150 reviews
"Meet Dave" was silly to the point of bordering on absurd... OK, who am I kidding, it was absurd, but I liked it.
Eddie Murphy plays both a human-sized human-looking vessel named Dave Ming Chang as well as the tiny captain of that same vessel. He and his tiny crew are from the planet Nil looking to save their planet by robbing Earth of all of its salt. He forms a relationship with a boy named Josh (Austyn Myers) and his mom Gina Morrison (Elizabeth Banks). Gina was trying her best to butter him up after hitting him with her car. The movie is largely about the funny way in which Dave and his crew learn lessons about what it is to be human.
This isn't one of Eddie Murphy's finer moments, but I still found it enjoyable.
Eddie Murphy plays both a human-sized human-looking vessel named Dave Ming Chang as well as the tiny captain of that same vessel. He and his tiny crew are from the planet Nil looking to save their planet by robbing Earth of all of its salt. He forms a relationship with a boy named Josh (Austyn Myers) and his mom Gina Morrison (Elizabeth Banks). Gina was trying her best to butter him up after hitting him with her car. The movie is largely about the funny way in which Dave and his crew learn lessons about what it is to be human.
This isn't one of Eddie Murphy's finer moments, but I still found it enjoyable.
- view_and_review
- Jun 9, 2021
- Permalink
I watched this movie the other day and I have to say that it is a rather mediocre movie. Contains some good acting by Murphy and Banks but otherwise the acting is subpar and the humour is rather disappointing. However mildly entertaining this film is, you got to start wondering if the studios have just ran out of ideas, as this film is the latest in a trend of modern, predictable movies.
Not to say this movie is bad. It is entertaining and will give you a few smiles, perhaps a chuckle or two, and is worth watching, but don't enter the cinema expecting something magnificent. The plot is disappointing, the humour is okay, the acting is good, so in the end this movie gets an overall average mark 5/10.
Not to say this movie is bad. It is entertaining and will give you a few smiles, perhaps a chuckle or two, and is worth watching, but don't enter the cinema expecting something magnificent. The plot is disappointing, the humour is okay, the acting is good, so in the end this movie gets an overall average mark 5/10.
- http://www.gemizo.net
Picked this for the family to view the other night, here's my review.
"Meet Dave" is yet another movie where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters, though this time it's just 2.
Dave (Murphy) is a ship from out of space in the form of a human body sent to retrieve a special particle that was hurled to earth. Yep. Dave is controlled internally by a bunch of tiny aliens who look human, led by "The Commander" (also Murphy). Dave ends up befriending a mother and son who he thinks can help him get what he's after. This proves a challenge though as he has to learn how to interact with humans while seeming like one of them. With this premise, obviously laughs abound.
It's a dumb story, but there's some decent laughs for the family. Enjoy it for what it is and you'll be OK.
"Meet Dave" is yet another movie where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters, though this time it's just 2.
Dave (Murphy) is a ship from out of space in the form of a human body sent to retrieve a special particle that was hurled to earth. Yep. Dave is controlled internally by a bunch of tiny aliens who look human, led by "The Commander" (also Murphy). Dave ends up befriending a mother and son who he thinks can help him get what he's after. This proves a challenge though as he has to learn how to interact with humans while seeming like one of them. With this premise, obviously laughs abound.
It's a dumb story, but there's some decent laughs for the family. Enjoy it for what it is and you'll be OK.
- tastyhotdogs
- Jan 5, 2009
- Permalink
It is rare for me to feel so strongly about something that I actually register on a website JUST to add my own comment to it. Well, this is what I just did here on IMDb because.... this movie rocks. I'm looking at the ratings breakdown and almost half of the votes are 1 out of 10 while the other half is evenly spread over ratings from 2 to 10. Is it just me or does someone want to bring this gem of a movie down? o_O
Eddie Murphy is awesome as both Dave (the ship) and its captain, and the supporting cast is brilliant...I smiled throughout the whole movie and had some real laughs, the plot is tight with no real holes I could make out, AND... whoever it was that said the whole premise is silly and laughable is forgetting one important thing about these kind of movies: They're fantasy entertainment.
