For some, watching Eddie Murphy delight in his comedic abilities and re-ignite his career in the first Nutty Professor was akin to watching Muhammad Ali, circa 1974's "Rumble In The Jungle". By that analogy, The Klumps is a bit like watching Ali just a couple of years before he called it quits - occasionally still exciting to be around, but more often than not going through the motions, punching well below par. There are numerous laughs to be had in Nutty Professor II - with Larry Miller's buggery by a giant hamster proving to be the unexpected highlight - but too often these laughs fall into two categories: self-indulgent, make-up-heavy turns from Murphy, and unexpected gross-out gags by the shovel-load, more than likely supplied by American Pie directors, the Weitz brothers.
Murphy kindly leaves some of the bigger laughs to Miller. Still, when it hits, it's generally down to Murphy. With Sherman Klump, the comic once again opts not to play simple caricature, and finds a real depth hidden somewhere amongst the layers of blubber. Buddy Love is played at full tilt, aided and abetted by the fact that his genome has been crossed with that of a dog, allowing Murphy to go all out on the bestiality gags, and provide us with a unique game of 'catch'.
Jackson is suitably sweet as Klump's beloved, but the rest of the family are as sketchy as before - and while their on-screen intermingling (and Rick Baker's make-up) are even more dazzling than in their screen-stealing debut, Murphy and co. overplay the gag. Too often, the Klumps just ramble and rant, much of their arguing getting lost in frustrating asides and overlapping dialogue. It was a good gag originally - here, more often than not, it's a good effect.
