The Nutty Professor (character) The Nutty Professor (character) The Nutty Professor (known as Julius E. Kelp in the original film (1963) and as Prof. Sherman Klump in the 1996 remake, and by his alter ego Buddy Love) is a fictional character portrayed by Jerry Lewis in "The Nutty Professor" and its respective sequel, and by Eddie Murphy in the 1996 version and its 2000 sequel "". Julius E. Kelp is an awkward and shy but intelligent and lively chemist professor. Sherman Klump is a jolly, kind-hearted science teacher at Welman College. Murphy also played the rest of Klump's family in the sequel. Lewis was
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and "unfunny" cropped up frequently in reviews. Rotten Tomatoes lists the movie at a 26% approval rating, with the site's consensus stating that "While Eddie Murphy is still hilarious as the entire Klump family, the movie falls apart because of uneven pacing, a poor script, and skits that rely on being gross rather than funny." Salon.com's reviewer gave the movie one of its few positive notices, and offered the praise "cheerfully vulgar". "The New Yorker's" Anthony Lane was particularly severe; in addition to hating the film, he dismissed Murphy's playing of multiple characters as "minstrelling", and charged the actor with