--- title: "Boomerang" year: 1992 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/boomerang" fi1m_id: "boomerang" imdb_id: "tt0103859" tmdb_id: 11066 wikidata_id: "Q642511" fi1m_score: 60 critics_score: 53 critics_reviews: 8 published: "2026-10-04T23:03:11.224839+00:00" updated: "2026-10-04T23:03:44.481949+00:00" region: "GR" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Boomerang (1992) Directed by Reginald Hudlin · 1h 57m · Comedy, Romance ## Identity Boomerang - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/boomerang - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** boomerang - **IMDb ID:** tt0103859 - **TMDB ID:** 11066 - **Wikidata ID:** Q642511 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103859/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11066, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q642511 **Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 53 from 8 reviews *In a sentence:* Eddie Murphy is punished for his sins for twenty minutes, then the film apologises and gives him Halle Berry > A role-reversal comedy with a sharp premise and no stomach for it. Murphy is funny as the player played, the supporting cast runs off with every scene it is handed, and the film goes soft the moment its hero might actually have to lose. ## Synopsis Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy) is an ad-man and a player, and the film is about the player being played: a man who runs his love life like a campaign finds out what it is to be the product. Jacqueline Broyer (Robin Givens) and Angela Lewis (Halle Berry) are the two women the film puts in his way. Christie (Lela Rochon) is one of the women he moves on from. His friends are Gerard (David Alan Grier) and Tyler (Martin Lawrence), with Bony T (Chris Rock) and Yvonne (Tisha Campbell) at the edges. Lady Eloise (Eartha Kitt), Strangé (Grace Jones) and Nelson (Geoffrey Holder) are also in his orbit, Mr. Jackson (John Witherspoon) is the loudest of the elders, and there is a dinner with the parents. ## Review Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy) is an ad-man, and he runs his private life on the same principles as his work: identify the product, close the deal, move on. Reginald Hudlin’s film sets out to punish him for it. Jacqueline Broyer (Robin Givens) arrives above him, and Jacqueline turns out to treat men exactly as Marcus treats women. It is a good idea for a comedy, and the film knows it, which is why the trailer gives it away in a sentence. The idea lasts about twenty minutes. Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield’s script has Marcus kept waiting by a telephone, dismissed in a hotel room and talked over in meetings, and Murphy, who supplied the story, is funny playing it: the grin stays fixed while the eyes start to panic. He has never been more watchable than when he is losing. Then the film loses its nerve. It cannot bear to have Murphy be the villain of his own picture for long, so it hands him Angela Lewis (Halle Berry), who is kind and patient and plainly written as the prize, and a comedy about a man getting what he deserves becomes a romance about a man getting what he wants. The harshest reviews called this a cop-out, and they have a point. Givens is sharp and unapologetic as Jacqueline, a woman who enjoys her work and her evenings and sees no reason to confuse the two, and the film spends its second half quietly deciding she is the problem. Berry does what she can with a part that is mostly reaction shots. The scenes between the two women are few, and the film has no interest in what they might make of each other. What keeps it upright is everybody else. Eartha Kitt’s Lady Eloise purrs at Marcus across a dinner table as if he were pudding. Grace Jones’s Strangé storms through her scenes shouting about her own genitals while Geoffrey Holder’s Nelson waves his arms and approves of everything. David Alan Grier’s Gerard is the nervous friend, Martin Lawrence’s Tyler the one who finds a conspiracy in every room, Chris Rock’s Bony T the voice from the post room. None of them has more than a few minutes and all of them use the time. We laughed hardest, and most helplessly, at the dinner with the parents, a scene of a couple of minutes in which John Witherspoon’s Mr. Jackson is handed a table and simply runs off with it, talking over everyone and pleased with every word. It has nothing to do with the plot and it is the funniest thing in the film. That is a compliment to Witherspoon and a judgement on the rest. The craft is glossy and of its moment. Woody Omens shoots the offices in glass and brass and the apartments in low lamplight, and Jane Musky’s production design gives Marcus a flat of black leather and chrome that tells you who he is before he opens his mouth. Francine Jamison-Tanchuck’s costumes do a good deal of the characterisation the script does not bother with, the elders in colours the young men would never risk. Marcus Miller’s score is slap bass and saxophone over everything, including conversations that did not need it. Three editors are credited, Earl Watson, Michael Jablow and John Carter, and the 117 minutes still carry a slack half hour in the middle, where Marcus mopes and the film mopes with him. Hudlin’s *House Party*, two years earlier, was small, fast and knew exactly how long a joke should run. This is bigger, slower and nervous of its own star. Murphy had just come off [*Coming to America*](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america), where he was allowed to be ridiculous, and here he is allowed to be ridiculous only until it might cost him anything. Worth an evening if you want Murphy on his back foot and a supporting cast doing cartwheels around him. Switch off when Angela starts being understanding; the film already has. *Fi1m score 60, published 4 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus on Boomerang is lukewarm rather than hostile. Most critics find a slick, intermittently funny sex comedy with a decent run of laughs, and the praise clusters firmly around the supporting cast, who are credited with giving the film most of its energy. Variety singles out Geoffrey Holder, John Witherspoon, Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt as scene stealers, and Radio Times says much the same of the ensemble. Murphy himself is thought to be in good form, with Empire particularly enjoying his turn as a lovesick fool. The reservations are about shape and about Murphy. The reviews call it overlong, patchy and, in the harsher cases, weighed down by shallow, sexist characters. The spread is wide, from warm to dismissive. The Los Angeles Times is the sharpest dissenter, arguing that Murphy’s move towards romantic leads squanders his comic gifts and that he will not play the cad the story needs. ## Straight answers **Is Boomerang worth watching?