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A Thousand Words

Play trailer Poster for A Thousand Words PG-13 Released Mar 9, 2012 1h 31m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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0% Tomatometer 57 Reviews 46% Popcornmeter 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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 thiago s Filme bacaninha, o roteiro é mais ou menos, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é bacaninha, eddie Murphy é bom como protagonista, mas o elenco não ajuda em quase nada no filme, mas com tudo isso, eu recomendo esse filme. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/13/25 Full Review David D It's Eddie turned on and off. It does have its bright moments as a result. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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A Thousand Words

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Movie Info

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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