A Thousand Words (2012)

After stretching the truth on a deal with a spiritual guru, literary agent Jack McCall finds a Bodhi tree on his property. Its appearance holds a valuable lesson on the consequences of every word he speaks.

Director:

Brian Robbins

Writer:

Steve Koren

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Cliff Curtis, Kerry Washington

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Murphy	...	Jack McCall
Kerry Washington	...	Caroline McCall
Emanuel Ragsdale	...	Tyler McCall
Jill Basey	...	Woman in Starbucks
Greg Collins	...	Construction Worker
Robert LeQuang	...	Starbucks Customer
Michael G. Wilkinson	...	Starbucks Customer
Lyndsey Nelson	...	Starbucks Customer
Michael Cody Gilbert	...	Starbucks Customer
Lou Saliba	...	Shrink
John Gatins	...	Valet
Clark Duke	...	Aaron Wiseberger
Cliff Curtis	...	Dr. Sinja
Mitchell Fink	...	Male Agent
Edi Patterson	...	Young Female Agent

Storyline

Jack McCall, played by Eddie Murphy, finds an unusual tree in his yard after an encounter with a spiritual guru. After discovering that with each word he speaks, a leaf drops off of the tree, Jack refuses to speak at all, as doing so will keep the tree, and him, alive. However, his work, marriage, and friendships are all affected by his choice. Can Jack figure out an alternative method of survival? Or will he simply have to live the rest of his life to the fullest?

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Plot Keywords:

liar | tree | guru | spiritual guru | literary agent | 

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Taglines:

Make every word count.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, language and some drug-related humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Mil Palavras

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,176,280, 11 March 2012, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,438,149, 27 May 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Saturn Films, Work After Midnight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The third time Eddie Murphy and John Witherspoon has worked together in a movie. They were in Boomerang (1992) and Vampire In Brooklyn (1995).

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Goofs

When Jack shows Aaron his situation with the tree, he dismisses it as a coincidence to which Jack responds, "It's not a coincidence, you idiot." Aaron notices that the tree lost five more leaves, even though Jack said six words.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack McCall: My name is Jack McCall. If you can hear me, what you're listening to is not the sound of my voice. It's the sound of my inner voice, the one inside my head. I'd like to talk to you, but I can't. Because if I say just one more sentence out loud... I'll die.

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)

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Soundtracks

You Can Make It If You Try
Written by Sly Stone (as Sylvester Stewart)
Performed by Sly and the Family Stone (as Sly & The Family Stone)
Courtesy of Epic Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Rubbish

Absolute rubbish film! Yet another turkey from Eddie Murphy. This and Adam Sandler's Jack & Jill should be condemned to movie oblivion. Both cost millions and millions and for what? Surely Hollywood could use that money for much better films that funding stupid boring trash like this. Has Eddie ever really been funny? Well, there was Trading Places, Beverley Hills Cop and Coming To America - but they were in the 80s!! His endless slew of "family" films have been truly dreadful. Why oh why do Hollywood execs keep funding Eddie Murphy films??? Who watches them? Who exactly are these Eddie Murphy fans? Are they all brain-dead zombies who think Murphy opening his eyes wide and looking surprised is the height of hilarity? This film is just another reason why Murphy should stop making films all together. He can't act, he's not funny. Him and Adam Sandler should be marooned on a desert island together. The pits!