Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps

Granted, saying The Klumps is by far this summer’s funniest comedy isn’t saying that much, but for many reasons it does stand alone. Eddie Murphy brings several disparate characters to life with an inspiration that bypasses mere comedy. The Klump family, a sight gag in the first Nutty Professor, is cut loose and let out of the house this time around, made flesh by Rick Baker’s flawless makeup magic and given the breath of life by Murphy. Be warned, however—the film’s PG-13 rating is meaningless, what with every scatological variation in the book turned inside out and gleefully thrown at the audience as if by a nasty caged monkey. It’s all funny as hell, but I sure wouldn’t want to try explaining to the kiddies what’s going on as a horny, 12-foot-tall hamster goes in through one hapless character’s out door. At times The Klumps is pure gonzo comedy, inspired in a frantic sort of way… Ed-deeee getting Raw again. But in a year that has found me repeatedly glaring at wretched “comedies” playing out across multiplex screens (as I nibbled sneeringly on brie, between sips of Chablis), it was a joy to have my cynical expectations shattered, and to spend two hours repeatedly laughing out loud. And Janet Jackson’s presence didn’t hurt, either (on the screen, I mean… sheeese, as if).