A Thousand Words (I) (2012) User Reviews (132)

Comedy okay, Message is good

[rgkarim · 7/10 · 12 March 2012]

Let's face it Eddy Murphy hasn't been making grade A movies over the past few years, at least none that matched his earlier films. So I can't help but admit that I was a little skeptical when I saw A Thousand Words advertised on T.V. To my surprise however, I was actually entertained with this picture, and even more surprised by the serious message present in this film. So sit back, relax, and read more about Eddy Murphy's newest film A Thousand Words.

The movie basically starts out like any other movie he stars in with Eddy Murphy, playing Jack McCall, being involved in some busy career and the rest of his life is essentially put on hold. As usual, these opening scenes are filled with his classic crude humor, some of which was funny for me and some I had heard countless times before. Murphy's mouth is as filthy as ever, and those who love hearing him scream and curse will not be disappointed at the majority of his dialog at the beginning of the movie. However, things change when the guru Sinja (Cliff Curtis) is visited by McCall and the blood bond between a magical tree and McCall get his thousand word limit, where every word he speaks (and writes) results in a leaf falling off the tree. From this point onward, the comedy style takes a different path and involves a combination of funny dialog, situational comedy, and of course some funny gestures that made me chuckle. With a limited number of words at his disposable, the writers did a nice job picking the right words at the right moment. There were countless times I laughed as he said one or two words at just the right moment to have me laughing. Instead of Murphy saying most of the funny lines though, his apprentice Aaron (Clark Duke) provided most of the zingers. Duke manages to once again play the naïve, immature teenager who knows how to say the wrong things, at the wrong time, in the most awkward way possible. As a result it works, though it does get annoying after the fifth or sixth time. What was funnier for me however, were the comedic situations Murphy's character was forced to endure. A few charade scenes, the escort of a blind man, and countless business meetings that required him to speak made me crack up at various points in the movie.

However, comedy is not the only thing this movie has to offer. A Thousand Words has a message built into it that really hit me deep down. Now revealing this message would ruin a lot of things about this movie, so I can't tell you what it is. The way they presented the message is free game though, and quite well done. I applaud the director's brilliant technique of building up the tension in the movie using temporary lulls in the comedy to develop the situation. When the limit is reached however, the group manages to capture the emotions with a combination of fitting music, great camera angles, and just the right balance of screen time to capture the actor's emotion. Murphy surprised me with how serious a role he can play and I admit there were one or two times I nearly teared up. Yes there were points where this movie was a little preachy and cheesy, but overall it tugged at my heart strings and made me really appreciate what they had to say. However, it's up to you to see the movie and see if the message affects you the same way.

Overall, A Thousand Words is a decent comedy, not the best or the crudest mind you, but still decent. The nice balance of drama and comedy, on top of some good character development and clever use of props and the environment were very entertaining for me. Yes, it's the same predictable Eddie Murphy movie you have seen in the past, but it's finally getting back to his comedic roots, while still providing some dynamic emotion that I haven't seen him do in a while. Is it worth a trip to the theater? Well for comedy not really, you can get the fun laughs just as well at home. However, the strong spiritual message this movie offers I think is worth a trip, but that's just me. Regardless here are the scores:

Comedy: 6.0 Movie Overall: 7.0

So as always enjoy the movies my friends and tune in next week for a review on 21 Jump Street.

A more mature comedy from Eddie Murphy

[gonzoville · 7/10 · 15 June 2012]

I have to assume that the people who rated this one below a 5 were expecting the standard slapstick fare. This isn't going to go down as a classic film, but it kind of picks up from "Holy Man" from 1998 in that the movie is about an unexpected encounter causing someone to re- evaluate and embrace their life.

Murphy does a pretty good job straddling comedic and dramatic acting. It's more like one or the other rather than both in the same scene, but it's not bad. The supporting cast is pretty good as well. The writing is decent enough.

What made me give this a 7 instead of a 6 is the ending. You pretty much know what's coming - that Murphy's character will resolve the issues which keep him from being happy. But the last 8 minutes or so are just really well done. Murphy's warmth really shines and you can't help but smile. And for that ending, I gave it an extra star.

Put this in the "feel-good comedy" category.

