Nutty Professor II: The Klumps
Encyclopedia
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps is a 2000 comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 directed by Peter Segal
Peter Segal
Peter Segal is an American film director, with credits in producing, writing, and acting. He has had general success in the comedy film genre.-Filmography:*Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult *Tommy Boy...

. It is the sequel to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor (1996 film)
The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction-romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Jerry Lewis. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup.Murphy plays benevolent university...

and stars Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....

 and Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

. Murphy plays not only the inept but brilliant scientist, Sherman Klump
Sherman Klump
Professor Sherman Klump is a fictional character portrayed by actor Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, similar to the Julius Kelp character played by Jerry Lewis in the original film. Sherman is a jolly, kind hearted science teacher at Welman College...

, as in the first film, but also (wearing different, but equally elaborate makeup) most of Sherman's family as well. In contrast to the previous film, subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...

s which are centered around his family (mainly his parents) occupy a substantial part of the film.

Just like the first film, the film's theme song is "Macho Man
Macho Man (song)
"Macho Man" is the seond single recorded by the American disco group Village People. The song "bubbled under" the charts during summer 1978 before picking up substantial airplay that August...

" by The Village People, which this time is played during the end credits.

Plot

Sherman Klump is working on a new miracle formula– this time, the fountain of youth
Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John...

. He is also preparing to marry a fellow scientist and girlfriend, Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

). Unfortunately, he has started suffering from personality lapses that are threatening to alienate his bride-to-be: against his will, he acts like the obnoxious, hypersexed Buddy Love of the first film. After a particularly unpleasant incident, Sherman goes to his lab to analyze his DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 and locates Buddy Love's DNA in an abnormal gene. He decides to use Denise's genetic research methods to isolate the gene and permanently extract Buddy Love's DNA from his own. His assistant, Jason, tries to stop him, warning him that he might damage his health or even lose his intelligence. Sherman disregards the warning and, alone in his lab late at night, extracts Buddy's DNA.

The orphaned DNA, a glowing blob of jelly, combines with a hair from a basset hound
Basset Hound
The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family. They are scent hounds, bred to hunt rabbits and hare by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound....

 named Buster and grows spontaneously into an adult man, Buddy Love—now a fully autonomous being. Thanks to his doggy heritage, however, this Buddy Love has a tendency to chase cats and cars. Sherman, meanwhile, has inflicted so much genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 damage on himself by removing Buddy that his brain cells begin dying at an exponential
Exponential function
In mathematics, the exponential function is the function ex, where e is the number such that the function ex is its own derivative. The exponential function is used to model a relationship in which a constant change in the independent variable gives the same proportional change In mathematics,...

 rate.

Meanwhile Cleetus, who has now retired from his job in the construction industry, takes a swig of Sherman's new formula, which Sherman hid in the garage earlier, and becomes a man in his late 20s, goes to a club and ends up in a fight with an older man named Willie. Buddy, who had an unsuccessful deal with Leanne Gillford, notices this fight when Cleetus turns back into his old self.

Buddy breaks into the Klump's house and steals some of Sherman's youth formula, planning to sell it to the highest bidder, then adds a household chemical to the remainder of the mixture. But Granny catches him, and thinks he is the stripper that was ordered for Denise's bachelorette party. Granny then strips and tongue-kisses Buddy. When Sherman administers the adulterated potion to a hamster in front of a large audience, the hamster, Petey, grows to enormous size. The Dean (Miller) hides from Petey under a fur coat, which the hamster sees as a female hamster named Molly, who already escaped the potion. Petey performs a lewd act (offscreen) on the Dean. After the fiasco, the deeply traumatized Dean fires Sherman. However, this is the least of Sherman's problems; his brain damage is now reaching a critical level. With the help of his loyal lab assistant, Jason, he devises a strategy to restore his mind. He plans to reintegrate Buddy into his DNA by reverting him back to the jelly-like matter he used to be, then sucking him up through a straw.

Sherman concocts a new, stronger youth formula when he is interrupted by Dean Richmond, demanding to know what Sherman's playing at. Richmond explains Buddy Love is selling the youth formula to a rival company, and believes Sherman to be in on it. Sherman gets a tennis ball, and heads with Dean Richmond to the office where Buddy is pitching the youth formula he stole; if he can revert Buddy to an infantile state and consume him, the return of Buddy's DNA to his own system will repair the damage that he originally caused. When Sherman arrives Buddy laughs, but Sherman then throws the tennis ball, and Buddy's dog genes compel him to give chase. Sherman has coated the ball with his new, super potent youth formula, and when Buddy catches the ball, he turns into a toddler. He runs off, then melts into a gelatinous blob that continues fleeing. However, Buddy suffers many injuries while in his blob form which soon kills him. He is run over by a car, thrown into the air making a hard landing, and is trampled in a large crowd of people. Buddy, in critical condition, before taking his last breath, he tells Sherman "Let's see how long you last without me". He dies and evaporates into a public coin fountain. But unfortunately, for Sherman, he can no longer get back inside of him.

Denise and Cletus arrive, and see Sherman and Richmond. Sherman, before his brain becomes seriously damaged, sadly tells Denise, whom he no longer recognizes, that he no smart, never, no more. Denise starts crying, and one of her tears lands on Buddy's DNA blob, causing it to trickle into the fountain. As his companions begin to usher him away, Denise promising to take care of him, Sherman turns and mumbles something about "pretty water". They see the fountain's water glowing a bright neon blue. Buddy is dead but his DNA is still alive in the water. She and Cletus force Sherman to drink the water before the DNA disperses, and he rapidly regains his mental faculties. In the last scene, Sherman and Denise get married.

