Meet Dave

Rating:

* * *

Verdict:

A surprisingly watchable family flick from Eddie Murphy, refreshingly free of the fatsuit

There is no doubt Eddie Murphy is a talented comedian and successful actor, but there is always anticipation his films are going to be either hugely successful, or hugely disappointing.

Murphy's career has been a rollercoaster, featuring enormously  popular franchises (

Beverly Hills Cop, The Nutty Professor, Shrek

) and resounding flops (

The Adventures of Pluto Nash, I Spy, The Haunted Mansion

), with the occasional critical acclaim thrown in for good measure (

Dreamgirls

).

Meet Dave

is a family-friendly sci-fi comedy about a group of miniature aliens that arrive in a spaceship in the form of a human to steal the Earth's salt. It sounded like an easy addition to Murphy's flop list. Much to my surprise,

Meet Dave

isn't as bad as it sounds.

These tiny extraterrestrials are quarter-inch-tall humans and their spaceship is made in the image of their Captain (Murphy), also known as Number 1. The ship is controlled by 100 of these little humanoids, none of whom are quite sure what to expect when the ship, named by the Captain as Dave Ming Chan, has to start walking, talking, eating and dancing like a human.

The aliens are searching for a meteorite that landed in the bedroom of a fifth-grader called Josh, and they get a lucky break when Josh's mother Gina (Banks) hits Dave Ming Chan with her car. Gina insists on looking after her odd car crash victim. For an orderly and emotionless bunch of aliens, this close contact with the human race proves to be distracting, as they slowly uncover their own emotions and individuality.

Murphy manages to be not too annoying at all, and is convincing as the never-blinking, robotic Dave. With solid performances from the Captain's sidekick Number 3 (Union) and Banks, you can forgive some of the more cheesy portrayals.

Yes, the storyline is predictable and not all the gags feel fresh, but there is no doubt that Murphy and his

Norbit

director Brian Robbins have taken a clever idea and turned it into a   funny piece of family entertainment.

Francesca Rudkin

Cast:

Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Brandon Molale

Director:

Brian Robbins

Running Time:

90mins

Rating:

PG (violence)

Screening:

SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley Cinemas