Meet Dave
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: July 11, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
16
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Aside from some unnecessarily crude stereotypes, Eddie Murphy's least-painful comedy in years has a certain peculiar charm. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
this unfairly maligned sci-fi comedy testifies that Eddie Murphy still has the gift of surprise. Read full review
70
VarietyJoe Leydon
Aimed squarely at the same family audiences that flocked to Murphy's "Doctor Dolittle" comedies, this is a lightly amusing and surprisingly sweet Fox release. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Meet Dave isn't great, but it's good enough. And it proves once again that Murphy can do anything - even a PG comedy in which he isn't a donkey. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
Actually, as Eddie Murphy PG comedies go, Meet Dave isn't bad. In fact, it's kind of sweet, innocent almost – kid-friendly in the best sense. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyTim Grierson
Meet Dave feels a little too cuddly and familiar to be more than a programmatic summer kids' movie -- better than average, but not worth phoning home about. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
It's a good-natured if flimsy comedy that, at the very least, suggests that Murphy hasn't completely lost whatever made him funny in the first place. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The heartbreaking thing about Meet Dave...is its occasional funniness amid a sea of pablum. If it were completely rank, it'd be less frustrating. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Eddie Murphy's amusingly out of this world in this otherwise tired vehicle. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
There's no real wit or cleverness to the script. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Though mildly amusing, Murphy's two characters in Meet Dave -- a wee captain and a humanoid spaceship -- neither tax nor stretch him. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Isn't likely to win Murphy another Oscar nomination, but it allows him to do what he does best - loads of physical comedy. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
The "Star Trek" gibes feel especially lazy, since the movie ought to be "Men in Black" kicky, not sketch-comedy dusty. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
More palatable than "Norbit" but equally uninspired, Murphy's benign, pedestrian Meet Dave mostly gives us "Mr. Ed," with a bit of Crazy Eddie mixed in. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Eddie Murphy is one of the most alarmingly gifted comic actors America has ever produced but he persists in making comedies that are beneath him. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
This is made-for-TV material dressed up by Eddie Murphy's participation into a theatrical release. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Proven comic talents like Judah Friedlander and Ed Helms make up much of Murphy's crew, but apart from speaking in contraction-free spaceman-ese, the film doesn't give them anything funny to do. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesSam Adams
Pays lip service to the joys of exploring new worlds, but it never steps off the tour bus. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Dumbfoundingly erratic, for the most part, but smart and funny from time to time. Read full review
40
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The kind of bland, generic, high-concept midsummer comedy that drives a critic to the thesaurus in search of new ways to say "vapid." Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
The insipid gags fail to exploit Murphy's gift for physical humor, Elizabeth Banks and Gabrielle Union are merely decorative, and Ed Helms (The Office), playing a character called #2, looks appropriately constipated. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia Puig
If only the movie had heeded its own advice and tried to be different from the standard formula. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
Murphy has fallen back into the comfortable rut of sloppy family comedies that are low on laughs and high on toilet jokes. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
On just about every occasion in Meet Dave, Murphy appears to be on the verge of cracking himself up. This is good news. At least someone found him funny. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Murphy, teaming again with his "Norbit" director Brian Robbins, is assuming we'll all line up for lazyass toilet jokes and pay for the privilege. Prove him wrong, people, please. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
After his disastrous outing in 200X with "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," there was no direction for Murphy to head but up in terms of another space alien movie. Indeed, Meet Dave is a step up, but that's only in relation to Pluto Nash. Read full review
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