Film

Bowfinger

Name: Bowfinger
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1999
Cast: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Jamie Kennedy

A gleeful, scrappy Hollywood satire in which failed producer Bobby Bowfinger tries to shoot a blockbuster starring a paranoid superstar who has no idea he's in it. Steve Martin's sunny delusion collides with Eddie Murphy's frazzled ego (playing two roles) in a film that's less about showbiz cynicism than showbiz love — for anyone who's ever fallen for a terrible idea with total conviction.

TMDb rating

6.2

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Tropic Thunder2008

A different flavour of Hollywood-eating-itself comedy — actors so committed to a war movie that the war becomes real. Same DNA of vanity, delusion and desperate improvisation as Bowfinger, cranked louder.

But Broader, meaner and more testosterone-fuelled; if Bowfinger's warmth is what you liked, this can feel colder and cruder.

The Player1992

Robert Altman's insider satire of studio Hollywood, all pitch meetings and moral rot, cameoed to the gills. The sharpest, nastiest cousin of Bowfinger's affectionate con.

But Slow-burn and talky where Bowfinger sprints; its satire bites rather than grins.

Living in Oblivion1995

An indie set caught in a spiral of disasters, egos and bad luck — pure guerrilla-filmmaking chaos, told with real affection for how movies actually get made against all odds.

But Low-budget and scrappy on purpose; it's a much smaller, quieter film than Bowfinger's studio-scale farce.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Sullivan's Travels1941

Bobby Bowfinger's blind, joyful conviction that sheer will can make a movie happen is a direct descendant of John L. Sullivan's — this is where the whole genre of Hollywood self-delusion comedy starts.

Preston Sturges' screwball classic about a director chasing a serious vision he's completely unequipped for — the great-grandfather of every Hollywood-delusion comedy since, including Bowfinger's.

But Black-and-white and decades removed from modern comic rhythms; some will find its tone quaint rather than funny.

Get Shorty1995

A loan shark stumbles into producing movies and turns out to be better at Hollywood than the actual Hollywood people. Same gleeful sense that showbiz runs on bluff and nerve.

But More crime-comedy than pure satire; the stakes and violence sit a notch higher than Bowfinger's.

Ed Wood1994

Tim Burton's tender ode to the worst director who ever lived, made with a passion Bowfinger himself would recognise instantly. Johnny Depp is heartbreakingly sincere.

But Black-and-white, elegiac rather than laugh-a-minute; it's a love letter more than a comedy.

State and Main2000no page yet

David Mamet's tale of a film crew invading a small town is dialogue-drunk and cynical about exactly the kind of shameless improvisation Bowfinger thrives on.

But Mamet's clipped, theatrical dialogue is an acquired taste next to Martin's looser comic rhythms.

The Muse1999no page yet

Albert Brooks, released the same year, plays a blocked screenwriter convinced a mysterious woman can save his career. Same desperate Hollywood flailing, drier and more melancholy.

But Gentler and slower; it trades farce for wry resignation, which some will find flat by comparison.

Wag the Dog1997

A spin doctor and a producer fake a war to distract from a scandal — the same delighted belief that anything can be faked convincingly enough to become real.

But Political satire rather than showbiz comedy; its target is Washington, not Hollywood.

My Favorite Year1982

A young TV writer is assigned to babysit a boozy, egomaniacal movie star before a live broadcast — an earlier, gentler take on managing a star's chaos for the sake of the show.

But Old-fashioned and sentimental where Bowfinger is manic; the pace is comfortably 1980s slow-comedy.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief2015

The satirical cult that torments Kit Ramsey isn't invented — it's a thinly veiled portrait of a real organisation, and this film is the sober, real-world version of the joke Bowfinger is making.

Kit Ramsey's cult, MindHead, is a barely-disguised jab at Scientology — this documentary shows you the real, considerably darker institution the joke was aimed at, with testimony from former high-ranking members.

But Utterly serious and unsettling; there is nothing funny here, and it may recolour how lightly you took that subplot.

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief poster

American Movie1999

Same premise, stripped of fiction: an underfunded dreamer with a ragtag crew willing anything into existence through sheer stubbornness, except here nobody's pretending, which makes it funnier and sadder at once.

A real, hapless filmmaker in Wisconsin fights to finish his no-budget horror short against every possible obstacle — genuinely, gloriously the true story Bowfinger is spoofing.

But No stars, no gloss, occasionally uncomfortable in how real the desperation is — this is documentary, not farce.