‘Imagine That,' Murphy's new film lacks imagination

Flick

Friday, June 19, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Bruce McBroom/Paramount Pictures Businessman Evan Danielson (Eddie Murphy) gets work tips from his daughter (Yara Shahidi) and her invisible friends in "Imagine That." E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Eddie Murphy's latest movie is not worth paying to see. Gee, imagine that?

Pun aside, Murphy's "Imagine That" is exactly the kind of family comedy that you would expect from him at this point in career — a tired, boring affair where you can count the amount of laughs on one hand.

Murphy plays Evan, a hard-working financial planner who provides great investment tips for his clients. That dedication to the job has taken its toll on his family life, as he's divorced and feels like he's a terrible father to his daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi, "In the Motherhood").

Olivia hasn't adjusted well to the divorce either and has a security blanket which she hides under to talk to her imaginary friends.

If only there were some way for father and daughter to connect … but wait, there is! Olivia tells Evan that her friends don't like the companies he's researching and they have their own suggestions.

Blowing her off in the face of a challenge from his rival Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church, "Spider-Man 3"), Evan is shocked to learn that Olivia's friends were spot-on and finds himself relying more and more on their advice. But will he sacrifice his chance at really bonding with Olivia to get further ahead in his career?

From the setup, you know exactly how the movie's going to turn out. Screenwriters Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson seemingly got this script off the generic family comedy Web site. There's no twist you can't see coming.

The premise is somewhat similar to Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories," minus the heart, creativity and imagination.

Director Karey Kirkpatrick ("Over the Hedge") cheats the children — presumably the target demographic, especially when one considers the script — out of a fun movie experience by making them imagine the exciting world Olivia describes.

How many children are going to be entertained watching another child's imaginary world that they have no access to? Judging by the "little darlings" running around in the aisles in the screening I attended, I can only assume not very many.

But it's not their fault really, as a children's movie shouldn't just consist of Murphy hamming it up every 15 minutes or so.

That stopped being entertaining for adults about a decade ago and children, while a less critical audience, won't just laugh because the characters are twirling around, singing and falling.

Shahidi is adorably cute and she's easily the best performer in the film. Granted, that doesn't mean all that much, but at least she does all that's asked of her.

If Murphy is interested in doing more family-oriented films, there's no crime in holding out for one that's actually worth making.

He's still a great talent, but with a few more busts like this, seeing another great Eddie Murphy movie might really take some imagination.

Imagine That.

Comedy. Rated: PG. Length: 105 minutes. Director: Karey Kirkpatrick. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Yara Shahidi, Thomas Haden Church, Nicole Ari Parker, Martin Sheen