A Thousand Words (film)

Last updated
A Thousand Words
A Thousand Words Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian Robbins
Written by Steve Koren
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Clark Mathis
Edited byNed Bastille
Music by John Debney
Production
companies
Distributed by Paramount Pictures [1]
Release date
  • March 9, 2012 (2012-03-09)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million [2]
Box office$22 million [3]

A Thousand Words is a 2012 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Brian Robbins from a script by Steve Koren, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Eddie Murphy. It was released in theaters on March 9, 2012, four years after it was filmed. Critics panned the film as formulaic and outdated, and for miscasting Eddie Murphy in a mostly silent role. It is currently one of a small number of films with a 0% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It was also a box office bomb, having grossed just $22 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. As of 2023, it is the last film directed by Robbins, as he would move on into a career as a media executive, ultimately leading to a role as chief executive officer of what became by then Paramount Global by 2022. It would ultimately also be Murphy's last film appearance for four years, until he appeared in the 2016 independent film Mr. Church .

Contents

Plot

Literary agent Jack McCall uses his "gift of gab" to get various book deals, and he is not afraid to stretch the truth to get them. While he is trying to get a deal from New Age self-help guru Dr. Sinja, he sees through Jack's deceit but agrees to the deal.

That night, a Bodhi Tree appears in Jack's backyard, so he assumes it's a gift from Dr. Sinja. The next day, Jack discovers that Sinja has written a five-page book and goes to confront him.

After Jack mentions the bodhi tree, Dr. Sinja goes to his house and they discover that for every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls off. When it runs out of leaves, it will die, as will Jack. He finds that even written words and gestures towards words count towards his limit; plus anything that happens to the tree also affects him. When Jack tries to cut it down with an axe, a wound appears on him. When squirrels climb the tree, it tickles him. When a gardener tries to poison it with DDT, Jack gets high on the fumes and when the gardener tries to water it, Jack starts to sweat and perspire profusely.

With Jack forced to choose his words carefully, communication becomes difficult and full of misunderstandings. These cost him two book deals, his job, his wife Caroline and his son, Tyler. She walks out on him when she thinks his sudden silence is due to him not loving her anymore. She doesn't believe him when he tries to explain the tree to her.

Only Jack's assistant Aaron Weisberger realizes he is telling the truth, and goes to his house to keep track of how many leaves remain. Jack tries to break the curse by being a better person by giving food to the homeless, and donating some of his money to charity, but that plan fails.

Jack drinks a lot of alcohol in the night, causing him to sing a lot, thus making the tree lose most of its leaves. Only when Aaron confronts him and tackles him to the ground does he stop speaking and fall asleep.

With his life falling apart and the tree running out of leaves, Jack confronts Dr. Sinja and asks how to end the curse. The guru tells him to make peace in all of his relationships. With just one branch of leaves left, Jack tries to reconcile with his wife, but she remains hesitant. He visits his mother Annie, who lives in an assisted-living center and has dementia.

Annie tells Jack, who she thinks is his late father Raymond, that she wishes Jack would stop being angry at his father for walking out on them when he was a kid. Realizing this is the relationship that needs the most mending, he visits his father's grave. Jack expends the last three leaves of the tree with the words "I forgive you".

With no leaves remaining, Jack suffers a heart attack in a storm. Aaron then calls him on his cell phone. Still alive, Jack answers his phone. Aaron tells him the tree's leaves have magically reappeared, so he can now talk freely again.

Jack writes a book about his experience, called A Thousand Words, and gets Aaron, who was promoted to Jack's old position, to make the deal. Unfortunately for him, the promotion causes him to be like Jack was, thus he gets his own smaller office Bodhi Tree (though it's implied to be a prank since no leaves are shown falling off as Aaron speaks). Jack and Caroline get back together, buying the family-friendly house she had asked for, with the bodhi tree in their front yard.