** *Boomerang* is worth an evening for anyone who wants to see Eddie Murphy on the back foot and a supporting cast running off with every scene, and we scored it 60. The role-reversal premise is sharp and lasts about twenty minutes before the film goes soft and hands its hero Halle Berry as a prize. Stay for Eartha Kitt, Grace Jones and John Witherspoon's dinner with the parents. **How long is Boomerang, and what is it rated?** *Boomerang* runs 1h 57m. It is a comedy and romance film. **Where can I watch Boomerang in Greece?** *Boomerang* is available to rent from Apple TV from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Boomerang, and is it suitable for children?** *Boomerang* is a UK 15 and US R, and the certificate reflects adult content rather than violence or fear: it is a comedy about a serial seducer, with frank talk about sex and Grace Jones shouting about her own genitals. There is nothing frightening in it. It is not a film for children, and younger teenagers will find the humour aimed well over their heads. **How does Boomerang compare to Coming to America?** *Boomerang* is the slower and more nervous of the two Eddie Murphy comedies, and [*Coming to America*](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america) is the one we would reach for first. The earlier film lets Murphy be ridiculous for its whole length and the extra faces carry the laughs; here he is only allowed to look foolish until it might cost him anything. Choose *Boomerang* if you want Murphy losing for once, and the other if you want him enjoying himself. ### Reviews we read (8) - **Empire**, Lloyd Bradley (70/100, inferred): Bradley finds the comedy slick and often very funny, though Murphy’s egotism holds it back. He especially praises Murphy’s transformation into a lovesick fool and the lively supporting comedy around him. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/boomerang-review/) - **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page shows only a browser-check message, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. It provides no information about what the review praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/boomerang-1992) - **The New Yorker**, Michael Sragow (64/100, inferred): The issue listing identifies a review of “Boomerang,” but the review’s verdict is not available on this page. It provides no praise or complaint about the film. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/07/13) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (64/100, inferred): The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. The available text does not reveal what the review praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/01/movies/reviews-film-the-tables-are-turned-on-a-smug-sweet-talking-don-juan.html) - **Radio Times**, Joanna Berry (3/5): Berry calls the comedy amiable but slightly overlong, with Murphy in good form. She singles out the supporting performances for giving the film a buzz. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vy5h05/boomerang/) - **Time Out**, SGr (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the sex comedy patchy. They single out its role-reversal premise, in which the ad-man experiences being a sex object. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/boomerang-1) - **Variety**, Lawrence Cohn (30/100, inferred): Cohn finds the comedy ill-fitting and weighed down by sexist, shallow characters, despite several funny scenes. He praises the supporting cast and singles out Geoffrey Holder, John Witherspoon, Grace Jones, and Eartha Kitt as scene stealers. [Read](https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/boomerang-2-1200429887/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (20/100, inferred): Turan finds the film listless and frustrating, arguing that Eddie Murphy’s shift toward romantic leading-man roles squanders his comic talent. He singles out Murphy’s unwillingness to play the flawed cad the story requires as a central problem. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-07-01-ca-1033-story.html) ## Details - **Director:** Reginald Hudlin - **Director:** Reginald Hudlin - **Screenplay:** Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield - **Story:** Eddie Murphy - **Cinematography:** Woody Omens - **Editor:** Earl Watson, John Carter, Michael Jablow - **Music:** Marcus Miller - **Production design:** Jane Musky - **Costume design:** Francine Jamison-Tanchuck - **Producer:** Brian Grazer, Warrington Hudlin - **Cast:** Eddie Murphy as Marcus Graham; Robin Givens as Jacqueline 'Jackie / Jack' Broyer; Halle Berry as Angela Lewis; David Alan Grier as Gerard Jackson; Martin Lawrence as Tyler; Grace Jones as Strangé; Geoffrey Holder as Nelson; Eartha Kitt as Lady Eloise - **Runtime:** 1h 57m - **First release (Italy):** 28 June 1992 - **Genres:** Comedy, Romance - **Budget:** $40 million - **Box office:** $131 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCr5RlXidhg ## Where to watch in Greece - Apple TV: rent €3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy €5.99, sd *Checked 2026-10-04.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, DE, EE, ES, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NZ, PH, PL, SE, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Coming to America* (1988), Fi1m 76: Murphy with the brakes off, playing half a dozen people and enjoying every one — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md) - *Shampoo* (1975): Warren Beatty as a ladies’ man undone by his own appetites, properly this time - *Love Jones* (1997): A Chicago romance that trusts its two leads to talk and lets them - *The Best Man* (1999): A wedding weekend, old friends and an ensemble that shares the laughs out fairly - *Pillow Talk* (1959): The role-reversal sex comedy as it was built, with Doris Day keeping score --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/boomerang