The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

In the future, a man struggles to keep his lunar nightclub out of the hands of the Mafia.

Director:

Ron Underwood

Writer:

Neil Cuthbert

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Jay Mohr, Randy Quaid

Bottom Rated Movies #99 | 1 win & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Pluto Nash
Randy Quaid	...	Bruno
Rosario Dawson	...	Dina Lake
Joe Pantoliano	...	Mogan
Jay Mohr	...	Tony Francis
Luis Guzmán	...	Felix Laranga
James Rebhorn	...	Belcher
Peter Boyle	...	Rowland
Burt Young	...	Gino
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Miguel
Pam Grier	...	Flura Nash
John Cleese	...	James
Victor Varnado	...	Kelp
Illeana Douglas	...	Dr. Mona Zimmer
Jacynthe René	...	Babette

Storyline

After his successful nightclub is blown to flaming bits, Pluto and his band travel across the moon looking for clues to the arsonist. Pluto, Bruno, and Dina search a seedy motel, Pluto's secret hideout, and the casino of the most powerful man on the moon for the evildoer, only to discover that his club's destruction might have been his own fault.

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Plot Keywords:

african american hero | gangster | breasts growing | violence | nightclub shootout | 

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Taglines:

Action's future has arrived...

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual humor and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original script was written in 1985. A dozen other writers wrote treatments of it, but Neil Cuthbert was the only one credited.

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Goofs

When Pluto and Dina are in the Garden of Paradise and Pluto is about to leave, the clock by the door reads 6:54; but as the door closes when he walks out the clock reads 1:17.

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Quotes

Pluto Nash: So how's it going with you and Babbet?
Bruno: Me and Babbet? I don't think that's going to happen. I found out that I'm 110 volts and she's a 220.
Pluto Nash: Just go to the hardware store and get an adaptor.
Bruno: Nah. That just ruins it for me.

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Connections

Features A Trip to the Moon (1902)

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Soundtracks

Soul Drive Sixth Avenue
Written and Performed by Money Mark
Courtesy of Emperor Norton Records

User Reviews

Weak script and big budget handed to an incapable director!

See a lot of guys giving this a one out of ten, not really fair I feel. To me there are lots of worse movies in all categories. But that said - it's not a top notch movie.

I've never been a fan of director Ron Underwood - he might be decent for TV but features aren't his strong side in my opinion. You'll notice best when it comes to the comedy parts (the attempts I should say) and the actions sequences.

As for comedy, the directing does nothing to enhance the seemingly weak script. Since comedy seems to be what this movie was to be about and the pace seems intended to be rather fast - maybe they should have gone for a director who could make something out of it? The action sequences are incredibly lame. It resembles grown people playing war without saying "pow pow". Here the director's at a loss as well, which shows in sequences as when Randy Quaid's robot character is taking out his two canons for guns. I take it, this is supposed to be a "cool" shot but the angle of camera, timing and pace makes it about as cool as when your dad hangs up his coat upon returning home from work.

The budget ($100 million allegedly) didn't seem to be a problem and the special effects as well as the sets seem pretty well done, along with a pretty nice cast (even tiny sub-minute parts are mostly done by actors you at least recognize). This must be seen as further critique of the director, since he seemed to have all the necessary tools at hand.

The actors put in from a half-hearted to a decent effort. A lot of great character actors (Joe Pantoliano) didn't get enough space to be interesting and there is a lot of untapped comedy resource in both Jay Mohr and Eddie Murphy. Though it has to be said – Pam Grier put in what has to be her worst performance ever as the mother of Eddie Murphy's character. One you can always trust to give his spirit is Luis Guzmán, and he doesn't disappoint in this one either.

All in all I would say there was a weak script to start with, that grew even weaker when it was handed to a director that couldn't handle the sort of comedy it was supposed to be, nor the action it was supposed to contain. Probably actors underachieved, especially in the comedy department, due to this directing. The end result was nor a comedy, nor an action – simply a bleak sci-fi that was one of the biggest net-losses in movie history if I got it right. My guess is that the guys at Warner Brothers probably are killing themselves for not picking a more suitable director.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pluto Nash

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,182,900, 18 August 2002

Gross USA:

$4,420,080

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,103,973

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1