Eddie Murphy still makes me laugh...even in something like A Thousand Words

[tavm · 7/10 · 29 March 2012]

I've been an Eddie Murphy fan since I first saw him on "Saturday Night Live" back in 1980. I've laughed at most of his stuff on TV and movies most of that time. I haven't seen everything he's done but what I've seen I've mostly enjoyed. So it is that I indeed enjoyed this knowing many of the things he does and says in this movie can be quite either silly or stupid but what can I say, I still find him very funny. And Clark Duke who plays his assistant also got plenty of laughs from me especially when he does his version of a street smart person. I also found Kerry Washington appealing as his wife and Ruby Dee as his mother nicely playing someone who seems to live in the past since she keeps mistaking her son for her since-abandoned husband. I thought Allison Janney was wasted as his boss, however. Oh, and I also loved the comic chemistry between him and Jack McBrayer as a Starbucks employee. In summary, A Thousand Words is no great shakes, but it was still entertaining enough for me.

Comedy with a profound message

[Gordon-11 · 6 March 2014]

This film tells a successful but arrogant literary agent who has only a thousand words left to speak before he dies.

I was surprised by how good "A Thousand Words" was. It successfully mixes comedy with a truly profound message. The comedy aspect shows Eddie Murphy's upbeat side, and he even imitates to be a bird. Even if he can be annoying at times in the film, his connection with the dying tree still strikes me as very thought provoking. It is sad that much of his words are wasted, which gives Jack and the viewers a chance to reflect on what is truly important in life. I find this incredibly touching. It's unusual for a comedy to have such a profound message, but "A Thousand Words" does it so well.

Eddie's Best Effort in some time....

[witster18 · 7/10 · 14 July 2012]

Eddie has been involved in a lot of crap since the release of "Raw". It's almost as if he felt a debt to society and his family to start making cheesy, family films. The results have been under-whelming to say the least.

This is Eddie's best film in many years. The plot is ridiculous as with much of what he's been associated with of late, but Eddie is on top of his game here. This film is right up there with Eddie's best over the last 2 decades WHICH ISN'T saying much, but it does make it worth the price of admission at the very least. That's to say it's nearly as good as "The Nutty Professor" or "Boomerang", but a clear notch above films like "Bowfinger" and "Norbit".

He's genuinely funny here, but the script isn't all that funny overall. He carries much of the weight with his expressions and physical comedy.

The other saving grace is the heart of the film. The film does carry nice message, and tugs the heartstrings for those who make the time investment on this one.

I was surprised, but that might have had as much to do with my expectations as it did anything else.

I can marginally recommend this for those who like a light-hearted comedy.

Eddie still has it! He does! You get glimpses of it here. All us ole-timers are still waiting for him to tackle a great project with an "R" rating, but this film is far better than it's score here or anywhere else.

Not that I blame the audience - but it seems as if the reputation of Eddie making bad films has put a seriously negative spin on what is actually a decent little film here. Let's not trample on the guy.

My biggest gripe was with one particular scene where the CGI is over-blown and unnecessary but other than that, this film wasn't bad at all.

Scoring it exactly the same as another rental from yesterday, "Thin Ice", 65/100, and rounding it to 7. I don't feel bad about it either.

Not nearly as bad as I had anticipated.

You might like this if you liked: Yes Man(slightly better or even), The Nutty Professor(slightly better or even), and Bruce Almighty(slightly better).

Eddie's best effort in quite awhile

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 1 September 2013]

Eddie Murphy keeps trying and trying. This one kinda works... sort of. Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a talkative self-obsessed man. He lies and ignores others. After meeting a spiritual guru, he finds a tree in his backyard that drops a leaf for every word he speaks. Will his professional and personal lives crash and burn, or will he find enlightenment?

Once again, he does his unlikeable douche character. And for the first hour, there are too many unlikeable self-centered characters in too many fake annoying situations. But the last 30 minutes is a heart-warming feel-good affair.

