The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writer (WGA):

Neil Cuthbert (written by)

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Man On The Moon

Plot:

In the future, a man struggles to keep control of his nightclub from mafia control in space.

Plot Keywords:

Moon | Box Office Flop | Fall From Height | Bodyguard | Explosion

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Pluto Nash
Randy Quaid	...	Bruno
Rosario Dawson	...	Dina Lake
Joe Pantoliano	...	Mogan
Jay Mohr	...	Tony Francis
Luis Guzmán	...	Felix Laranga
James Rebhorn	...	Belcher
Peter Boyle	...	Rowland
Burt Young	...	Gino
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Miguel
Pam Grier	...	Flura Nash
John Cleese	...	James
Victor Varnado	...	Kelp
Illeana Douglas	...	Dr. Mona Zimmer
Jacynthe René	...	Babette

Also Known As:

Pluto Nash (UK) (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual humor and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Malaysia:18SG | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:12 | Netherlands:AL | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

The original script was written in 1985. A dozen other writers wrote treatments of it, but Neil Cuthbert was the only one credited.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the end fight, Pluto Nash's twin falls and crashes onto the Blackjack table, the female on the right side has no reaction but step back, smiles, and doesn't even spill her champagne while everybody else is shocked and jumping back. In the escape scene, when Pluto and Dina are leaving the secret warehouse, Dina is wearing a purple spacesuit, then later on while traveling in the space car she is wearing an orange space suit. When they exit the car her spacesuit is purple again.

Quotes:

Dina Lake: What makes you so sure he'll help us out?
Pluto Nash: Oh, he'll help us. He couldn't sing a note if it weren't for me.
Dina Lake: You taught Tony Francis how to sing?
Pluto Nash: No, I convinced a bookie not to pour some acid down his throat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Halftime Special (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Do You Love Me?

Poor Randy Quaid!

This is just another example of the continuing downward spiral of Eddie Murphy's once exciting career. Murphy will always have scripts handed to him and he'll always be working in films but the once edgy comedian has lost his edge a long time ago. This story takes place in the future where Earth has populated the Moon and a former smuggler named Pluto Nash (Murphy) takes over a nightclub from a friend and Nash makes it a big success and moneymaker. A young woman and aspiring singer named Dina Lake (Rosario Dawson) asks for a job but all Nash gives her is the opportunity to waitress. Some mobsters have been buying up the local business's and they want Nash's club but he won't sell. So they blow the place up and try to kill him but Nash, Dina and a robot named Bruno (Randy Quaid) escape and the mobsters try and find him. This film was directed by Ron Underwood who is usually reliable with lightweight comedy like this but this film fails from the outset. The special effects are adequate but not overly impressive. Many of the scenes are clearly filmed on a soundstage and in one shot Underwood resorts to actors being hoisted by wires for the gravity effect. Didn't they stop doing that in the 60's? And poor Randy Quaid has to play a horny and overly sensitive robot. Were we really suppose to find it amusing that he tries to get it on with other robots? But the big flaw comes from Murphy himself. This once exciting comedian use to be so reliable for edgy performances but here he plays his character totally straight. As you watch this you keep waiting for Murphy to say something witty and off the cuff but it never happens. It looks like Murphy has decided to try and be an action star or be the romantic lead. Murphy has become boring to watch and its sad to watch his films now. Pam Grier pops up as Murphy's mother but she has nothing to do. She has maybe two scenes and then she runs off (Literally). This film wastes opportunities and the script has nothing new to offer. Along with Murphy's boring and drab performance this film was dead on arrival!