Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue, a has-been diva and a film studio gofer, he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.
Bowfinger is carried almost entirely by the comic performances of Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy (in a dual role), both of whom are genuinely exceptional here — Murphy especially earns a strong acting mark for his distinct twin characterizations. The plot premise is inventively absurd but the script runs somewhat thin in the third act, settling for broad farce over sustained wit. Cinematography is workmanlike Hollywood comedy fare with nothing distinguishing it visually. The concept is fun and reasonably fresh for its era — satirizing Hollywood desperation and Scientology-adjacent celebrity cults — but it doesn't transcend its genre in a lasting way. The ending resolves cleanly if predictably. A dependable, funny studio comedy elevated well above its material by its leads.