Sales have been flat for 27 months at the Good Buy Shopping Network under the arrogant Ricky Hayman (Jeff Goldblum). John McBainbridge (Robert Loggia) brings in Kate Newell (Kelly Preston) and gives Ricky 2 weeks to raise sales 8%. Ricky and Kate get a flat tire and encounter spiritual almost-supernatural guru G (Eddie Murphy).It's a comedy spoof of the Home Shopping Network. Quite frankly, they don't need to be spoofed. It would be more compelling to be more realistic. There are plenty of fun weird stories without going over the top. The idiocy simply makes the movie stupid, ugly and annoying. As for the three main actors, Kelly Preston contributes very little. Jeff Goldblum is wrong as the leading man. Eddie Murphy is not funny and lacks the likability for this guru character. His entry walking across that highway is terrific but it's a long downward slide from that point. This is unfunny and actually off-putting for the most part.

His job security is tenuous because program manager Jeff Goldblum (as Ricky Hayman) has failed to get viewers to tune in and order merchandise from the Miami-based "Good Buy Shopping Network" (GBSN). Attractive blonde Kelly Preston (as Kate Newell) is hired to help make the station turn a profit. At first, Ms. Preston clashes with Mr. Goldblum. Later, they have trouble deciding whether to kiss or quarrel. While driving, the couple has a flat tire and winds up almost hitting an apparently homeless Eddie Murphy (as "G."). After fainting, Mr. Murphy is brought to a hospital...Murphy is dismissed from the hospital and moves in with Goldblum. Physically fit, Murphy makes a health drink for his host which may include urine. Goldblum is preoccupied with work. Murphy acts like a happy guru, promoting the power of positive thinking. While obviously non-materialistic, Murphy innocently joins GBSN hosts, helping pitch their products. This winds up helping Goldblum. Murphy's winning personality makes the home shopping network a sales sensation, but at a cost...Murphy receives "over the title" star-billing, but Goldblum is arguably the leading man. Editing may have resulted in Murphy getting less screen time; it's difficult to tell. More probably, the actors were paid more millions than film realized at the box office. Murphy is acting out of his comfort zone and Goldblum always seems to work best opposite special effects. The overall film fails, but there are effective scenes. For example, Murphy crashing Goldblum's party is fun, with Eric McCormack (as Scott Hawkes) contributing well (throughout). As GBSN co-workers, Jon Cryer and Robert Loggia lend good support...There are several celebrity cameos. Worst may be Betty White advertising an aphrodisiac that make women smell like clams (apparently). Best is Morgan Fairchild promoting a non-surgical "face-lift" which distorts her visage. Moreover, director Stephen Herek and Murphy should have worked together to improve the latter's participation in the GBSN skits - perhaps adding a little of the spontaneous happenstance Lucille Ball delivered so well. This might have also helped Murphy's "chainsaw" segment, which seems out-of-character and doesn't pull all the potential comedy from the situation.**** Holy Man (10/9/98) Stephen Herek ~ Jeff Goldblum, Eddie Murphy, Kelly Preston, Eric McCormack

I really like Eddie Murphy, which is why I rented this film, but I was very disappointed. The film is very boring, the plot doesn't ever seem to "take off" and the characters lack, well, character. The film storyline could have perhaps brought in many more comical situations, but one had the impression that the filmmakers were afraid of making their "guru" or their other heroes look bad. So the film drags on and on, with some weirdo who is neither too good nor too bad, some hero who is also neither heroic nor anti-heroic and a "romantic interest", who never gets interesting... Strangely enough, although this is supposed to be a comedy, one rarely has the impression the movie is even "trying" to be funny. At the same time, it is not serious or dramatic enough to be something other than a comedy. Well, maybe you get the point, the film is "bah". I wouldn't watch it again or recommend it to anyone.

