Meet Dave

Meet Dave ~ The key to enjoying Eddie Murphy movies is knowing what to expect. Here in the 21st century, Murphy makes fun family fantasy comedies. If you want Delirious or Beverly Hills Cop, you need to get in a time machine and visit a video rental shop in the 1980s. That's just not who Eddie is anymore. While that could be argued to be a bad thing, or even a good thing, it is a good reference point to review his films.

Here in Meet Dave, the premise is simple, as is the movie. A human-sized and shaped spaceship, manned by tiny aliens comes to Earth to retrieve a valuable weapon designed to save their world. A young boy finds it and Dave Ming Cheng, the ship played by Eddie Murphy, who also plays its captain, must befriend the boy and his mom, Elizabeth Banks. Heartwarming hijinks ensue.

Eddie is fun here, as he is in all of his family flicks. Adding to the fun, but not overshadowing Eddie at all, sadly, is Gabrielle Union. She's better than this, and I wish she had a bigger role. The only problem with this flick, and other recent Murphy flicks is that no one upstages him, or even gets close to it. She's a good actress and she should have had the space to show it. Fun family flick, recommended.