Cast

Production

A Thousand Words was filmed in August 2008 in Los Angeles, California and was supposed to be released in 2009, but was repeatedly delayed after being caught up in the separation of DreamWorks Pictures from Paramount Pictures and Viacom. [4] During an interview for Fred: The Movie , director Brian Robbins stated that the film would be released in 2011. [5] Reshoots were done on the film early in 2011. [4]

The film was then scheduled for a January 2012 release, but after Murphy was announced as the host of the 2012 Oscar ceremony (he later stepped down), [6] the film was given a date of March 23, 2012; [7] this was later pushed to April 20, 2012, [8] before being pushed up to its eventual release date of March 9, 2012. [9]

Plans for a British release date of June 8, 2012, were cancelled due to the film's failure in the United States, [10] and the film was instead released direct-to-DVD in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2012. [11]

Release

Box office

A Thousand Words grossed $18,450,127 in North America, along with $3,594,150 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $22,044,277, against an estimated production budget of $40 million.

In the United States. The film along with John Carter and Silent House was expected to gross $5 million on its opening weekend. The film made $1.9 million on Friday and it ended up debuting at sixth with a $6.1 million on its opening weekend.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 3.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Dated jokes (A Thousand Words was shot in 2008) and removing Eddie Murphy's voice – his greatest comedic asset – dooms this painful mess from the start." [12] The site also gave the film their "Moldy Tomato" award for the worst-reviewed film of 2012. [13] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 26 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale. [15] [16]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter calls the film another example of "how the talented performer's poor choice of material continually undercuts him". Although Scheck praises Murphy's efforts, he concludes, "The formulaic script by Steve Koren doesn't manage to exploit the absurd premise with any discernible wit or invention, and the star is left floundering." [17] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one and a half out of four stars and wrote: "The poster art for A Thousand Words shows Eddie Murphy with duct tape over his mouth, which as a promotional idea ranks right up there with Fred Astaire in leg irons." Ebert was also critical of the plot because it "never explains the rules". [18]

Justin Chang of Variety wrote: "Alas, even Murphy's largely wordless, physically adroit performance can't redeem this tortured exercise in high-concept spiritualist hokum." [19] Andrew Pulver of The Guardian commented, "Everyone, it seems, is united by A Thousand Words' awfulness." [20]

Accolades

A Thousand Words was nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, but received none of them.[ citation needed ]

33rd Golden Raspberry Awards

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Murphy</span> American actor and comedian (born 1961)

Edward Regan Murphy is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He shot to fame on the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. Murphy has received accolades such as the Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2023.

<i>3000 Miles to Graceland</i> 2001 American crime film by Demian Lichtenstein

3000 Miles to Graceland is a 2001 American action comedy film directed and co-produced by Demian Lichtenstein. The original script was written by Richard Recco, and Demian Lichtenstein shares a co-writing credit on the final film. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Christian Slater, Kevin Pollak and Daisy McCrackin.

<i>Another 48 Hrs.</i> 1990 film by Walter Hill

Another 48 Hrs. is a 1990 American buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill and starring Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, Brion James, Andrew Divoff, and Ed O'Ross. It is the sequel to the 1982 film 48 Hrs. Nolte reprises his role as San Francisco police officer Jack Cates, who has 48 hours to clear his name from a manslaughter charge. To do so, he again needs the help of Reggie Hammond (Murphy), who is a newly released convict. At the same time, a mastermind known only as the Iceman has hired a biker gang to kill Reggie.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop III</i> 1994 American action comedy film by John Landis

Beverly Hills Cop III is a 1994 American action comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on Trading Places and Coming to America. It is the third film in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. Murphy again plays Detroit detective Axel Foley, who once again returns to Beverly Hills and teams up with detective Billy Rosewood to stop a gang of counterfeiters at a local amusement park called Wonder World.

<i>Harlem Nights</i> 1989 film by Eddie Murphy

Harlem Nights is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring, written, and directed by Eddie Murphy. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.

<i>Get Carter</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Stephen Kay

Get Carter is a 2000 American action thriller film directed by Stephen Kay, written by David McKenna, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, John C. McGinley, Rhona Mitra, and Michael Caine. Based on the Ted Lewis' novel Jack's Return Home, the film is a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, in which a younger Caine played the title role.

