The Forgotten Eddie Murphy Comedy With A 0% Rotten Tomatoes Score

Sometime in the 2000s, comedian Eddie Murphy began experiencing a career slump that, quite sadly, would remain with him for years. Ron Underwood's 2002 sci-fi comedy "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" was a notorious bomb, making only $7.1 million on a $100 million budget. Murphy's cinematic update of "I Spy" from the same year also lost money, and Murphy turned to making mediocre but popular kiddie flicks like "The Haunted Mansion" and "Daddy Day Care" to make ends meet. 

In 2006, Murphy received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in "Dreamgirls," but he immediately chased it with the universally hated "Norbit" only months later. "Norbit" made money, but no one seemed to like it. Some have even said that the presence of "Norbit" in theaters harmed Murphy's chance of winning an Oscar that year. He lost to Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine."

Murphy's next few films were all panned by critics, and few made impressive box office. The sci-fi comedy "Meet Dave" wasn't marked by many, nor was the family comedy "Imagine That." Both bombed. Brett Ratner's "Tower Heist" was a hit, but it's largely forgotten today. If it weren't for the "Shrek" movies, Murphy's star would continue to fall. At the end of this long, winding road came "A Thousand Words," a film that was shot in 2008, but was finally released in 2012. "A Thousand Words" made only $22 million on a $40 million budget, but was the worst-reviewed film in Murphy's career. On Rotten Tomatoes, "A Thousand Words" holds a rare 0% approval rating, based on 57 reviews. "Norbit," in comparison, has a 9% approval rating. 

The premise of "A Thousand Words" is a little odd. Murphy plays a literary agent named Jack McCall who uses his motormouthed grandiloquence to schmooze his way through life. Jack makes a book deal with a Buddhist monk played by Cliff Curtis, openly lying about the details, inspiring the monk's pity. That night, a Bodhi tree appears in Jack's backyard, and he finds that every word he speaks causes a leaf to fall off of it. Once the tree is bare, Jack will die. He only has about a thousand words he can speak. 

Jack, now unwilling to speak, immediately loses his job and alienates his wife and son. The losses send Jack on a journey of self-reflection that ultimately leads to a reconciliation with his estranged mother and father. 

"A Thousand Words" was directed by Hollywood journeyman Brian Robbins, who helmed nondescript films like "Varsity Blues," "Ready to Rumble," and the remake of "The Shaggy Dog." He also worked with Murphy on "Norbit," and "Meet Dave." His only striking and beloved movie may be the "All That" spinoff feature "Good Burger" from 1997. Robbins is no auteur, and his films tend to look flat, bright, and bland. Judging just from clips online, one can see that "A Thousand Words" is no different. 

"A Thousand Words" doesn't seem to be making any sort of comment on the importance of silence, nor the misuse of words. It doesn't even seem to espouse a direct Buddhist message. It's more of a "cosmic punishment" comedy about a generically inattentive father — an all-too-common trope in family comedies — learning a generic Valuable Lesson™. 

The near-decade of flops and stinkers had to end eventually, and Murphy took four years off to reconsider his career. He returned to film in 2016 with the release of Bruce Beresford's indie drama "Mr. Church," a film that got Murphy some praise, even if the film wasn't well-reviewed. In 2019, however, Murphy stormed back onto the scene with Craig Brewer's "Dolemite is My Name," a biography of the amazing Rudy Ray Moore. Murphy played Moore with all the requisite verve and iconoclastic humor, reminding audiences that both Murphy and Moore are important to pop culture presences. 

Murphy spent the next few years more carefully selecting his films, appearing in the broad family comedy "Candy Cane Lane," but also the talky romance "You People." Murphy also started to look back and revisit some of his older hits by making latter-day sequels that gained a lot of attention. In 2021, he reprised his role as Prince Akeem in "Coming 2 America," a sequel to the 1989 film "Coming to America," and in 2024, he came back to play Axel Foley in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F." Set to release in July 2026 is "Shrek 5," wherein Murphy will return to play the voice of Donkey.

Murphy was once one of Hollywood's most profitable stars, and several of his films from the 1980s and 1990s are re-watched enthusiastically to this day. It would be impossible for any star to stay at the top of the A-list forever — even Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts films aren't assured hits anymore — and Murphy has, like many, struggled along the way. He has, however, never stopped being funny or talented. He also, at age 63, seems to have more energy than ever. "A Thousand Words" was merely one of many duds in a long, textured career.