When nobody asks for a sequel yet one is made, the results can be dubious. Nutty Professor II: The Klumps is a perfect example. The original was a remake that did well at the box office. Apparently, somebody believed that if the first did well, why not make another? So along comes Nutty Professor II. There is not much separating this movie from every other movie out right now. It wallows in crude humor, relying on gross-out antics for laughs instead of genuine comedy. The one redeeming factor of The Klumps is Eddie Murphy. Murphy immerses himself so deeply within his numerous roles that it is hard believing one person played so many people.
Sherman Klump (Murphy, Life, Bowfinger) is getting married to his sweetheart, fellow professor Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson, Poetic Justice). However, his alter ego, Buddy Love, is beginning to surface again. Sherman uses a risky experiment to remove the aberrant DNA that causes Buddy Love, and initially succeeds. It turns out that the experiment is also causing Sherman to slowly lose his intelligence. This strains his relationship with Denise, and causes problems in his efforts to market a new youth formula he invented. Meanwhile, Buddy Love (Murphy) sets out to steal the formula, horny Granny (Murphy) sets her sights on Buddy, and Mama and Papa (Murphy again) try to reconcile problems in their marriage.
The story is all over the place. Credited to Steve Oderkerk (Nothing to Lose), Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield (The Nutty Professor), and Paul and Chris Weitz (American Pie), The Klumps spends too much time on extraneous subplots and stupid jokes. Did anyone need to see a giant hamster sodomize a man? There is not enough focus on the Sherman/Denise/Buddy triangle. Director Peter Segal (My Fellow Americans) is merely going through the motions, letting the entire movie coast on Murphy. Special effects wizard Rick Baker designed the costumes that Murphy put to life. Each Klump has his/her own personality and mannerisms. The costumes are surprisingly life-like, and scenes with multiple characters look well done and real. When Buddy and Sherman are on screen together, it seems like there are two different actors acting, not Murphy there twice. As good as he is here, Murphy, even as multiple characters, is not enough to save The Klumps.