<i>48 Hrs.</i> 1982 buddy cop film by Walter Hill

48 Hrs. is a 1982 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-written by Walter Hill, co-written by Larry Gross, Steven E. de Souza and Roger Spottiswoode, and starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and a convict, respectively, who team up to catch two hardened criminals. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime.

<i>Metro</i> (1997 film) 1997 film directed by Thomas Carter

Metro is a 1997 American action comedy drama film directed by Thomas Carter, written by Randy Feldman, and produced by Roger Birnbaum. It stars Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, and Michael Wincott. The plot follows Scott Roper (Murphy), a hostage negotiator and inspector for the San Francisco Police Department who seeks revenge against a psychotic jewel thief, Michael Korda (Wincott), who murdered Roper's best friend. Metro was released on January 17, 1997 in the United States and grossed $74 million worldwide.

<i>11:14</i> 2003 film by Greg Marcks

11:14 is a 2003 neo-noir black comedy thriller film written and directed by Greg Marcks. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Rachael Leigh Cook, Ben Foster, Clark Gregg, Colin Hanks, Shawn Hatosy, Barbara Hershey, Stark Sands, Hilary Swank, Patrick Swayze, and Henry Thomas. It follows five different storylines that all lead up to a series of events that happen one evening at 11:14.

<i>The Distinguished Gentleman</i> 1992 film by Jonathan Lynn

The Distinguished Gentleman is a 1992 American political comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. The film was directed by Jonathan Lynn. In addition to Murphy, the film stars Lane Smith, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Joe Don Baker, Victoria Rowell, Grant Shaud, Kevin McCarthy, and Charles S. Dutton.

<i>Vampire in Brooklyn</i> 1995 film directed by Wes Craven

Vampire in Brooklyn is a 1995 American vampire comedy horror film directed by Wes Craven. It stars Eddie Murphy, who produced and wrote with his brothers Vernon Lynch and Charles Q. Murphy. The film co-stars Angela Bassett, Allen Payne, Kadeem Hardison, John Witherspoon, Zakes Mokae, and Joanna Cassidy. Murphy also plays an alcoholic preacher, Pauly, and a foul-mouthed Italian-American mobster, Guido, respectively.

<i>Norbit</i> 2007 film by Brian Robbins

Norbit is a 2007 American romantic comedy film, directed by Brian Robbins, and co-written by, co-produced by, and starring Eddie Murphy. The film co-stars Thandiwe Newton, Terry Crews, Cuba Gooding Jr., Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams, Marlon Wayans, and Charlie Murphy. It was released by DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures on February 9, 2007. Eddie Murphy portrays multiple roles including the eponymous Norbit and his abusive obese wife Rasputia; regretting ever having married her, Norbit decides he has had enough of her behavior at about the same time that his childhood sweetheart Kate returns to his life with plans for the orphanage where Norbit and Kate grew up. Norbit risks everything to be with her, but must also contend with Rasputia and her brothers, who have an agenda of their own.

<i>Meet Dave</i> 2008 film by Brian Robbins

Meet Dave is a 2008 American science fiction comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Bill Corbett and Rob Greenberg. It stars Eddie Murphy in the title role, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Scott Caan and Kevin Hart. The film was released on July 11, 2008 and grossed $50 million against a $60 million budget.

<i>The Pick-up Artist</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by James Toback

The Pick-up Artist is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, written and directed by James Toback, starring Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. in the lead roles.

<i>Imagine That</i> (film) 2009 film by Karey Kirkpatrick

Imagine That is a 2009 comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, and written by Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson. It centers on the relationship between a workaholic father (Murphy) and his daughter, Olivia, whose imaginary world becomes the secret to her father's success.