And on that basis, "Meet Dave" works. Humor, warmth, a friendship/self-confidence message, faith in the good in humans, it's all there and wonderfully done. Of course the plot is more than unlikely, but that's the beauty of movies in general - they can take you to an imaginary world and let you be amazed at the "what-ifs."
It's just such a shame that most people aren't even going to bother seeing this once they glance at the IMDb rating. As for me, I can't wait for the DVD release. It rocks, from the first minute to the last.
Welcome back, Eddie Murphy :)
Eddie Murphy is awesome as both Dave (the ship) and its captain, and the supporting cast is brilliant...I smiled throughout the whole movie and had some real laughs, the plot is tight with no real holes I could make out, AND... whoever it was that said the whole premise is silly and laughable is forgetting one important thing about these kind of movies: They're fantasy entertainment.
And on that basis, "Meet Dave" works. Humor, warmth, a friendship/self-confidence message, faith in the good in humans, it's all there and wonderfully done. Of course the plot is more than unlikely, but that's the beauty of movies in general - they can take you to an imaginary world and let you be amazed at the "what-ifs."
It's just such a shame that most people aren't even going to bother seeing this once they glance at the IMDb rating. As for me, I can't wait for the DVD release. It rocks, from the first minute to the last.
Welcome back, Eddie Murphy :)
Once upon a time, in a magical world we like to call the 1980's, Eddie Murphy was on top of his game, not only was he on top, he was actually funny! He made comedy after comedy after comedy of non stop laughs and nothing seemed like it could stop him; then the world of the 1990's came, as much as we hoped for Eddie, it seemed like he had more mediocre comedies; then the new millennium, oh, boy, his world has shattered since then. He was very lucky to have an Oscar nomination with Dream Girls, yet continued to release bad movies such as Daddy Day Care and the disaster that was Norbit, now we have Meet Dave, which would've been a good bad movie with unknown actors, but since we have well known actors, you can't help but feel bad for them, but Eddie Murphy just keeps making mistakes after mistakes and I'm just wondering what the heck was he on to think this was the script that will save his career, because I want whatever he's taking since he's in a La-La land right now.
I feel silly telling you the "plot", but I'm going to try to make it work. Dave is an alien who has crashed into Planet Earth, he has little people inside him who control his movements and voice. Dave is on a mission to gather all of the Earth's water and bring it back to his home planet. But when he meets a single mother, Gina, she shows him a good time in New York City and all of a sudden the little people wanna stay on Planet Earth. But one little alien named Agent number 2 is planning on succeeding at the mission and take over, yeah, that's the plot.
I work at a movie theater so I get to see movies for free, the way I figure it is even if a movie looks bad, just give it a shot, it may not be as bad as it seems. Now granted, this movie is one step above Norbit, that's the relief, but the major problem here is, this movie isn't even good for the kids, it insults everyone's intelligence. Now I love movies, I also have an extremely open mind and will say if a movie was fun and to give it a shot, but Eddie Murphy, we need to save him if he can't save himself, his intervention must be the biggest movie flop in the world, well, I think he's succeeding with Meet Dave. Meet Dave has 2 funny moments, then the rest of the script could have been written by 5 year old. I wouldn't recommend this, the only thing it wasted was my time.
2/10
I feel silly telling you the "plot", but I'm going to try to make it work. Dave is an alien who has crashed into Planet Earth, he has little people inside him who control his movements and voice. Dave is on a mission to gather all of the Earth's water and bring it back to his home planet. But when he meets a single mother, Gina, she shows him a good time in New York City and all of a sudden the little people wanna stay on Planet Earth. But one little alien named Agent number 2 is planning on succeeding at the mission and take over, yeah, that's the plot.
I work at a movie theater so I get to see movies for free, the way I figure it is even if a movie looks bad, just give it a shot, it may not be as bad as it seems. Now granted, this movie is one step above Norbit, that's the relief, but the major problem here is, this movie isn't even good for the kids, it insults everyone's intelligence. Now I love movies, I also have an extremely open mind and will say if a movie was fun and to give it a shot, but Eddie Murphy, we need to save him if he can't save himself, his intervention must be the biggest movie flop in the world, well, I think he's succeeding with Meet Dave. Meet Dave has 2 funny moments, then the rest of the script could have been written by 5 year old. I wouldn't recommend this, the only thing it wasted was my time.