Thoughtful Lowbrow Spiritual Comedy

[bebop603 · 2/10 · 18 March 2012]

This movie was reminiscent of Eddies Murphy's "Trading Places" for me. It's kind of a modern fable/comedy/light social commentary. In both movies, Murphy's character is a successful businessman who is a little lost personally and spiritually (which is an immediately recognizable sensation for almost anyone at some point in their lives). External, and vaguely spiritual forces intervene (in the Case of Trading places, 2 bosses who take their roles from God and Satan from the story of Job) and in the case of 1000 words, this external force takes the form a new- age spiritual guru played by Cliff Curtis. New-age spiritual guru roles are traditionally played for laughs, but Curtis displays some comedic- inspired subtle turns here and the film overall displays a surprising sensitivity towards spiritual matters in general. As in trading places, Murphy's character has problems to overcome, difficult decisions to make, and ultimately has the chance to complete a personal and spiritual transformation of his own.

The writing is not Oscar-worthy and at times low-brow but (at least to me) frequently hilarious--especially in scenes where Murphy's silence draws people in to saying things about themselves they really weren't intending to. As in other Murphy movies, there is some gentle social commentary and nerdy white people are often played for laughs--Murphy's assistant is especially hilarious as he inverts the common logic of the uncool/uptight white guy at times to assume a "gangsta" persona to take over Murphy's job duties while Murphy can only watch, wide-eyed, as the silent straight man.

This film ultimately won me over with it's good-natured, intelligent, writing and acting. Comedy bits, while while often off-color, never steer into the clichéd or mean-spirited. Don't go in expecting too much and you might leave the theater with a warm, if slightly fuzzy, spiritual feeling of you own.

Not Even A Thousand Words Would Make This A Winner

[patsworld · 6/10 · 9 March 2012]

This movie could have been a winner – much like The Golden Child – for Eddy Murphy. The premise for this film could have gone there – mystical, imaginative...the plot line lent itself to such success. However, rather than using Murphy's awesome comedic talent, the makers of this picture resorted to reducing him to grimaces, hideous facial contortions – none of which were amusing at all. Granted there was a reason in the movie for Murphy's character not to be able to talk for awhile, but he could easily have performed versions of charades, used eye rolls and raised eyebrows and brought the house down. However, that didn't happen. It was all over the top and not funny at all. The only character in this picture to do justice to his part was Clark Duke playing Murphy's assistant. This wasn't enough to make the film a success. Such a waste and frankly, I'm rather tired of being disappointed when I go to the movies. Especially to an Eddy Murphy film. I expect more.

Eddie Murphy's Likable, But The Movie Is Nothing Special

[sddavis63 · 4/10 · 11 October 2012]

Sometimes I like Eddie Murphy; sometimes he just irritates me. I'll grant that in "A Thousand Words" I liked him. This is a pretty low-key comedy, and Eddie's likable enough in it as Jack McCall. It's amusing at times, and it even has a show stealing scene when Clark Duke, playing McCall's intern Aaron Wiseberger completely dominates a scene where he basically takes on McCall's personality in a meeting with some big time publishers.

McCall is a frenetic character - a fast paced, fast moving, fast talking type of guy who rushes his way through life. I guess the point of the movie is teaching him to slow down and learn to enjoy life more, but the journey was a strange and sometimes mind boggling one. The introduction of Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis) for example. Sinja was a kind of new age, spiritual guru type - and also totally unnecessary really in that he resolves nothing. The basic mystery is around a strange tree that suddenly grew in McCall's backyard. Every time McCall says a word, the tree drops a leaf, and once all the leaves are gone McCall is going to die because he's somehow linked to the tree. I'm not sure how it is that McCall will die once all the leaves fall - trees don't die just because their leaves fall off!) but apparently he will. And I have to confess that I really just didn't get the journey McCall was travelling.

Murphy was fine. I just found the story quite lacking, but I will have to give it credit for a handful of funny scenes. Overall, though, I wasn't really that into this. (4/10)

What a surprise...

[paul_haakonsen · 7/10 · 29 December 2015]

I happened to come across this movie by sheer luck as it was showing on TV, I gave it a chance since I saw it being an Eddie Murphy movie. And I will say that I am very glad that I did so, because this might be the best Eddie Murphy movie ever, or at the very least it is his most touching of movies.

The story turned out to be rather interesting and refreshing from the usual movies that Eddie Murphy is in. The story is about a man's fate tied to a tree, and with each word he speaks a leaf falls from the tree, slowly killing it and in turn also endangering the man.

I was really surprised at the level of impact the story had, and it mixed drama and comedy together quite well. But near the end of the movie the story really stepped up and into character. And I think some might actually need a tissue at hand at that point.