<i>Ghost Town</i> (2008 film) 2008 film directed by David Koepp

Ghost Town is a 2008 American fantasy comedy film directed by David Koepp, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Kamps. It stars English comedian Ricky Gervais in his first leading feature-film role, as a dentist who can see and talk with ghosts, along with Téa Leoni as a young widow and Greg Kinnear as her recently deceased husband. Gavin Polone produced the film for Spyglass Entertainment and Pariah, and it was distributed by Paramount Pictures through the DreamWorks Pictures label.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> (franchise) American action comedy franchise

Beverly Hills Cop is a film franchise of American action comedy films and an unaired television pilot based on characters created by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach. The films star Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop who travels to Beverly Hills, California to investigate a crime, even though it is out of his jurisdiction. There, he meets Detective Billy Rosewood, Sergeant John Taggart, and Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil. Ashton and Cox do not appear in Beverly Hills Cop III. Murphy and Reinhold are the only actors who appear in all four films. Harold Faltermeyer produced the "Axel F" theme song heard throughout the series. The first three films have been distributed by Paramount Pictures, while Netflix is set to distribute the fourth film. The films have grossed a total of $735 million at the worldwide box office.

<i>Just Go with It</i> 2011 romantic comedy movie directed by Dennis Dugan

Just Go with It is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Heather Parry. It is a remake of the 1969 film Cactus Flower, and stars Sandler and Jennifer Aniston with Nicole Kidman, Nick Swardson, Brooklyn Decker, Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, and Heidi Montag in supporting roles. It tells the story of a plastic surgeon who enlists his assistant into helping him woo a sixth-grade math teacher.

<i>Jack and Jill</i> (2011 film) 2011 comedy film by Dennis Dugan

Jack and Jill is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan from a script by Steve Koren and Adam Sandler. Released on November 11, 2011 by Columbia Pictures, the film stars Sandler in a dual role as the titular twin siblings, as well as Katie Holmes and Al Pacino. It tells the story of an advertisement executive who dreads the visit of his unemployed twin sister during Thanksgiving and overstays into Hanukkah at the time when he is instructed to get Al Pacino to appear in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial.

<i>Villain</i> (2020 film) 2020 British film

Villain is a 2020 British action crime drama film directed by Philip Barantini and starring Craig Fairbrass. It is Barantini's feature directorial debut. The film received generally positive reviews, was the critics choice in The New York Times and reached number seven in the US iTunes movie chart.

References

  1. 1 2 "A Thousand Words (2012): Full Production Credits". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
  2. ↑ "Movie Projector: Few signs of life for pricey fantasy 'John Carter'". Los Angeles Times . March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  3. ↑ "A Thousand Words (2012)". Box Office Mojo . Amazon.com . Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Shelved Eddie Murphy Film 'A Thousand Words' Gets January 2012 Release Date". /Film . 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  5. ↑ "Director Brian Robbins Exclusive Interview FRED: THE MOVIE; Plus an Update on A THOUSAND WORDS Starring Eddie Murphy". Collider.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  6. ↑ Batty, David (November 9, 2011). "Eddie Murphy quits Oscars after homophobia row". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Paramount Realizes Oscars Are Huge Commercial For Eddie Murphy, Moves 'A Thousand Words' to March 2012". /Film . 16 September 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  8. ↑ "'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' Delays To 2013 So Jeremy Renner More Of Global Draw". Deadline Hollywood (January 9, 2012).
  9. ↑ "A Thousand Words Official Site". Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  10. ↑ Sandwell, Ian (March 29, 2012). "A Thousand Words pulled from UK theatrical release". Screen International .
  11. ↑ "A Thousand Words [DVD]". Amazon UK.
  12. ↑ "A Thousand Words (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The 14th Annual Golden Tomato Awards". Rotten Tomatoes.
  14. ↑ "A Thousand Words". Metacritic .
  15. ↑ Finke, Nikki (11 March 2012). "$101.2M Worldwide: But 'John Carter's $30.6M Weak Domestic Weekend Lags #1 'The Lorax'; Eddie Murphy Bombs Again". Deadline. Eddie Murphy has yet another bomb in DreamWorks/Paramount's A Thousand Words which received a 'B−' CinemaScore.
  16. ↑ "CinemaScore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
  17. ↑ Frank Scheck (2012). "A Thousand Words: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter .
  18. ↑ Ebert, Roger (March 7, 2012). "A Thousand Words movie review (2012)". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  19. ↑ Chang, Justin (8 March 2012). "A Thousand Words". Variety.
  20. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (March 12, 2012). "Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words: is this the worst reviewed film of all time?". The Guardian . London.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.