2/10
- Smells_Like_Cheese
- Jul 16, 2008
- Permalink
The funniest thing about Meet Dave is that one of the credited screenwriters is Bill Corbett. Corbett was one of the head writers and stars of the 90s cult hit TV show devoted to bad movies, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Seeing his name here makes me think he still had bad movies on the brain when he wrote this uninspired and dull family comedy about tiny aliens coming to Earth. Take away the big budget and the name star above the title, and this movie would be right at home on the show he used to work on, and would be rightfully ridiculed.
Meet Dave reunites Eddie Murphy with his Norbit director, Brian Robbins. The good news is that this is a vast improvement over their last collaboration. The bad news is that's not saying much. As is usual in his recent films, Murphy plays a dual role. He plays the Captain of a race of microscopic intergalactic travelers who have come to Earth to save their far off world. He also plays their vessel, a giant robot/spaceship that looks and talks exactly like the Captain. The aliens pilot the robot from within, trying to fit in with human society, as they seek an orb that belongs to them and crashed on Earth three months ago. The orb is designed to destroy the Earth so that their planet can live by "borrowing" our world's resources. But, shortly after arriving on Earth, the aliens befriend a single mom named Gina (Elizabeth Banks) and her young son, Josh (Austin Myers), who discovered the orb when it initially crashed, and has been holding onto it ever since. The more time that the Captain and his crew spend around the humans, the more interested they become in our society, and begin to doubt their own mission.
Take that bare bones premise, and stretch it to the breaking point of 90 minutes, and you pretty much have the movie right there. To call Meet Dave padded is an understatement. The movie kind of sits there, unsure of what to do with itself. It throws in some subplots, such as a pair of cops who suspect that "Dave" (the name the giant robot the aliens pilot goes by) is not from around here, and a concerned neighbor of Gina's, but does absolutely nothing with its own material. It sets it up, and then forgets about it, so it can focus on more uninspired antics by Murphy and his co-stars. Not even the plots amongst the aliens themselves are developed to any real degree. There's a shy relationship between the Captain and a fellow crew member (Gabrielle Union), the crew's weapons specialist discovers he's gay after watching only 10 seconds of a Broadway musical, just so the movie can throw in some tired "flaming" stereotype humor (which seems very out of place in a movie targeted at kids), and the ship's second in command (The Daily Show's Ed Helms) stages a mutiny when he fears that the Captain is too interested in the Earthlings, and has forgotten the mission. In any other movie, these could have been workable story lines (okay, probably not the one about the weapons specialist...), but here they're just thrown about the plot at random, and genuinely ignored.
Meet Dave is quite literally a crashing bore. I was sitting there, seeing all this money thrown up on the screen, and I had to wonder what anyone saw in this project. It does not want to entertain, it does not want to inspire, and despite its imaginative premise, it does not want to be original. Say you were assigned with the task of writing a comedy about tiny aliens coming to Earth in a giant robot body to study us. Think of the possibilities and imagination such a premise would inspire. Would those possibilities you come up with include Murphy literally shooting money out of his rear end (and later hot dogs)? Would they include Murphy singing the Bee Gee's "Staying Alive" in a goofy voice for no reason? Would they include product placements for Old Navy? This is a commercially bankrupt film that did not have a single thought put into it, aside from how the filmmakers could make this as bland and lifeless as possible. And yes, I do think this was intentional. At one point maybe, this was a creative and witty concept, and maybe even a real screenplay. Then some studio heads got a hold of it, and tried to dumb it down as much as possible. The end result is a movie that will most likely already be gone before August hits. (Judging by how vacant my screening was.)
The summer movie season of 2008 has been one of the strongest in recent memory, so there's absolutely no reason for anyone to waste their time with Meet Dave. Kids will be bored, and adults will spend a majority of their time looking at their watches as the minutes slowly tick by. When it's done, you walk out a little bit sadder, and with a little less money in your wallet. No one needs that, and no one needs this movie. Murphy's career has survived much worse films (Norbit and Pluto Nash, anyone?), but if this is the best material he can find, he needs a good long vacation.
