In the film, Murphy plays Jack McCall, a book publisher who will say literally anything to get what he wants. One day, a motivational doctor, Sinja (Cliff Curtis) plants a tree in his yard, and every time Jack talks a leaf falls off. This could have been a funny movie had it starred someone else. The problem, in reality, is that Murphy is not funny anymore. I remember when Murphy was by far the funniest cast member on Saturday Night Live. The primary reason he was so funny was because of his manic way of talking. In this film, the point is that his character can not talk, therefore making Murphy not funny.
The film, as well, does not know what kind of tone it wants to have. It quickly transitions from wacky comedy to dark drama to a family film that attempts to be touching. A Thousand Words also features Clark Duke, a very funny guy as Aaron, Jack's assistant. Duke, so good in films such as Sex Drive, Kick Ass, and Hot Tub Time Machine is wasted here as an obnoxious, offensive jerk.
When Eddie Murphy was funny, he was really funny. However, now Murphy has been reduced to being a nobody in a land of somebodies. Murphy, at many times, feels like he's being wacky just for the simple sake of being wacky. A Thousand Words features absolutely no laughs, and by that I mean not one laugh. Nothing works in this film, and it has the general feeling and smell of something not too pleasing.
(1/2 star out of 5, the film is rated PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, language, and some drug related humor)
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