Eddie Murphy once was Beverly Hills Cop. Then came The Nutty Professor. And now, he's Holy Man costarring with Jeff Goldblum and Kelly Preston.

Jeff Goldblum plays a soon-to-be-out-of-work shopping network executive who is trying to up sales within two weeks. Along to aid him is Kelly Preston, a beautiful and vivacious young woman who ends up becoming his love interest. But they don't get much success until Eddie Murphy comes along, a holy wanderer who wants nothing more than to help people. And he helps Goldblum by agreeing to do some commercials for him, which make sales skyrocket.

The biggest problem with Holy Man is that it's cluttered. The majority of the comedy is centered in the first ten minutes, where just random infomercials are displayed. The comedy does not come from the actors/actresses themselves, but from some of the background situations, which usually means that there is no substance. Furthermore, when G. (Eddie Murphy) goes on TV, he quickly becomes a star. He somehow makes it onto the covers of several magazines and receives a strong audience, yet he is still just on a shopping network. Everything about the show seemed to suggest otherwise.

Second, this is not an Eddie Murphy movie. In Beverly Hills Cop, Metro (God forbid), and The Nutty Professor, Murphy plays an eccentric know-it-all who goes through life by acting crazy. In Holy Man, he has none of that - well, he is a know-it-all, but an overly calm know-it-all. Holy Man had to be Murphy's worst movie to date (or at least the worst I've seen).

Goldblum and Preston are pretty good but there's nothing original about them; they start out being on each other's nerves and end up being an item.

There are a few funny parts throughout the movie, such as the electrocution scene, but the best part is at the beginning. And when the best part is at the beginning, then all a movie can do is go downhill from there. And it does, and Holy Man ends up being a disappointment.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.