Literary agent Jack McCall is a talented talker to say the least. He's just managed to sign one of the world's most famous self-help gurus, Dr. Sinja, to a new book deal, even if the enlightened one is one of the few who can see through most of the man's words and lies. Later than evening, a tree appears in Jack's backyard, covered in a thousand leaves. Following some strange incidents, Jack contacts Sinja and discovers that he and the tree are now one being, and every word that Jack says or writes will result in one leaf falling. Eventually, when all leaves have fallen and died, so too will the savvy businessman.
I really used to love Eddie Murphy. Hell, I think most of us did. He gave us more than a handful of comedy classics and fantastic standup specials, but somewhere along the way, I think he just stopped caring about what script he said "yes" to. It's a shame considering that his bad films are starting to outweigh the amount of good ones he's put out (seriously, who wants to remember him more for The Adventures of Pluto Nash than for The Nutty Professor and Eddie Murphy Raw?). It's like they say; Oh how the mighty have fallen. Wait a minute, Eddie Murphy has been awful for quite some time now, so that statement is actually out of date. But then again, so is this film. Yes indeed, A Thousand Words was completed in 2008 but shelved until 2012 for reasons that most likely involve one of the producers (one of them being Nicholas Cage...seriously) having lost a bet. Or perhaps just due to the fact that it isn't very good. Rotten Tomatoes certainly agrees with the latter, as the film currently sits with an astonishing 0% overall rating. That is unheard of.
After viewing the finished product though, I can't say the criticism isn't deserved. The initial concept isn't a bad one, and perhaps with a different lead it could have worked out better. Murphy though, is an actor and comedian who has always relied upon his voice as one of his driving factors behind his success. Removing that is just an absolutely idiotic idea and it shows here. Instead of Murphy being allowed to deliver genuine comedic moments, we instead get an abundance of bad mugging to the camera and crass humor that isn't quite sure who it is supposed to appeal to. The supporting cast certainly doesn't help matters either, and they range from those who don't get enough time to do anything (Jack McBrayer and Allison Janney) to those who are just as irritating, if not more so, than Eddie's character himself (Clark Duke, who thankfully redeemed himself with Hot Tub Time Machine two years after this was completed).
The biggest problem with the film though isn't the completely bland script (if you've seen Bruce Almighty or Click, you'll figure out pretty quickly as to how this will play out, especially since they all share the same writer), it isn't the immensely unlikeable characters, heck, it isn't even the occasional splashes of drama thrown into the mix (and awkwardly might I add). It's the fact that it just isn't funny. Most of the jokes, like I stated before, are just too juvenile or flat out stale. The fact that they even try to throw in a character with Alzheimer's as a moment for comedy is just flat out disgusting too, made even more depressing by the fact that the immensely talented Ruby Dee has to deliver these awful lines.
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