The Adventures of Pluto Nash

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The Adventures of Pluto Nash

Directed by	Ron Underwood
Produced by	Martin Bregman Michael Scott Bregman Louis A. Stroller
Written by	Neil Cuthbert
Starring	Eddie Murphy Randy Quaid Rosario Dawson Joe Pantoliano Jay Mohr Luis Guzmán James Rebhorn Peter Boyle with Pam Grier and John Cleese
Cinematography	Oliver Wood
Editing by	Alan Heim and Paul Hirsch
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	August 16, 2002
Running time	95 min.
Language	English
Budget	$110 million
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a 2002 comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Eddie Murphy as the owner of a lunar nightclub investigating who was behind the arson that destroyed his club. It was one of the biggest box office bombs of all time.

1 Plot
2 Reception
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Plot

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Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

In the decade of 2080, on a lunar colony called Little America, a retired smuggler named Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) buys a nightclub in order to fulfill a longtime wish and prevent the murder of Anthony Frankowski (Jay Mohr), the club's previous owner, by his creditors. Seven years later, "Club Pluto" has become a successful business that is frequented by many socialites. The staff consists of Pluto, a Hispanic assistant, and an anthropomorphic android robot named Bruno (Randy Quaid). Meanwhile, Anthony has become a stage performer under the name of Tony Francis. Tony has achieved interplanetary fame despite his apparent lack of talent. His music, performance style, and costume resemble those of Frank Sinatra.

Pluto is approached one night by a young woman called Dina Lake (Rosario Dawson), who has become stranded on the Moon and desires to earn money to pay for transport to Earth. She seeks help from Pluto because her father, "Nicky Sticks", was a friend of Pluto's. She offers her skills as a singer. Instead, Pluto gives her a job as server at his club and allows her to remain after closure. During the same night, Pluto is approached three times by messengers of a mysterious entrepreneur called Rex Crater. Mr. Crater wishes to buy Club Pluto and convert it into a gambling casino. When Pluto refuses, Rex Crater's minions destroy the club. Pluto, Dina, and Bruno escape. They begin to investigate Rex Crater about whom very little is known. Rowland (Peter Boyle), a friend to Pluto's mother and retired police detective, informs Pluto that Rex Crater is never seen outside of a penthouse in the city of Moon Beach. Rex had been involved with a geneticist named Runa Pendankin, who specialized in cloning before her death.

Pluto and Dina visit Doctor Pendankin's apprentice, Mona Zimmer, who operates a cosmetic surgery station. They pose as a married couple attempting to revive their infatuation for one another by having their figures altered. After having seen several examples of commonly preferred body shapes and contours, Zimmer asks for a police permit to perform the operation. Nash attempts to pay her off and she accepts it. Then they tell her they are police officers that have come for information regarding Doctor Pendankin's death (and show her Pluto's fake badge). If she gives them the information, they won't "arrest" her. Having been intimidated by Pluto's bluffs, Zimmer reveals that Doctor Pendankin had worked for or with a Terrestrial criminal having what apeared to be the initials "WZW" inscribed on his briefcase prior to her death.

Pluto and Dina return to the hotel. They meet Pluto's mother, Flura Nash (Pam Grier). All are attacked by Rex Crater's assassins, who have tracked them to the hotel. They all narrowly escape and Pluto takes Dina and Bruno to an abandoned smuggler's refuge.

At the hideout, Pluto mounts an Internet-based search for any terrestrial criminal with the initials "WZW". When this yields nothing, Dina suggests that the initials are in fact "MZM", having been seen upside-down by Mona Zimmer. Pluto searches for "MZM" and discovers a criminal called Michael Zoroaster Marucci. Pluto suspects that Michael Marucci and Rex Crater are one and the same. Abruptly, he is contacted by his mother, who tells him that Rowland has been killed. Moments later, the hideout is attacked by Rex Crater's agents. A chase ensues and the heroes escape; their car is damaged and explodes, causing them to be presumed dead.

They are eventually rescued and taken to Moon Beach by Felix Laranga (Luis Guzmán), a smuggler who idolizes Pluto Nash. They infiltrate Rex Crater's casino/hotel, where they contact Tony (the former owner of Club Pluto) after his concert. Tony attempts to help them, but they are captured by Rex Crater's agents and taken to him.

Pluto accuses Rex Crater of being Michael Marucci. Rex Crater reveals himself to be a clone of Pluto, created by Doctor Pendankin from Pluto's removed appendix. He was to act as a public face of Michael Marucci's illegal activities but who then killed Marucci. Rex coolly murders his agents who had failed to destroy Pluto, shocking most of the onlookers, then goes on to explain his elaborate plans to create the "most exclusive" gambling casino ever made upon Club Pluto's ruins. Pluto contemptuously destroys Rex's model of the casino and assaults him.

Rex and Pluto fight for possession of Rex's gun while the others watch, uncertain of which is Pluto and which is Rex. Pluto shoots Bruno when he gains possession of the gun. Rex's assistant Belcher assumes that Pluto would not damage his own robot and shoots Rex. Pluto orders the robot guards to leave, and reveals his identity to Dina by speaking of her employment to him. Belcher realizes Pluto is not Rex, Pluto knocks him out with a fast punch. Bruno reveals that he was wearing a bulletproof shirt on Pluto's advice. Rex (who, having all of Pluto's memories, was also wearing a bulletproof shirt) attempts to garotte Pluto with a wire paperweight, but is thrown through a window and dies.

The movie ends with the protagonists celebrating in the rebuilt Club Pluto. Bruno is made manager of the Club, and Dina its lead singer. Felix is granted lifelong credit and Tony invited to the celebration. Pluto, his desires fulfilled, rests at ease.

[edit] Reception

The film was highly unsuccessful financially. Its budget was estimated at (U.S.) $100 million, with marketing costs of $20 million and the domestic box office (of which the studio typically receives about half) was $4,420,080 and $2,683,893 (overseas) for a total worldwide gross of $7,103,973. Eddie Murphy poked fun at himself in an interview with Barbara Walters about this movie by saying: "I know two or three people that liked this movie."^[1] The film performed better on DVD, but not even a US DVD rental gross of $25,400,000 could drag the film into breaking even.^[2]

The movie had its origins in the mid-1980s. The script went through numerous revisions and, upon completion of filming, sat on the shelf for two years, finally being released in August 2002. The majority of critics lambasted the movie for its acting, dialogue, lack of humor, and very poor and crude special effects. It was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Picture. Production began in April 2000, and wrapped up in September 2000. At one point, Jennifer Lopez was cast for the role of Dina in this film, but eventually turned it down. Rosario Dawson was cast in her place.

As of 2008 this is the sixth-largest financial loss of any film ever made (after Stealth, Cutthroat Island, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, The Alamo, and Around the World in 80 Days), both in absolute dollar values, and adjusted for inflation.^{[citation needed]}