Monday, July 14, 2008

MEET DAVE

“MEET DAVE” (Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks & Gabrielle Union)

Isn’t as bad as you might think – actually it reminded me of ‘Hancock’ in that the best lines are used in the first half of the film – the exception being ‘Hancock’ was a good film for a while – ‘Meet Dave’ is just mildly amusing, so you’re not as disappointed when it falls apart completely for the second half.
‘Dave’ is actually a human shaped space craft designed after its Captain (Eddie Murphy)
Inside Dave are the miniature crew members making ‘him’ appear to be a normal human.
Their single mission is to locate an orb that will deplete the earth of its water. The orb missed its mark on its initial landing & was discovered by the dweeby son of the beautiful Elizabeth Banks (To be honest, the main reason I decided to give this film a shot)
Some of Dave’s attempts to acclimate itself to mankind are humorous; some fall flat on its face. For some reason I found myself wondering why – after Dave believes a ‘proper’ earth greeting is to say “Welcome to Old Navy” – he stops using it as soon as he leaves the store... It would have been funnier if he walked up to someone on the street & said, “Good afternoon, welcome to Old Navy!”
Yes, ‘Meet Dave’ has its moments in the early going, but once the alien crew members begin to take on human characteristics, the thing falls apart completely and becomes the second coming of ‘Pluto Nash’.
Gabrielle Union, though also a gorgeous woman, has absolutely no comic timing whatsoever. She plays the Captain’s #3 in command, who also happens to be in love with him... Hmm – sounds like a new twist, doesn’t it? Yes, that’s the problem, after starting off with a premise that could have led to an interesting, humorous tale - ‘Meet Dave’ turns predictable with hackneyed attempts at making the audience laugh. In fact, the only laughter I heard during the last 45 minutes of this film came from two gentlemen that sounded as though they were eleven or twelve; obviously not old enough to realize that what they were viewing wasn’t funny (I’m sure they found ‘Love Guru’ & ‘Zoran’ to be laugh riots as well)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did the central premise of "Meet Dave" remind you at all of the sequence in "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask" in which Burt Reynolds and his crew direct a sexual encounter from inside the cranium?

Just wondering.

Anonymous said...

Meet Dave certainly wasn't an original plot/premise. It lifts from a couple of past movies. I hear that Eddie Murphy might give up the movies and go back to stand up. I'd welcome that change of pace actually. But not before he brings back Axl Rose, Um...I mean Axl Foley back for a 4th Beverly Hills Cop movie.

Anonymous said...

I never saw 'Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask' because I already knew & I wasn't afraid...
There was a 'Beverly Hills Cop 3'?
How did I miss that?