Meet Dave reunites Eddie Murphy with his Norbit director, Brian Robbins. The good news is that this is a vast improvement over their last collaboration. The bad news is that's not saying much. As is usual in his recent films, Murphy plays a dual role. He plays the Captain of a race of microscopic intergalactic travelers who have come to Earth to save their far off world. He also plays their vessel, a giant robot/spaceship that looks and talks exactly like the Captain. The aliens pilot the robot from within, trying to fit in with human society, as they seek an orb that belongs to them and crashed on Earth three months ago. The orb is designed to destroy the Earth so that their planet can live by "borrowing" our world's resources. But, shortly after arriving on Earth, the aliens befriend a single mom named Gina (Elizabeth Banks) and her young son, Josh (Austin Myers), who discovered the orb when it initially crashed, and has been holding onto it ever since. The more time that the Captain and his crew spend around the humans, the more interested they become in our society, and begin to doubt their own mission.
Take that bare bones premise, and stretch it to the breaking point of 90 minutes, and you pretty much have the movie right there. To call Meet Dave padded is an understatement. The movie kind of sits there, unsure of what to do with itself. It throws in some subplots, such as a pair of cops who suspect that "Dave" (the name the giant robot the aliens pilot goes by) is not from around here, and a concerned neighbor of Gina's, but does absolutely nothing with its own material. It sets it up, and then forgets about it, so it can focus on more uninspired antics by Murphy and his co-stars. Not even the plots amongst the aliens themselves are developed to any real degree. There's a shy relationship between the Captain and a fellow crew member (Gabrielle Union), the crew's weapons specialist discovers he's gay after watching only 10 seconds of a Broadway musical, just so the movie can throw in some tired "flaming" stereotype humor (which seems very out of place in a movie targeted at kids), and the ship's second in command (The Daily Show's Ed Helms) stages a mutiny when he fears that the Captain is too interested in the Earthlings, and has forgotten the mission. In any other movie, these could have been workable story lines (okay, probably not the one about the weapons specialist...), but here they're just thrown about the plot at random, and genuinely ignored.
Meet Dave is quite literally a crashing bore. I was sitting there, seeing all this money thrown up on the screen, and I had to wonder what anyone saw in this project. It does not want to entertain, it does not want to inspire, and despite its imaginative premise, it does not want to be original. Say you were assigned with the task of writing a comedy about tiny aliens coming to Earth in a giant robot body to study us. Think of the possibilities and imagination such a premise would inspire. Would those possibilities you come up with include Murphy literally shooting money out of his rear end (and later hot dogs)? Would they include Murphy singing the Bee Gee's "Staying Alive" in a goofy voice for no reason? Would they include product placements for Old Navy? This is a commercially bankrupt film that did not have a single thought put into it, aside from how the filmmakers could make this as bland and lifeless as possible. And yes, I do think this was intentional. At one point maybe, this was a creative and witty concept, and maybe even a real screenplay. Then some studio heads got a hold of it, and tried to dumb it down as much as possible. The end result is a movie that will most likely already be gone before August hits. (Judging by how vacant my screening was.)
The summer movie season of 2008 has been one of the strongest in recent memory, so there's absolutely no reason for anyone to waste their time with Meet Dave. Kids will be bored, and adults will spend a majority of their time looking at their watches as the minutes slowly tick by. When it's done, you walk out a little bit sadder, and with a little less money in your wallet. No one needs that, and no one needs this movie. Murphy's career has survived much worse films (Norbit and Pluto Nash, anyone?), but if this is the best material he can find, he needs a good long vacation.
How should I put this?!... Weird. Don't watch. Okay, funny in some scenes for really young kids, that's it. Wouldn't recommend it so sorry to everyone who made this or liked it
- katean-41775
- Dec 29, 2018
- Permalink
Meet Dave is the story of a crew of miniature people inhabiting a big robot who has come to Earth on a mission to save his people. Eddie Murphy plays the Captain of the vessel and the outward version of the vessel which as automaton has limited capacity for emotion. However after he is damaged in a collision with a vehicle he decides to attempt to learn more about these earth people, spending time with Gina who ran him over and her son Josh, who worries that he isn't a hero like his late father. As you can tell from what's been written so far, this is no kitchen sink drama but a light-hearted Disney-esquire comedy.