The cast did good jobs with their given roles, and it was nice to see Eddie Murphy unfold his talent in a combination of drama and comedy, proving that he is much more than a goofy laugh, a handful of jokes and one-liners. This is really a movie that made Eddie Murphy shine Again.

Regardless of if you are a fan of Eddie Murphy or not, then "A Thousand Words" is definitely worth watching because it is a beautiful story put to film. I am rating it seven out of ten stars and must applaud Eddie Murphy for his performance in this movie.

Stupid A.F.

[nebohr · 4/10 · 1 August 2020]

I was expecting funny-stupid but this movie has absolutely no humor at all. Everything about it is forced and contrived; witlessly dull.

A Brutally Honest Review

[alex-frey-pattaya · 8/10 · 29 June 2012]

You will find reviews here using thousands of words in order to flame this movie, clearly they didn't understand it. You will know why after seeing it.

People are disappointed because they wanted to see an Eddy Murphy style comedy, the problem is this ain't a comedy it is a drama with a very good message. I loved Eddy Murphy in his first movies, he was a fast talking joke machine, he still is but the jokes are the same and comedy has moved on. For that matter I didn't like the comedy portion of this movie too much but I was deeply touched by the drama version. The solution to his problem is right in front of him and anyone who is willing to give this movie a fair chance will see it too and exactly this is what made the movie so strong because he is doing it all wrong and you want to scream at the screen and tell him what to do and how to do it.

In my opinion Eddy Murphy gave a partially brilliant performance. As I said I didn't enjoy the comedy too much, it was some sort of best of Eddy Murphy but when you are willing to accept that this is actually a drama and understand the comedy part as the metaphor that it is you will love this movie and maybe pull something valuable out of the message. For the concept of the message Eddy Murphy was the best possible actor for this role.

Stay away from it if you don't like Eddie Murphy

[jaykchan · 7/10 · 9 March 2012]

Snapshot: Eddie Murphy delivers and tries to make us laugh in his usual ways

What's Good: Eddie Murphy and Clark Duke have acted very well. The story is unique and is mostly engaging. It also tries to deliver a simple moral message.

What's not so Good: Some might find the running gags to be the "same old thing". There are elements of the story that defy general logic, and you'll have to keep your head aside. Some might also complaint the "moral message" is an overkill

Conclusion: It did make me laugh hard on more than a few occasions. If you try to ignore some moments of slapstick and stop thinking how much you hate Eddie Murphy, you might enjoy this one.

My rating: 3/4, for the general audience: 7/10.

Film is the kind that'll either put you to sleep or have you cringing over the fact that Murphy, one of the biggest names in comedy, has been reduced to doing this.

[ierenz · 3/10 · 22 September 2019]

In fact, the film has a decent concept, if it is cliché. But Jack keeps running around silently freaking the entire film, then in the last ten minutes of the film all the emotional issues that need to be resolved-his relationship with his wife, mother, and deceased father -are bungled together. Those ten minutes are also the most interesting in the entire film, while kind of hokey.The rest of the movie is the kind that will either put you to sleep or cry over the fact that Murphy, one of the comedy's biggest names, has been reduced to doing this.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was close!

[TxMike · 12 July 2012]

So why, some may ask, did I see this movie if I thought it wasn't going to be very good? I generally like Eddie Murphy, ever since his Beverly Hills Cops days, and I figured there would be some entertainment value, and there is. I also got it as a "free" DVD rental from my public library.

Eddie Murphy is motor-mouth Jack McCall who by his own admission can sell just about any idea to anybody. He makes his living buying rights to books, but never reads them, he has an assistant for that. Plus, he thinks if the first 5 pages are good, and the last 5 pages are good, then the book is a winner.

Pretty Kerry Washington (16 years younger) is his wife Caroline McCall . They have a cute new baby and it seems to be getting time for Jack to settle down a bit more. This isn't the cause of Jack's eventual problem, but it exacerbates his task.

Jack is after a well-known guru and wants to publish his book, a book Jack says he read and loves but in truth has never seen. "Honesty" is all relative with Jack, and usually it is relatively unimportant. Somehow, and we don't really know how, since the guru claims no responsibility, this medium-sized tree suddenly springs up out of the ground in Jack's back yard. It makes such a commotion that at first Jack thinks it is an Earthquake. But the tree is magical, it IS Jack, when he tries to chop it down Jack gets the ax mark on his hip.