Cast

  • Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy
    Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....

     as Professor Sherman Klump /Papa Klump/ Mama Klump/ Grandma Klump/ Ernie Klump,SR. / Buddy Love/ Lance Perkins.
  • Janet Jackson
    Janet Jackson
    Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

     as Denise Gaines. Gaines replaces Sherman's girlfriend in the first film, Carla Purty because the actress who played her, Jada Pinkett
    Jada Pinkett Smith
    Jada Koren Pinkett Smith is an American actress, producer, director, author, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman. She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the short-lived sitcom True Colors. She starred in A Different World, produced by Bill Cosby, and she featured...

     left due to marrying rapper-turned-actor Will Smith
    Will Smith
    Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...

    , her pregnancy and later her signing on to the sequels to The Matrix
    The Matrix
    The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...

  • Larry Miller
    Larry Miller (actor)
    Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, podcaster, and columnist.-Early life:Miller was born in Valley Stream, New York, attended Valley Stream South High School graduating in 1971. He attended Amherst College...

     as Dean Richmond
  • John Ales
    John Ales
    John Ales is an American actor best known for appearing in Spy Hard, The Nutty Professor, You Wish, and more.-Film:*Crime Killer ... Kids*Spy Hard ... Kabul*The Nutty Professor ... Jason...

     as Jason
  • Richard Gant
    Richard Gant
    Richard E. Gant is an American film and television actor. His credits include the films Rocky V , as a possessed cornoner in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday , Deadwood, Babylon 5, Special Unit 2, NYPD Blue, Living Single, Posse and Charmed...

     as Mr. Gaines
  • Anna Maria Horsford
    Anna Maria Horsford
    Anna Maria Horsford is an American television and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Thelma Frye on the sitcom Amen, her role as Craig Jones' mother, Betty Jones, in the 1995 comedy, Friday and the 2002 comedy Friday After Next and as security guard Dee on The Wayans Bros.,...

     as Mrs. Gaines
  • Melinda McGraw
    Melinda McGraw
    Melinda Leigh McGraw is an American actress. She has starred in movies such as Albino Alligator , Wrongfully Accused , and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps , and is also known for her television performances on The Commish, The X-Files and Mad Men.-Early life:McGraw was born in Nicosia, Cyprus, to...

     as Leanne Guilford
  • Jamal Mixon
    Jamal Mixon
    Jamal Mixon is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ernie Klump, Jr. in the film The Nutty Professor. He is the younger brother of actor Jerod Mixon....

     as Ernie Klump Jr.
  • Wanda Sykes
    Wanda Sykes
    Wanda Sykes is an American writer, stand-up comedian, actress, and voice artist. She earned the 1999 Emmy Award for her writing on The Chris Rock Show. In 2004 Entertainment Weekly named Sykes as one of the 25 funniest people in America...

     as Chantal
  • Freda Payne
    Freda Payne
    Freda Charcilia Payne Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944. is an American singer and actress best known for her million selling, 1970 hit single, "Band of Gold". She was also an actress in...

     as Claudine
  • Nikki Cox
    Nikki Cox
    Nicole Avery "Nikki" Cox is an American actress known mostly for her roles on the television series Unhappily Ever After, Las Vegas, and Nikki.-Early life:...

     as Student

Reception

The film grossed over $42.5 million in its opening weekend and went on to a total gross of over $123.3 million. It garnered an additional $43 million in foreign markets.
It received mixed to negative reviews. Although audiences seemed to like it, The Klumps was widely panned by critics. Adjectives such as "obnoxious", "lowbrow", "bloated", and "unfunny" crop up frequently in reviews for this film. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 gave the movie a 26% approval rating, with the site's consensus stating that "While Eddie Murphy is still hilarious as the entire Klump family, the movie falls apart because of uneven pacing, a poor script, and skits that rely on being gross rather than funny." Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

, which gave the movie one of its few positive notices, offers the rather faint praise "cheerfully vulgar". The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

's
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane
Anthony Lane is a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Personal life:Lane lives in Cambridge with Allison Pearson, a British writer and former Daily Mail columnist...

 is particularly severe; in addition to hating the film on general principles, he dismisses Murphy's playing of multiple characters as "minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...

ling", and charges the actor with "at once feeding us what we like and despising us for swallowing it." Most critics, however, mix a generally negative assessment of the movie with at least a nod towards Murphy's versatility and comic talent.
However, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 and Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...

 gave the film a positive reviews with two thumbs up.

The film was parodied by comedian Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...

 in the film Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a 2008 American action satire comedy film written, produced, and directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jack Black. The main plot revolves around a group of prima donna actors who are making a Vietnam War film...

, in which Black's character Jeff Portnoy plays several members of a comically obese family. Tropic Thunder was released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

, which released the original Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...

in 1963.

Prequel

A prequel has been announced, tentatively titled Nutty Professor III with an early-mid 2012 release date, with Universal currently searching for writers of the new film. Eddie Murphy is expected to return for the prequel, and possibly add a few new characters like Papa Klump's brother's family as a plot element Murphy and writers have said.
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