Meet Dave is a fun family film that doesn't challenge us too much and has it's heart in the right place. There is plenty of toilet humour which kids always love and some genuinely funny moments throughout, I laughed, the audience laughed. We did not pelt the screen in outrage and nor did we sit there in silence for 2 hours as we did with the film I mentioned to start with. The film is like a cross between "Galaxy Quest" and "Doctor Dolittle" and while the humour is more akin to the latter "Dolittle" this is still a fun family film. So why three or less?
I think that for many film reviewers that sit through and be nice to the usual tripe that passes for entertainment over this season there has to be a villain, a film that they slate that then bombs as a result, and sadly this is that film. I also suspect that there is also an element of "compromise movie on a date" disappointment and maybe even a few "The film I wanted to see was full and I have to sit through this" resentments going on. Having seen some truly terrible mediocre films that critics rave about like "Charlie's Angels" and "Forty days and forty nights" these films that no critic has the b*lls to slag off for fear they won't be invited to more screenings, well boo hoo! I have no cross to bear in that department and this is a film that is funny when it wants to be, it means well, and, whilst it is a tad predictable, the same age group of kids that liked "Dr Dolittle" will certainly like this, especially appropriate for younger children who may find "WALL-E" hard going, bearing in mind it is great for adults and older children, but not necessarily very young kids. P
Critics are just jumping on the bandwagon to attack this film, it really isn't as bad as the examples I've mentioned. The only drawback in this film is that the effects aren't particularly great at a number of points but better to have a film that's okay with poor effects than poor with okay effects.
If your family enjoyed Firehouse Dog, and the silly humour of that, chances are they'll like this.
Family Fun
Meet Dave is a fun family film that doesn't challenge us too much and has it's heart in the right place. There is plenty of toilet humour which kids always love and some genuinely funny moments throughout, I laughed, the audience laughed. We did not pelt the screen in outrage and nor did we sit there in silence for 2 hours as we did with the film I mentioned to start with. The film is like a cross between "Galaxy Quest" and "Doctor Dolittle" and while the humour is more akin to the latter "Dolittle" this is still a fun family film. So why three or less?
I think that for many film reviewers that sit through and be nice to the usual tripe that passes for entertainment over this season there has to be a villain, a film that they slate that then bombs as a result, and sadly this is that film. I also suspect that there is also an element of "compromise movie on a date" disappointment and maybe even a few "The film I wanted to see was full and I have to sit through this" resentments going on. Having seen some truly terrible mediocre films that critics rave about like "Charlie's Angels" and "Forty days and forty nights" these films that no critic has the b*lls to slag off for fear they won't be invited to more screenings, well boo hoo! I have no cross to bear in that department and this is a film that is funny when it wants to be, it means well, and, whilst it is a tad predictable, the same age group of kids that liked "Dr Dolittle" will certainly like this, especially appropriate for younger children who may find "WALL-E" hard going, bearing in mind it is great for adults and older children, but not necessarily very young kids. P
Critics are just jumping on the bandwagon to attack this film, it really isn't as bad as the examples I've mentioned. The only drawback in this film is that the effects aren't particularly great at a number of points but better to have a film that's okay with poor effects than poor with okay effects.
If your family enjoyed Firehouse Dog, and the silly humour of that, chances are they'll like this.
Family Fun
- cosmorados
- Jul 17, 2008
- Permalink
- anaconda-40658
- Jul 28, 2015
- Permalink
I've just watched the film and wanted to take a look at it on IMDb. I actually couldn't believe that it's scored only 3.2 . Well, if your understanding of comedy is chicks with no tops in it and using slang language, then maybe this is not a film for you. But the film has clearly nice, fun jokes. It's suitable for families. I actually enjoyed the film and would suggest it. I have enjoyed watching film of Eddie Murphy since my childhood and with this film he still shows he's really a nice comedian. So i can say to people who would like to spend some time with laughing, they can go and see this movie. I don't think they'd not like it if comedy is what they are looking for.