The most obvious feature is, Jack notices quickly, for every word Jack says a leaf falls off. When he finally gets the guru there to examine the situation, they estimate the tree only has 1000 leaves left, so Jack has about 1000 words left, then the tree and he will both die.

So that is the whole premise and the movie is either funny or not funny depending on how Jack handles each situation, not being able to talk and not really being able to explain his situation.

I was entertained, there is a core of message there, of being true to yourself and those important to you, wife, children, parents, friends. But overall not a particularly good movie.

SPOILERS: As Jack's tree gets closer to losing all its leaves, and Jack's attempts to reverse the process by doing "good works" fails, he resigns to the tree and he dying. So he uses his last few words to comfort his mom and to tell his wife he would love her forever. That turns out to be his redemption, he dies as the tree dies, but both are quickly reborn, a healthy tree and a healthy Jack, destined to be a better person. Sort of a 'Groundhog Day' type of salvation.

Silent Movie

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 21 July 2018]

Eddie Murphy has been making kid's movies for so long he has forgotten how to make them for adults. Eddie plays Jack McCall, a literary agent who has signed a New Age guru, and has agreed to following the guru's ways in order to get the contract. A tree suddenly appears in Jack's back yard, one that loses a leaf every time Jack says speaks or writes a word. The presumption is that when all the leaves are gone, the tree dies and so does Jack and the movie. What happens to the tree, happens to Jack.

The humor is how Jack, a constant talker, now has to be silent as if his life depended on it. It has that "Liar, Liar" feel to it, it just isn't as funny.

It is a yawner that might work for the 14-16 year old crowd. The movie has some heart warming redeeming value to it, you just have to wait for it until the end. If you want to see Eddie Murphy in his street smart role, try "Tower Heist."

Adult language, no nudity, no real sex.

A man of few words

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 13 June 2014]

The trouble with this film is that it is a mixture of Liar, Liar and Yes Man and they were already successful both featuring Jim Carrey.

Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a literary agent who uses his spiel to get book deals for his clients and willing to stretch the truth to do it. He is trying to get a book deal from a New Age self-help guru, Dr Sinja (Cliff Curtis) who sees through his deceit. Later that night, a Bodhi Tree magically appears in his backyard. Jack discovers that for every word that Jack says, a leaf will fall off of the tree. When the tree runs out of leaves, the tree will die and so will Jack.

In time Jack finds that even written words count towards his limit and if anything happens to the tree will also affect Jack. When Jack tries to cut it down with an axe, an axe wound appears on him. When squirrels climb the tree, it tickles him.

Jack has to deal with life as a man of few words which causes chaos at work and with his personal life. Of course over time Jack becomes a better person as he deals with some past issues in his life regarding his father. You cannot help but smile when he gives the Beatles White album to the Starbucks's worker or finally reads the script from a valet parking attendant and signs him up (the actor playing the attendant is also a writer.)

The film is charming and involving its just not very funny or involves the usual Murphy persona or Jim Carrey style slapstick. Murphy is reined in here which turns off his usual fans and the story is derivative because we have seen it before but its enjoyable in its own right.

The Vidiot Reviews

[capone666 · 3/10 · 4 July 2012]

A Thousand Words

Being unable to verbally communicate with others is no longer a problem since the iPhone is the perfect projectile to chuck at someone to get his or her attention.

However, the cursed literary agent in this dramedy has opted out of using electronic devices to convey his thoughts.

When motor-mouth Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) attempts to coerce a leading self-help guru (Cliff Curtis) to sign with his agency, an enchanted tree follows Jack home and embeds itself in his backyard.

Embellished with 1,000 leaves – each representing one word – the sage shrub shreds its foliage with each phrase that passes Jack's lips.

To correct this, Jack must atone for past relationships, including his absentee father.

Unable to articulate if it is a wacky comedy or a family drama, A Thousand Words is as confusing as it is predictable and humourless.

Besides, who needs oral communication when you have two middle fingers? (Red Light)

vidiotreviews.blogspot.com

It should have been a straight drama

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 27 September 2012]

It isn't that this is a bad film, it's just that it's not what we typically think of as an Eddie Murphy film...whether the time period we are referencing is his early, more gritty work, or his later cleansed work...I can enjoy his films from both eras.

