Movie review
A Thousand Words
2012 · Comedy/Drama · Reviewed Aug 28, 2026
Rented.
5 / 10
Good enough. Had its moments.
Jeff’s final score for A Thousand Words — one man, one couch, one honest number.
Content noteComedy/Drama: some scenes may be unsuitable for young children; mild coarse language, sexual content, brief nudity, scenes discussing spirituality and religion, scenes which display dementia, scenes with implications of death, some mature themes including minor toilet humor, sexual dialogue
Eddie Murphy stars in this comedy drama film as a man who is never at a loss for words until he is cursed to keep quiet by a spiritual tree which has the power to control his life expectancy by the amount of leaves that fall from it. He finds that he must choose his words very carefully as each word causes one leaf to fall. If all the leaves fall from the tree, it could cause devastating consequences for him as he may not live to tell the tale.
Jeff’s take
I must have forgotten how much profanity and sexual content was in this movie because I was expecting it to be on Disney Plus. Most movies starring Eddie Murphy are funny and have a lot of comedy but I never expected this movie to be so hard to review. It seemed like a kid's movie about nature but it turned out to be almost an adult movie with the language and sexual content throughout. Having said that, I don't have a problem with it. Having said that, I really didn't understand this movie in general. I don't know if it was a curse he was under that connected him to the tree or what was the cause of it, ETC. The biggest thing I had a problem with about this film is its ending. I don't know whether the curse is ever broken or if it was all a dream. It seemed like the tree was still upright by the end of the film so I don't know what to make of this. It was even hard for me to put my description into words when describing this film as part of this review. Pretty much I believe that the only thing I will give this movie credit for is the casting of Eddie Murphy. I've always enjoyed his comedy no matter what movie I've seen him in. The rest of this movie was a confusing mess that I simply cannot figure out. It's a good thing Eddie Murphy was in this movie because his performance was one of the only elements that kept my attention. Having said that, I cannot give this movie a complete passing score because it's actually the first one I've done which I am unable to give a proper review due to my lack of being able to understand it. I will give credit where it is due though. Out of respect for Eddie Murphy and his comedy, this movie will not fail completely but it will also not completely pass either. This will be reflected in the final score of this movie and I hope I can at least understand the next one better.
Jeff O meter final score: 5 out of 10.
What works
- The casting of Eddie Murphy.
What to know before watching
- Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.
- Mild coarse language, sexual content, brief nudity, minor toilet humor.
- Scenes discussing spirituality and religion, dementia, and implications of death.
Verdict
Watch if curious
This movie will not fail completely but it will also not completely pass either.
5 / 10
Good enough. Had its moments.
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