Doctor Dolittle

with Eddie Murphy, Peter Boyle, Ossie Davis
Directed by Betty Thomas
Written by Hugh Lofting, Nat Mauldin
by Scott Hefflon

Eddie Murphy in a PG-13 movie… Who’da thunk? (Let’s overlook The Nutty Professor, OK, there’s a trend starting here.) It’s good to see Eddie Murphy as something other than the wise-cracking, larger-than-life character he usually gets cast as. Whether it be Beverly Hills Cop or Trading Places, Murphy always has to bug his eyes, spew street-smartisms, and laugh that laugh you’d hate from anyone else. Murphy is the straight man here, letting the animals get the easy laughs. With Ellen DeGeneres as his childhood dog, Norm MacDonald as his new “best friend,” Albert Brooks as the sick, lamenting tiger, Chris Rock as Rocky the Hamster, and the team of Reni Santoni and John Leguizamo as the rats, Murphy is in good comedic company. And with Jim Henson Muppet team creating the animals (oh, and there are fun little cameos galore), this is a combo that can’t miss. And it doesn’t.

It’s one of those fun, dorky movies that could’ve come out years ago or could’ve come out years from now and it still would’ve been the same – timeless, funny, and not-quite-a-classic. Not that you really need a plot summary, but Dolittle used to be able to converse with animals until his father thought it was time for him to grow up. Now he’s rich, has a family, and is kind of a tight-assed dick. Then he hits his head in an accident and he can talk with animals again. Not that he wants to. So he fights it, everyone thinks he’s nuts, but sooner or later he comes to terms with his gift and learns what’s important in life. It’s funny, it warms the heart, rent it on dollar night or when you and your better half can’t agree on anything else.