I could almost see this film being a drama, but it's certainly not a laugh-out-loud comedy -- for some reason (which I never quite understood), a tree suddenly grows outside the bachelor-style home of a book agent...and with every word he speaks, another leaf falls...and when they've all fallen, he will die. Huh? That's problem number one here -- the concept makes no sense. You can take just so much of even Eddie Murphy making faces. Later in the film, as his impending death looms, Eddie is quite touching as the film -- at least for a while -- transitions from a comedy to a drama. He has some very good moments as he struggles to save his relationship and figure out how to save his life...as the leaves slowly but steadily continue falling. In fact, I sat there thinking how much I'd like to see Eddie in a straight dramatic film.

Ah well, this is one of those what-could-have-been films.

A bland sea of contrivance and shallow morals

[StevePulaski · 5/10 · 10 March 2012]

The first half hour of A Thousand Words is giddy, upbeat, and very funny as Eddie Murphy's typical schtick of farce tactics and crude, off-the-wall dialog comes into play. This makes us approach the film's real conflict with increasing dread as we learn that Murphy's character will be punished with death if he says more than a thousand words.

I'll catch you up. Murphy plays Jack McCall, a loquacious literary agent who uses his voice to strike book deals for his company, and sadly somewhat neglects his wife and kid. He becomes intrigued with the work of Dr. Sinja (Curtis), whose teachings and philosophies have attracted immense crowds of people. During a discussion with Sinja at one of his many spiritual relaxation classes about striking a possible deal, Jack pricks his finger on a Bodhi tree. Upon returning home, a tree of the same kind spouts in his backyard occupying many, many leaves.

Jack calls Sinja over to his house to ask him why he put the tree here, but Sinja states that he had nothing to do with it. It isn't before long that Sinja notices whenever Jack speaks, leaves fall off the tree. What happens when trees lose their leaves? They die. And that's, supposedly, what will happen to Jack. It's amazing how unclear this scene is. Just because the tree will lose all of its leaves and die eventually, how does Sinja know that will happen to Jack? Also, Sinja makes a guess that there are a thousand leaves left on the tree. And, apparently, that's exactly how many there were.

The film's comedy stems from Jack not being able to talk, thus having to find ways to communicate with people around him. He can't write notes either. So, the only way he can get his point across is to mime or play charades with them. By far the funniest scene is when Jack is trying to strike a deal over the phone and resorts to talking action figures to speak for him. It isn't that he can't talk, it's just he is trying to conserve his words as much as possible. Also, this means that he can't, or maybe chooses not to, speak about twenty words or so to explain this mess to his wife. All he does is play stupid, clueless, and ignorant.

It is so crushing to not hear Murphy's motor-mouth during much of this film. This also greatly kills the film in the dialog field. When you limit Murphy vocally, you must rely on him physically. His facial expressions work well, sometimes, but other times, like during the recurring Starbucks scenes, the antics become labored and ordinary. If you can't really imagine the idea of Murphy playing a character who is limited in his dialog, try to imagine a silent film made by Kevin Smith.

A Thousand Words also strangely parallels with the film Click, with Adam Sandler, both written by Steve Koren. In Click, Sandler was a workaholic father, hellbent on completing a project with no time for his kids or wife, who finds a life-altering device that allows him to control his life and greatly limit it. He uses it frequently and his life becomes more and more out of control, before finally reaching the somewhat heartbreaking and depressing climax. The premise is not too far off from A Thousand Words, only Murphy's blockade isn't the excessive use of a device, but his own voice.

The film throws in "blink and you miss it" type morals like form some sort of respect for spirituality, appreciate life, choose words wisely, etc. None of the morals are very memorable or creative. By the end, we've become so annoyed with the contrivance of our immensely talented actor hardly able to speak we've become disinterested and careless.

Director Brian Robbins, of Good Burger and The Perfect Score, originally shot the film in 2008 and it sat in limbo up until 2012. That was right around the time Murphy was doing anything and everything with the crass, desperate mess of Norbit and the forgettable and overly obvious Meet Dave - both also directed by Robbins. A Thousand Words would've fit in perfectly with that lineup, but easily being the best of the three. Murphy continues to find himself neutered in many films. Either doing lame, uninspired comedies or dopey, barely mediocre kids film. He needs to find work that allows him to be himself, without distracting plot devices getting in the way of that. And occupying a character who hopefully says over a thousand words.

