How does Bobby Bowfinger, Hollywood’s least successful director, get Kit Ramsey Hollywood’s biggest star, in his ultra low-budget sci-fi film? Any way he can. With an ingenious scheme and the help of a Hollywood gofer called Jiff who bears a passing resemblance to Ramsey, an ambitious and sexy wannabe and an over-the-hill diva, Bowfinger sets out to trick Ramsey into the performance of a lifetime...

Bowfinger was written by Steve Martin and directed by Frank Oz. The film came as Martin was coming to the end of the peak of his movie comedy career, and it could be argued that he wrote this in a bid to remain at the top of his game. It's not a bad movie, and thanks mainly to the supporting cast (Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Terence Stamp and Robert Downey, Jr), works incredibly well. But Martin is more serious than comedic in his role and the comedy comes from the fact his character takes himself too seriously.

I remember seeing Bowfinger when it was originally released, back in 1999. It was quite a fun movie. Ridiculous, over the top performances by everyone, but with a nod and a wink to the audience. The acting is supposed to be bad, these are failed/wannabes who are working with the worst director in Hollywood.

Murphy steals the show, but not with his role of Kit Ramsey, but as the Kit look alike, who is dumb, but sweet.

Extras include an interesting audio commentary with director Franz Oz; Spotlight on Location (23 min, 26 sec behind the scenes); Deleted Scenes (5 min, 21 sec); Outtakes (2 min, 50 sec); and Theatrical Trailer (1 min, 02 sec).

The problem is that this has aged quite badly. It's still amusing, but nowhere near as funny as you'll remember.

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Nick Smithson