Synopsis
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
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Cast
- Eddie MurphyJack McCall
- Kerry WashingtonCaroline McCall
- Cliff CurtisDr. Sinja
- Clark DukeAaron Wiseberger
- Allison JanneySamantha Davis
- Emanuel RagsdaleTyler McCall
- Ruby DeeAnnie McCall
- Alain ChabatChristian Leger de la Touffe
- Jill BaseyWoman in Starbucks
- Greg CollinsConstruction Worker
Recommendations
- 40
New York Daily News
If only this Eddie Murphy flick had taken its own advice and spent a little more time being reflective instead of hyperactive, it might have overcome a trite script and awful, obvious excuses for comedy. - 40
Arizona Republic
Mostly harmless, but the largely joyless exercise is a letdown after getting a glimpse of a re-energized Murphy in "Tower Heist." - 40
The New York Times
The director, Brian Robbins, perhaps as a result of his prime-time pedigree, has so carefully engineered this manipulative machine that little emotional residue remains - only a product inoffensive, unsurprising and uninspiring. - 38
Chicago Sun-Times
The poster art for A Thousand Words shows Eddie Murphy with duct tape over his mouth, which as a promotional idea ranks right up there with Fred Astaire in leg irons. - 38
USA Today
The concept is unoriginal, the scenarios aren't funny, and its message is banal. Plus, Murphy alternately hams it up and phones it in. - 30
Variety
Alas, even Murphy's largely wordless, physically adroit performance can't redeem this tortured exercise in high-concept spiritualist hokum. - 25
Chicago Tribune
In A Thousand Words the camera stays about two inches from Murphy's hyperactive face, and you start to see the strain and desperation in the actor's eyes. - 25
Miami Herald
This is the kind of colossally misguided vanity project.