Staring: Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, and Allison Janney. Directed by: Brian Robbins.

Eddie Murphy Shines!

[namashi_1 · 7/10 · 15 January 2014]

'A Thousand Words' is a fair watch, where Eddie Murphy, a superb actor, shines in the central role.

'A Thousand Words' Synopsis: After stretching the truth on a deal with a spiritual guru, literary agent Jack McCall finds a Bodhi tree on his property. Its appearance holds a valuable lesson on the consequences of every word we speak.

'A Thousand Words' has an entertaining first-hour, but an ordinary second. The humor is pedestrian at times, but some sequences are funny, thanks to Murphy's impeccable sense of comedy. The Screenplay doesn't offer wholesome entertainment, but its passable nonetheless. Brian Robbins's Direction is so-so. Cinematography & Editing are good.

Performance-Wise: Eddie Murphy is a comedic force. He's the life of the show. Clark Duke is first-rate. Kerry Washington is impressive. Cliff Curtis & Ruby Dee are adequate.

On the whole, 'A Thousand Words' rests on Eddie Murphy's undeniable talent.

Good Message_Destroyed in Lousy Movie Presentation

[ladymoonpictures · 3/10 · 16 March 2012]

Wow. So stupid. Blowing leaves 'out cho mouth'. Should've blown em' out his...well you get the push back here to such a stupid movie. Nothing wrong with the message - the importance of family really only thing that matters - over money and success, but so completely, painfully, ridiculously demonstrated in a non sensical plot idea and childish, unfunny Murphy-mannerisms that really pushes ones limits in not walking out on this...bad, and I mean pap-bad movie presentation. The ending makes the point about these important things of life, but getting there is about as painful of a movie watching experience that you'll suffer for quite some time. Note too, that I didn't resort to being too cruel here and completely sarcastic, like one might feel as revenge for watching this movie. This movie simply does not deliver.

What's Up With the Negative Reviews??

[ShawnM84 · 9/10 · 17 June 2012]

I cannot understand why someone would rate this so poorly and call it "an abomination" of a film. These people must like to watch depressing or utter brain dead movies, over heart warming, feel good movies.

Granted this film is not perfect, there are definitely some unnecessary and quite stupid scenes, but this does not detract from the overall moral of the story which makes a powerful philosophical point - a point we must all contemplate.

Eddie Murphy is his funny usual self and the rest of the cast do a great job. Also the cinematography is excellent with some remarkable scenes.

I highly recommend this movie for anyone looking for a meaningful movie. A must watch for all who are positive.

Peace.

Not as terrible as the critics say.

[moviefanintheusa · 7/10 · 9 August 2012]

OK, so, I watched this movie at home. Is the movie worth what it costs to get into the cinema? I didn't think so. But it is worth the rental. It is a silly comedy, but I found the movie mildly entertaining. The film carries a good message without being overly serious, which is a good thing to say over a lot of films of its type. Eddie Murphy manages to pull of an alright performance. It really is kind of funny that on Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 0% audience approval rating, but at least half of the audience liked it. If I have not stressed this enough, this is a movie not to be taken seriously, take it as a comedy and.....well enjoy it or don't.

Rubbish

[action-man101 · 1/10 · 14 March 2012]

Absolute rubbish film! Yet another turkey from Eddie Murphy. This and Adam Sandler's Jack & Jill should be condemned to movie oblivion. Both cost millions and millions and for what? Surely Hollywood could use that money for much better films that funding stupid boring trash like this. Has Eddie ever really been funny? Well, there was Trading Places, Beverley Hills Cop and Coming To America - but they were in the 80s!! His endless slew of "family" films have been truly dreadful. Why oh why do Hollywood execs keep funding Eddie Murphy films??? Who watches them? Who exactly are these Eddie Murphy fans? Are they all brain-dead zombies who think Murphy opening his eyes wide and looking surprised is the height of hilarity? This film is just another reason why Murphy should stop making films all together. He can't act, he's not funny. Him and Adam Sandler should be marooned on a desert island together. The pits!