I have hated most Eddie Murphy's "family movies", but this one took me a little by surprise. It was a real family movie that appeals to both young and old alike. Many others have gone into detail on this film, so I won't.
But I think it really helped that I was in the right frame of mind for this one... I just didn't expect anything good to come of this and the trailer didn't help. It made the movie look real dumb and I took a pass on this one for a long time. It made it look like a goofy comedy without any real heart and it dose have heart as the aliens begin to be corrupted by human emotions. So for some real family fun, you should check this one out.
But I think it really helped that I was in the right frame of mind for this one... I just didn't expect anything good to come of this and the trailer didn't help. It made the movie look real dumb and I took a pass on this one for a long time. It made it look like a goofy comedy without any real heart and it dose have heart as the aliens begin to be corrupted by human emotions. So for some real family fun, you should check this one out.
I think kids may like this movie, but I didn't care for it. I didn't find it funny. What's supposed to be funny about seeing Eddie Murphy do his best Al Gore impression? He acts so wooden in this as robot Dave. Dave is really a space ship and little people (aliens) live inside Dave. They have come to earth to take the earth's ocean so get the salt reserves to save their planet. They are tracking an orb that fell into Josh Morrison's room. And what a coincidence that Josh's mom, Gina, just happens to hit Dave with her car and invites him up. Now who in New York City what invite some strange guy into their apartment for breakfast. Gina teaches the aliens about love and eventually, they don't want to destroy earth.
FINAL VERDICT: Unoriginal. Meant more for kids.
FINAL VERDICT: Unoriginal. Meant more for kids.
This film is about an alien spaceship coming to Earth to find the Orb. The crew learns about the Earth culture, people and emotions along the way.
"Meet Dave" captures on the cultural shock of aliens coming to Earth. Just like humans going to another country, aliens don't quite now what do do or say in another planet! It also mixes emotional elements. The relationship between Gina and Dave is convincingly portrayed, and they have great chemistry with each other. The scenes in the theme park is heartwarming, and the dance scene is pure fun! The plot is imaginative, clean and fun. It has so many good lines, such as the ones making fun of the names Google and Yahoo. The plot is funny and entertaining, and the best part of it is that it makes sense! I am so tired of silly comedies, filled with grossed out toilet jokes. "Meet Dave" is a refreshing change in the comedy genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Meet Dave". I think the low ratings are from the haters who have not watched the film, just like people giving a "1" to a Paris Hilton film without watching it. This film totally deserves a much higher rating.
"Meet Dave" captures on the cultural shock of aliens coming to Earth. Just like humans going to another country, aliens don't quite now what do do or say in another planet! It also mixes emotional elements. The relationship between Gina and Dave is convincingly portrayed, and they have great chemistry with each other. The scenes in the theme park is heartwarming, and the dance scene is pure fun! The plot is imaginative, clean and fun. It has so many good lines, such as the ones making fun of the names Google and Yahoo. The plot is funny and entertaining, and the best part of it is that it makes sense! I am so tired of silly comedies, filled with grossed out toilet jokes. "Meet Dave" is a refreshing change in the comedy genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Meet Dave". I think the low ratings are from the haters who have not watched the film, just like people giving a "1" to a Paris Hilton film without watching it. This film totally deserves a much higher rating.
An entire generation has grown up wondering why Eddie Murphy was once considered funny. This film will not answer that question.
Really, we're supposed to think that awkward, stiff motions and leering grimaces are somehow humorous? This doesn't even rise to the level of fart humor.
The Elizabeth Banks character should be reported to Child Protection and Services for letting her kid go anywhere near this creepy weirdo. But Austyn Myers as Josh gives a winning performance, and he ALMOST sells the idea that a kid would find "Dave" fascinating, kind of like a car wreck.
Ed Helms, as #2, tries to inject a voice of sanity and duty into the command chamber, and he gets rewarded by being painted as arrogant, vindictive, and power-mad.
Jut-jawed security guy Pat Kilbane's #4 has his latent gayness triggered by exposure to "A Chorus Line", following which he goes all flouncy and twittery. Really, could the stereotyping get any more offensive?
