Imagine That
Eddie Murphy makes a funny movie.
2009-06-12
By Sergio A. Mims

CAST: Eddie Murphy
              Yara Shahidi
              Thomas Haden-Church
              Martin Sheen
              Nicole Ari Parker
              Ronny Cox
WRITTEN BY: Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson
DIRECTED BY: Karey Kirkpatrick
*** THREE STARS

Like a movie David going up against the bigger, louder, flashier summer blockbuster Goliaths, Eddie Murphy’s new film, Imagine That is a charming, sweet natured and winning family comedy that will totally win over the most jaded of audiences.

Intentionally modest and perhaps the most innocent of Murphy’s films, Imagine That is (Dreamgirls aside), the best film Murphy has done after a long streak of clunkers, fat suits and talking animals.

There are no big belly laughs or spectacular knockout scenes. Instead it’s refreshingly free of special effects and relies on the vivid imagination of a little girl to  give it more impact than the most expensive computer generated junk.

Originally shot two years ago under the title Nowhereland, Imagine That features Murphy as an over-stressed but very successful financial analyst and divorced father who shares custody with his ex-wife (Nicole Ari Parker) of their unbelievably cute 7 year old daughter Olivia (Shahidi). Being the intelligent, imaginative sort of kid she spends a lot of her time playing with her imaginary friends to the irritation and annoyance of her frantic hard charging, details-obsessed father.

Things change when Murphy discovers that Olivia’s pretend friends can actually provide him with secret advance business info that helps him gain advantage over his business rival, a slick, cutthroat, fake Native American, played by wigged Thomas Haden Church.

The rest of the movie follows the predictable route, but this not some twisty thriller in need of a gimmicky ending. It’s a nice sweet family-friendly tale with good and evil easily recognized and its statement about values very clear. A little predictability is good in these times.

Thanks a great deal to director Karey Kirkpatrick, an animation director (Over The Hedge, Chicken Run) making his first live action film with , Murphy gives a  relatively restrained performance. Even better is Shahidi as Murphy’s daughter who aside from being perhaps the cutest 7 year girl on the entire planet, is wonderfully natural in her role.

Free of the cloying, overly mannered and irritating tendencies common with  lot of child actors, Shahidi is a real find and a genuine talent. While Imagine That is not a major or important film in any way it’s nevertheless a real charmer and shows Murphy at his best in a long time. Now if he could just keep away from those fat suits.

Film critic, lecturer and festival consultant Sergio Mims covers all things film from the city that works, Chicago. He is a regular contributor to EbonyJet.com.