It’s 1998, and Eddie Murphy is starring in the latest comedy/drama from Touchstone Pictures. Touchstone spent a lot of money, and the result was a huge bomb at the box office. Is Holy Man a good film or a bad movie?
The Plot
Ricky is looking to turn his luck around at the shopping network that he runs. When the owner of the network brings in Ann to get the financial books in order, Ricky is terrified of losing his job. An unlikely encounter with a mysterious figure named G might be the answer to Ricky’s prayers for salvation.
G through a course of bizarre circumstances proves that he is a motivating force for shoppers whenever he’s on the channel. Ricky employs G to take part in multiple segments on the channel which drives up revenue and ensures that Ricky’s job is secure.
But G is not only having an impact on shoppers. His positive attitude and his strong personality are causing Ann and Ricky to reevaluate their lives. Thanks to G’s timely intervention, Ricky learns the true meaning of what matters. He pursues a relationship with Ann, helps G get out of his contract with the network, and learns that he is as good a salesman as G.
The Good
Eddie Murphy is so charismatic in this role. G is like nothing he has played before. There is that spark of Murphy humor, but G is sweet, sensitive, and insightful. Murphy pulls it off and makes G a loveable character.
Kelly Preston was a talent who made the most out of any role. She plays the typical love interest, but she makes Ann more than just a token character.
Holy Man would be a great film to watch in the dead of winter. The shots of the beach in Florida with the warm weather would be the perfect mini vacation for a viewer looking for a reprieve from the winter gloom.
The Bad and the Ugly
The story is missing a lot of relevant details. The title of the movie is Holy Man, but G never achieves that level of new age wisdom. While the film is trying to portray him as a guru, we never see that level of depth that G has which would give meaning to this movie’s title. Perhaps a couple of important scenes were left on the cutting room floor?
G is built up to have this effect on viewers that would allay their worries about buying, but we never really see how G makes that connection with the viewers. His segments on the home shopping channel are fun, but the personal connection he has with Ricky and Ann help show his power. G doesn’t get that opportunity on the air.
Jeff Goldblum is a talent, but Ricky is not the right part for him.
Beyond the Film Facts
- The film was nominated for a Golden Trailer award for Best Comedy.
- Many celebrities make cameos in the film including Dan Marino, Florence Henderson, Morgan Fairchild, Betty White, Soupy Sales, and James Brown.
- The movie was originally being developed with John Candy in 1993. Candy would have played the part of G, but after his death the film went into development hell.
- Eddie Murphy does not have fond memories of the film. Though he never mentions the movie by name, in 2009 on The Tonight Show he did reference a film that he did where James Brown has a cameo as being horrendous.
- In 2011, in another interview with Jimmy Fallon, Murphy called the movie horrendous. (So, I guess Eddie didn’t like the film).
- Murphy would go on to backtrack on his comments, before finally settling on “It’s not that bad, but it’s pretty bad.”
- This was also the last movie from Eddie Murphy Productions.
- Holy Man was the first film that Touchstone Pictures made with Eddie Murphy.
- When the movie opened it landed in 5th place with just a little over $5 million in box office draw.
- Its second week of release saw the film plummet to 10th place.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Watch on your Smartphone, 2 Reels-Tablet Time, 3 Reels-Travel Entertainment, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
There is something about Eddie Murphy that will always get me to watch the movie. Sometimes he creates amazing characters which allow the story to ebb, and flow based on his performance. Occasionally the script fails Murphy, and the film is not that great.
In Holy Man, Murphy is trying something different, and the film just can’t be interesting enough to make the viewer care about the leads. Not having Murphy in every scene was a detriment to the film.
Holy Man is not a great film. I give it a ½ Reel rating. Wait for a snowy day so that you can appreciate the sunny sky and beaches on display in the film. If you never have snow, then you aren’t missing anything if you skip Holy Man.
Cast and Crew
- Eddie Murphy as G
- Jeff Goldblum as Ricky
- Kelly Preston as Kate
- Robert Loggia as McBainbridge
- Eric McCormack as Scott Hawks
- Jon Cryer as Barry
Directed by Stephen Herek
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Caravan Pictures / Eddie Murphy Productions
Release Date: October 9, 1998
Budget: $60 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $12,069,719
Coming Soon
Next week a summary of the past year of films with a look back at the highs and lows of what I watched from the Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures vault. It’s been three years of digging through the depths of streaming from these lost studios, and I will have my picks of the best and worst next week.