A Thousand Words

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A Thousand Words

PG-13

Released Mar 9, 2012

1h 31m

Comedy

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57 Reviews

46%

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50,000+ Ratings

Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a selfish literary agent whose fast-talking ways allow him to close any deal. His next target is New Age guru Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis), but the savvy doctor sees right through Jack. A magical tree appears in Jack's yard, and, according to Dr. Sinja, the tree and Jack are connected; every time Jack says a word, a leaf falls from the tree. When the last leaf drops, Jack will die. With just a thousand leaves left, Jack must learn to curb his speech or he's a goner.

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Critics Consensus

Dated jokes (A Thousand Words was shot in 2008) and removing Eddie Murphy's voice -- his greatest comedic asset -- dooms this painful mess from the start.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

A disastrous comedy at times, with a few unexpected touching moments sprinkled throughout, A Thousand Words fails to come together like it should, and becomes a forgettable mess.

Rated: C-

Sep 8, 2017

Full Review

Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

The idea of Murphy, that famously motormouthed actor, suddenly tongue-tied is not a punchy enough punch line to carry a whole film.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 16, 2012

Full Review

Nell Minow

Beliefnet

It isn't a horrible movie, at least not in comparison to Norbit from the same star and director, but it is a dispiritingly dull and cynical one.

Rated: C-

Mar 12, 2012

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

While it's certainly not unwatchable, the mood is rather muddied and the laughs are never big.

Rated: 5/10

Dec 2, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

One word will do - Sucks.

Rated: 1.0/4.0

Sep 26, 2020

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

None of it really works though. Instead of garnering laughs it only serves as a painful reminder on how funny Murphy can be when given the right material.

Rated: F

Apr 12, 2019

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 31 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated PG-13 for Language, Dialogue, Sexual Situations and Some Drug-Related Humor!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $18,400,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/24/25

Full Review

DennisFeinsteinCEO

This was good. Eddie always delivers and there's a great cast around him as well... Funny, witty, great story 👌

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/24/25

Full Review

Jason J

I was moved to tears. I don't think this film gets the credit it deserves for the insightfully heart-felt moral it carries underneath the occasional dull and comedically forced performance. I caught it on TV today and I think it deserves a second watch by everyone without expecting a laughs-per-minute feature. This is an incredibly touching tale about expression, and the way people take words for granted with the time they spend on this earth. I highly recommend people seeing this again with a different perspective. The film has a subtle (Charles) "Dickens"-esque quality (Christmas Carol) and, there are chuckle-worthy scenes throughout. "A Thousand Words" has an incredibly touching message and it deserves recognition and praise.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/31/25

Full Review

Audience Member

It's alright for a one time watch...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

05/24/25

Full Review

Treasure C

I like the fantasy and whimsy and the story is overall solid-ish, but some of the characters are forgettable and it’s more focused on humour (sometimes a bit too crude) an example of a character I’d really like developed is the guy who wrote the book 5 pages long (I forgot his name..yes to me the characters were that forgettable). A pull through for me was Eddie Murphy who was my childhood :3. Also I can’t get a stable idea on just some things..I feel like it’s meeting something. All I got was laughs laughs and more laughs In conclusion I’d give it a solid 2.5 out of ten. Not too shabby

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/25/25

Full Review

Mark J

Where as there are many more films that deserve the 0% score I think this one makes sense. It is very formulaic and no one involved seems to care too much about trying. Whilst it’s not offensively bad, it is just very boring.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

Full Review

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Brian Robbins

Director

Eddie Murphy

Jack McCall

Kerry Washington

Caroline McCall

Cliff Curtis

Dr. Sinja

Clark Duke

Aaron Wiseberger

Allison Janney

Samantha Davis

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Synopsis

Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a selfish literary agent whose fast-talking ways allow him to close any deal. His next target is New Age guru Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis), but the savvy doctor sees right through Jack. A magical tree appears in Jack's yard, and, according to Dr. Sinja, the tree and Jack are connected; every time Jack says a word, a leaf falls from the tree. When the last leaf drops, Jack will die. With just a thousand leaves left, Jack must learn to curb his speech or he's a goner.

Director: Brian Robbins
Producer: Alain Chabat, Stephanie Danan, Nicolas Cage, Norman Golightly, Brian Robbins, Sharla Sumpter Bridge
Screenwriter: Steve Koren
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Saturn Films, Paramount Pictures International, Work After Midnight Films
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Dialogue|Sexual Situations|Some Drug-Related Humor)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.4M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital

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