Gabrielle Union as #3 sure is a treat for the eyes, tho, and you can see where the gargantuan budget for this box-office disaster ended up: pretty much entirely paying for the Murphy name and the special effects, with hardly a thot to the screenplay and direction.
Really, we're supposed to think that awkward, stiff motions and leering grimaces are somehow humorous? This doesn't even rise to the level of fart humor.
The Elizabeth Banks character should be reported to Child Protection and Services for letting her kid go anywhere near this creepy weirdo. But Austyn Myers as Josh gives a winning performance, and he ALMOST sells the idea that a kid would find "Dave" fascinating, kind of like a car wreck.
Ed Helms, as #2, tries to inject a voice of sanity and duty into the command chamber, and he gets rewarded by being painted as arrogant, vindictive, and power-mad.
Jut-jawed security guy Pat Kilbane's #4 has his latent gayness triggered by exposure to "A Chorus Line", following which he goes all flouncy and twittery. Really, could the stereotyping get any more offensive?
Gabrielle Union as #3 sure is a treat for the eyes, tho, and you can see where the gargantuan budget for this box-office disaster ended up: pretty much entirely paying for the Murphy name and the special effects, with hardly a thot to the screenplay and direction.
- RichardSRussell-1
- Jul 20, 2008
- Permalink
From the outset, you know this is not going to change your life.
So you expect a reasonably well made family comedy which will give you 90 minutes of entertainment, a few good laughs, and that's it.
I DID laugh, especially in the first half, with Eddie Murphy delivering a sincere and funny performance. The film reminded me a lot of MIB (especially with the little alien in the artificial body) but I do admit that after the first half, I started checking how long was left, and not laughing any more.
That's because you need to end the film, you see. And the writers had a funny idea to start with, and no clue on how to close the script (did they write the script as the shooting was going on? It really looks like it).
Of course if I were 7 years old, I probably would not care much - but as a grown up paying for the seats, I do. I will watch the first half again with pleasure when it's on TV, but I would not recommend paying to see it.
So you expect a reasonably well made family comedy which will give you 90 minutes of entertainment, a few good laughs, and that's it.
I DID laugh, especially in the first half, with Eddie Murphy delivering a sincere and funny performance. The film reminded me a lot of MIB (especially with the little alien in the artificial body) but I do admit that after the first half, I started checking how long was left, and not laughing any more.
That's because you need to end the film, you see. And the writers had a funny idea to start with, and no clue on how to close the script (did they write the script as the shooting was going on? It really looks like it).
Of course if I were 7 years old, I probably would not care much - but as a grown up paying for the seats, I do. I will watch the first half again with pleasure when it's on TV, but I would not recommend paying to see it.
Meet Dave is nowhere near as atrocious as Norbit, but if you want an Eddie Murphy classic look no further than Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours and Trading Places. The premise in Meet Dave is stupid in a way but it was intriguing too, the film visually doesn't look too shabby, it starts off very well and Scott Caan and Elizabeth Banks give fun performances. Sadly I can't say the same for Murphy, who tries too hard and over-compensates embarrassingly. He is saddled with some of the weakest material of the film to be fair. The humour in general is very lame and lowbrow, the gags are mostly unimaginative and the script is unfunny and only got a raised eyebrow from me at one or two points. And while the concept is decent, how the story itself is executed isn't so much, it did feel very rushed and some scenes screamed of you've-seen-it-all-before kind of sensation you can get sometimes, while the direction is unfocused. Overall, liked the concept, disliked in general the film. 4/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jun 4, 2011
- Permalink
When I saw the previews for this movie I thought that it looked lame and didn't care to see it. But then I decided it couldn't hurt to check it out. And luckily, to my surprise, I was actually amused and entertained by it. Sure, some of the jokes are typical and predictable, but the overall feel of the movie was very consistent and provided me with plenty of good laughs. And while the storyline lacked depth, it was still quite creative and well accomplished. So if you want to see a good family movie with the kids or just to give yourself some laughs, this movie is a really good pick. Just watch it to be entertained rather than for a strong story or else you will likely be disappointed.