Cast as 'G,' an enigmatic messiah who saves a TV shopping network from disaster, "Trading Places" comedian Eddie Murphy looks like a Buddhist monk in his white robe with a clean-shaven head. A serene smile on his face, Murphy spouts platitudes such as "You need to find ultimate and complete happiness." Not only does "Holy Man" register as a lukewarm New Age romantic comedy, but it also neglects to exploit Murphy for maximum mirth. Although billed as the title character, Murphy spends more time off screen. Sadly, "Holy Man" waits far too long to integrate the Eddie Murphy character into the action. Worst, "Mr. Holland's Opus" director Stephen Herek's film crackles with pretense more often than humor."Holy Man" focuses on self-absorbed TV executive Ricky Hayman (Jeff Goldblum of "Jurassic Park") whose career at the Miami-based Good Buy Shopping Network is in the crapper. When his new boss, Mr. Bainbridge (a deeply tanned Robert Loggia), delivers an ultimatum, Ricky finds his work cut out for him. If network profits don't pick up in 14 days, Ricky is history. Adding insult to injury, Bainbridge hires sassy media analyst Kate Newell (Kelly Preston of "Twins") to help Ricky devise a distinctive network image. At first, Ricky and Kate hate each other. Eventually, they wind up in each other's arms. Breezing down the freeway one day, Ricky's Jaguar blows a tire. Accident and coincidence serve to bring Ricky, Kate, and G together. On a footloose pilgrimage through Miami, G takes the time to kneel and smell the grass. Crossing the rush hour freeway with no thought for his own safety, G offers to help Ricky and Kate. G captivates Kate with his cordiality. As Ricky is about to drive off, he puts his Jaguar in reverse and nearly backs over the pilgrim. G faints, and Ricky and Kate rush him to the hospital.Kate invites G to her home to recover. Ricky insists that G bunk with him. G turns Ricky onto herbal teas and meditation. Ricky's low opinion of G does a 180 when G crashes one of Ricky's parties. G uses hypnosis to cure a wealthy party guest who fears flying. Ricky makes a deal with G that sends him before the cameras. G pokes fund at the crass hucksterism of Ricky's cheapskate products. GBSN's ratings soar, and G becomes an overnight sensation. Eventually, a guilt-ridden Kate convinces Ricky that they have no right to ruin G's life with fame and fortune. Driving back to where they met him on the freeway, Ricky and Kate bid G adieu. Nothing miraculous or hilarious enlivens Oscar winning "Dead Poets Society" scenarist Tom Schulman's sluggish, pseudo-inspirational screenplay. The premise is that (1) shopping and (2) watching TV are the two key experiences that Americans pursue with religious fanaticism. Herek and Schulman obsess over plot logistics instead of forging funny situations.As a comedy, "Holy Man" springs jokes and gags that garnish rather than galvanize the plot. Murphy doesn't appear until nearly twenty minutes or more have elapsed. When G should be front and center for laughs, the filmmakers cut back to Ricky and Kate's banal love story and leaves little time for Murphy. Basically, "Holy Man" doesn't have a prayer, but Eddie Murphy deserves credit for trying something new. The magnetism that G displays comes primarily from Murphy's smirking but subdued performance as a neutered but nice guy. Aside from his on-camera antics during a 'live' taping session in the GBSN studio, Murphy never breaks character to share in the laughter. Lanky Jeff Goldblum milks soulless Ricky Hayman for everything that he can. Goldblum is one of those rare thespians who can make gabby stretches of expository dialogue sound fascinating when it is clear that all he is doing is juggling literary baloney. Kelly Preston furnishes the obligatory sex appeal. Several real-life star, such as Soupy Sales, Betty White, Florence Henderson, and James Brown, show up in celebrity cameos as sponsors for phony products. None of these fake wares elicits more than half-of-a-grin. The best scene in "Holy Man" has G zapping Morgan Fairchild while she is hooked up to a portable electronic, instant face-lifting contraption. Although Eddie Murphy saves a TV shopping network, he loses "Holy Man." Imitating the Home Shopping Network, "Holy Man" sets its satirical sights high in lambasting the bogus lords of television and consumerism. Boasting few insights and even fewer jokes, "Holy Man" lacks the conviction to entertain much less eviscerate. Nowhere as side-splitting as "The Nutty Professor," "Holy Man" makes watching QVC a real option. If you missed "Holy Man" is missed wholly nothing!