Special effects and vulgarity are obvious methods for comedy. Exaggerated physical transformations have the effect of a circus mirror in humorously deforming a human reflection. And flatulence is useful in drawing cheap laughter. And The Nutty Professor succeeds with these elements.
But Computer-Generated Imagery is usually applied on characters who cannot be physically played. The lead character in The Nutty Professor is overweight but not out of this world. Yet the filmmakers decide to cast Eddie Murphy and cover him up with prosthetics to play this character. And even more unexpected is that he gets covered up to play a handful of other heavy characters, lead and supporting. Therefore, the movie uses special effects, vulgarity, and a lot of Eddie Murphy.
Eddie Murphy performs the lead character in two ways. He plays a gentle, mild mannered, overweight science professor named Sherman Klump. And he also plays a laboratory-created alter ego named Buddy Love who is aggressive, fast talking, witty, and vulgar. In short, the first character is a new kind of Eddie Murphy while the latter is the Murphy that we know on screen.
As a result, the movie works in its intended manner. This is not a deep study of dual identities. This is not an analysis of outer and inner beings. Instead the movie works as simple entertainment invigorated by its methods. When the gentle professor eats junk food or when he joins his family for dinner (mostly played by Murphy in various disguises), there is a vulgarity in the quantity of food, the dialogue exchanges, and the returns of flatulence. How these moments appear unexpectedly is what adds to the humor. And how the CGI is used to show Buddy Love redeveloping body mass to transform into the Professor Klump is another demonstration of effective special effects.
The story fits the description of a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy. It has a heart at its core particularly in moments when Carla (well played by Jada Pinkett) develops a sincere affection for Professor Klump. In fact, their moments are so good that the relationship alone could make a reasonably intriguing movie without special effects or vulgarity. But the movie is an Eddie Murphy vehicle and therefore it needed to go over the top in some way.
Its director is Tom Shadyac who is no stranger to over-the-top comedies. He directed Ace Ventura Pet Detective and Liar Liar which are two high energy comedies starring Jim Carrey. And there is a similar confidence of approach in The Nutty Professor by pursuing its shameless humor and allowing its star to unleash his full comic potential. But The Nutty Professor uses more methodology in the strength of its star, the level of vulgarity, and Computer-Generated Imagery.
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