For specific showing times, please refer to theatre notices.

By Shanzi Chen　Translated by Ann Lee

Meet Dave　2008/08/15

Rating: PG　Comedy/Fantasy

Hitting theaters this month, "Meet Dave" is Eddie Murphy's newest sci-fi comedy flick. After his box office hit "Norbit", "Meet Dave" represents the second pairing of Murphy and director Brian Robbins in a zany alien comedy.

The "man" known as Dave, is actually a innovative, state-of-the-art spaceship from another planet, manned by a host of miniature aliens who are trying to save their planet by stealing earth's salt, via the oceans. Not wanting to raise suspicions, the aliens come in "Dave" and now must search for an orb, as well as try to fit in as a human in a human body. As one can imagine, a bunch of space men and women trying to control a giant anthropomorphic spaceship while assimilating to life in New York leads to some comedic hi-jinks.

Though the film's synopsis seems to borrow more than it creates and the online reviews are less than glowing, "Meet Dave" is Eddie Murphy being, well, Eddie Murphy. It's no secret that the actor has a formula for comedy, pretending to be someone/something that he as an actor is not (fat, skinny, old, white, Chinese, etc.) so "Meet Dave" doesn't really deliver any new tricks.

This time, however, Murphy goes even farther. He plays the spaceship "Dave," and the captain, also named Dave, who operates the vessel. When he is playing the part of the spaceship, he acts more like a robot being manipulated. When he plays the part of the captain, he actually does a great job with his natural talents of making the audience laugh--which is really what his movies are all about. The funniest part is when alien Dave and his miniature admirer, No. 3, fall onto the streets of New York and undergo a series of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"-esque situations.

Although audiences might not find Murphy's new movie that much different from what he has done in the past, the cutting, editing and the image synchronizing techniques are still up to Hollywood standards and, really, it is just about the laughter. So, if you are running out of ideas for what to see on a relaxing Friday night, then go see "Meet Dave" and you'll get double your Eddie Murphy for the same price.