buddy has returned.” Lazy writing in a nutshell.
Say what you will, (no pun intended) Jada Pinkett Smith didn’t come back because she was pregnant at the time and signed on for “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions.” Carla from the first movie is mentioned as a colleague. That doesn’t excuse the fact she’s absent. Her whereabouts are never brought up.
After Buddy evaporates near a fountain, a Deus Ex Machina involves a tear coming from Denise somehow come in contact with Buddy’s dry remains turning the water into blue Hawaiian Punch.
Sherman’s blue substance and a dog hair brings Buddy to life. Although Buddy doesn’t resemble human/dog. John Candy as Barf from “Spaceballs” is more authentic than Buddy.
The sequel is just the first movie all over again. Here’s a list of reasons why.
- Sherman doesn’t tell his love interest the truth about his “condition.” So, he didn’t learn his lesson. Going back to his old ways discarding everything he went through.
- Buddy’s scheme is to steal Sherman’s formula.
- Sherman gets fired and gets his job back at the end.
- Sherman has a nightmare based on an unpleasant subject. The first movie depicts him as a spoof of “Godzilla” & “King Kong” as a metaphor on his weight and low self-esteem. The second movie spoofs “Armageddon” trying to blow up an asteroid but plants the bomb on the moon by mistake. Meaning, he’s losing his intelligence.
- Sherman regains control of his life and wins the girl. The End.
The Final Verdict: C-
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps is a huge disappointment. Just because you make a bigger sequel to replicate the first, doesn’t mean it makes it better. Shame we never got Nutty Professor III. What a missed opportunity to have a spin-off focusing on The Klumps without Sherman’s involvement with Buddy. I hope “Shrek 5” comes into fruition. I wanna see Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz & Antonio Banderas return in my all-time favorite DreamWorks Animation franchise.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 