Bowfinger- Implications

In the 1999 comedy/ parody, Bowfinger, directed by Frank Oz, stars Steve Martin as Bobby Bowfinger a low grade film producer and con artist who is eager to direct a film of his own and receive FedEx directly like all the other important people.

Bowfinger has a script called “Chubby Rain” written by an accountant Afrim and a friend Dave who is a camera operator and has access to equipment, all he needs is big name Kit Ramsey, portrayed by Eddie Murphy, to star in his movie. One problem, Kit refuses after Bowfinger lies to him about being apart of MindHead. MindHead is used as a reference to the Church of Scientology in the sense of their beliefs and practices such as Dianetics and auditing.

In the film, Bowfinger then tells his “crew” consisting of immigrants, some desperate for work actors, Dave, and Afrim that Ramsey agreed to do the film, only he won’t interact with them as he is method acting. They then start filming him without his knowledge. This can be inferred to mean something about the film industry, is it possibly corrupt?

One of the actors that stands out prominently in the film is Daisy. She is portrayed by Heather Graham. Her character engages in many relationships with different cast and crew, inferring she is a starlet sleeping to get ahead in her career.

Over the course of this film there have many references all surrounding the industry and people who work in the industry, creating many implications about the writer of the film, who happens to be Steve Martin himself is trying to address.

All in all, this is a comedy/ parody or spoof that consists of many comedic devices to create enjoyment amongst viewers. I know I certainly had a great laugh while watching this film and can affirm that I wouldn’t mind watching another Steve Martin vehicle where he writes and stars.