A Thousand Words

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A Thousand Words

PG-13

2012

1h 31m

Comedy

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0%

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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

09/08/2017

C-

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.

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Kimberley Jones

Austin Chronicle

03/16/2012

2/5

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

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Nell Minow

Beliefnet

03/12/2012

C-

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.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

12/02/2020

5/10

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

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

09/26/2020

1.0/4.0

One word will do - Sucks.

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Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

04/12/2019

F

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.

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Marcus G

@RT36954408 May 17

Um bom filme, gostei da maneira que introduziram o personagem, com o jeito ansioso e falante da pra perceber facilmente que essa mania afeta as pessoas em sua volta, e abruptamente ele perde a capacidade de falar mas continua sendo uma pessoa ansiosa, da pra perceber facilmente o quão as pessoas tiram conclusões precipitadas antes mesmo dele se expressar, da pra perceber o quanto ele evoluiu como pessoa no final do filme em comparação com o do inicio.

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John J

@epicmovierrviews Apr 10

Absolute cinema. WHat would i even do with only 1000 words? i dont think i could live with only saying 1000 words. What was the deal with the surprise epstien appearence? was he supposed to be in this movie? i would prbobaly use all 1000 words glazing his ahh.

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R T

@RT49342624 07/26/2025

No. Not a good one. If you need an Eddie Murphy fix watch something else

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Ryland C

@Rycordes1 07/01/2025

I have never seen a movie that critics gave a 0% on that has a very creative premise. Seriously, do critics not know what art or creativity is? (I’m sure they do and that is kind of a bit far to say) I’m just shocked that a movie as creative as a Thousand Words is would get the most insane Rotten Tomatoes score ever. If it was a least a 50% or more then that wouldn’t be that bad because a 0% to a film like this is crazy and wild! And maybe a huge hot take. In fact, I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews of this movie on YouTube so that’s proofs I’m not the only one that likes it. I know none of this has anything to do with the actual movie itself but I’m just saying that I was NOT expecting the critics to give it 0%. I definitely side with the audience members on this. Plus, as an audience member myself, it makes complete sense why I like this film.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 06/24/2025

Funny in 1 hour and 31 minutes.

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DennisFeinsteinCEO

@RT16752372 06/24/2025

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

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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