Holy Man (1998)

Eddie Murphy stars as an over-the-top television evangelist who finds a way to turn television home shopping into a religious experience, and takes America by storm.

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writer:

Tom Schulman

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	G
Jeff Goldblum	...	Ricky Hayman
Kelly Preston	...	Kate Newell
Robert Loggia	...	McBainbridge
Jon Cryer	...	Barry
Eric McCormack	...	Scott Hawkes
Sam Kitchin	...	Director
Robert Small	...	Assistant Director
Marc Macaulay	...	Cameraman / Brutus
Mary Stout	...	Laundry Lady #1
Edie McClurg	...	Laundry Lady #2
Kim Staunton	...	Grace
Morgan Fairchild	...	Herself
Betty White	...	Herself
Florence Henderson	...	Herself

Storyline

Ricky Hayman, right hand of Good Buy Shopping Network's owner John McBainbridge, is responsible for over two years of very bad sales numbers. He gets a last chance. Accidentally, he and Kate Newell nearly run over G with his car and decide to take him with them. What they never could guess was that G really is the one good man around. Being on the search for enlightenment, G offers his help generously to save Ricky's job. His natural, uncontrollable behaviour soon gets Ricky into really big trouble, but the sales numbers now go up for the first time in months...

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Plot Keywords:

corporate ladder | media coverage | mystery individual | bulletproof vest | savior | 

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Taglines:

The Comedy Where Nothing's Sacred!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

El tele-gurú

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£246,129 (UK) (19 February 1999)

Gross:

£434,829 (UK) (26 February 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions, Roger Birnbaum Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was first in development in 1993, with John Candy cast as G. It was then put in development hell following the actor's death.

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Quotes

'G' Makeup Artist: I've made you up to look like you have no make-up on at all.
G: That's a metaphysics I didn't even know existed.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: David Spade/Eagle-Eye Cherry (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Prologue"
Written and Performed by Loreena McKennitt
Courtesy of Quinlan Road Limited

User Reviews

Sweet and gentle comedy

I can understand why this movie received such a low rating from the overall IMDB audience. There is probably a large segment of voters who expect certain things from an Eddie Murphy movie who were disappointed. Murphy is best known for action comedies in the vein of 48 Hrs. and Beverly Hills Cop. He also did some fine work in Trading Places, a straight up, but darkly cynical comedy.

Holy Man is a gentle, feel-good comedy. It provides some laugh-out-loud moments, but for the most part, weaves a compassionate story in an appropriately low-key style. Its message is clear and timely: Stop and smell the roses, people. You are losing sight of what's important.

Eddie Murphy is letter perfect as "G," the "holy man" who encounters Jeff Goldblum while Jeff is changing the tire on his Jaguar. With Goldblum is Kelly Preston, his colleague at the Good Buy Home Shopping Network. `G' appears mysteriously in flowing white robes, and talks of being on a spiritual pilgrimage. Goldblum, ever cynical, dismisses `G' as a wacko, and tries his best to get rid of him. Preston, on the other hand, sees something different in `G.' She is more open to his charisma, his humor, and his apparent lack of guile.

The three end up working together. `G' is given his own TV show where his blend of honesty, spirituality, and humor helps the station move a lot of products, and turns `G' into an overnight media sensation. I won't give away much more than that.

Not to be overlooked, Robert Loggia turns in a chilling performance as the venomous TV station owner--it's as if he was channeling Barry Diller all the way. His crass, mercenary tactics trigger a crisis of conscience that brings the movie to its resolution.

Holy Man tells a simple tale that echoes an ancient proverb: When the pupil is ready, the teacher arises. I have watched Holy Man about three or four times. There are nuances here that I have discovered only after repeated viewings. The film's acting, music, location, and subtle direction all hang together well, providing a much-needed palliative to Hollywood's desperate output of increasingly frenetic and assaulting films