- rossoncall
- Oct 2, 2008
- Permalink
You know, these critics need to go easy on these kinds of family movies, because the bad reviews really made me underestimate the film. But when I saw it, I really enjoyed it. For a family movie, Meet Dave is great. Although it was a bit superficial, it kept me laughing almost throughout. I don't even know why it's getting such bad reviews. I do know though that bad marketing is the main cause of the film being so unsuccessful .
Meet Dave focuses on a bunch of miniature aliens who land their human-sized spaceship on earth on the lookout for their lost "orb". Eddie Murphy plays both an alien and a spaceship perfectly. Especially the first part of the film as he is getting accustomed to earth people is just hilarious. The things he does and how he does them are really funny.
Usually I somewhat believe what the critics say about a movie. But this is one film that certainly made me not believe in what they say.
6.8/10
Meet Dave focuses on a bunch of miniature aliens who land their human-sized spaceship on earth on the lookout for their lost "orb". Eddie Murphy plays both an alien and a spaceship perfectly. Especially the first part of the film as he is getting accustomed to earth people is just hilarious. The things he does and how he does them are really funny.
Usually I somewhat believe what the critics say about a movie. But this is one film that certainly made me not believe in what they say.
6.8/10
- MairegChernet
- Aug 5, 2008
- Permalink
Well... top 10 worst movies ever!! Eddie Murphy didn't even try to act in this movie. I have to say, this movie is OK if you are between the ages of 1-4. i am 23 and don't get me worng, i do enjoy a good childish comedy sometimes, but this, was awful. Period. I would really like to see Eddie Murphy get another Razzie award for this movie. I would LOVE to see this movie get a worst picture nomination too. I don't understand why it wouldn't. Eddie Murphy did do a few good movies, Dreamgirls, Daddy Day Care, Life. But this movie ranks with Norbit as one of his absolute worst ever! Just looking at that evil grin on eddie murphys face on the front cover gives me the gooonies. Well... all my advice is for all you people out there who don't want to embarrass yourself watching this, don't. Save yourself the money and time.
- alfredhitchcock101
- Dec 4, 2008
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Before I start ranting I would like to make it clear that I think this site is fantastic as it epitomises democracy and allows people to present all their contrasting opinions which are all equally valid. However I have a problem with some people who seem to take a snobbish attitude to films (and culture in general), and seem to discount a film's credibility before/after they've seen it, often due to the actors or even the audience that it is aimed at. If you don't like silly films with dubious reality, then why go and see an Eddie Murphy film in the first place?!In my opinion each film should be rated on it's individual merits, and how it compares to the genre. Why not go and see a film with an open mind and then rate it on the reaction that it provokes? This is a film for children and adults alike, not meant to be taken seriously but is a Hilarious film! There is not one person in the cinema who was not creasing themselves...I was sat next to a man in his fifties who enjoyed it just as much as I did!I am normally a bit undecided when it comes to Eddie Murphy, but this is by far the best film I have seen him in. His physical comedy and facial expressions are comic genius, and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments. Yes, it is definitely a silly comedy and the plot deteriorates vastly in the last third and is swamped in sentimentality. However isn't that what you expect from Eddie Murphy and a Hollywood film?! If you fancy 90 minutes of fun and pure laughter then this is the film for you...however if you are not a fan of Eddie Murphy or silly comedy (elf, galaxy quest etc) then give it a wide berth!
- mattramsden8-1
- Jul 20, 2008
- Permalink
It's a strange little movie and it's a little hard to believe no one would notice the aliens in some scenes. There are some obvious cgi and compositing, but if you are the type like myself that gets a kick out goofs you might actually like it anyway. As for the humor itself, I liked it and did laugh out for some parts. If you were to make-believe what an experience for tiny people would be like, the situational writing is quite good and understandable. Ed Helms is interesting to see as the uptight and funnily named Number Two and he might be a surprise to some who might not have remembered that he was in this.
I'm not promising you'll like it, but perhaps if you read more on the flaws before expecting anything great, it might be more tolerable. Seems to work with me.
I'm not promising you'll like it, but perhaps if you read more on the flaws before expecting anything great, it might be more tolerable. Seems to work with me.
- NinetyEighty
- Nov 16, 2013
- Permalink
- Grant_Price
- Jul 17, 2008
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