Line #1 Characters/TheNuttyProfessor1996


1	Characters from the 1996 version of ''Film/{{The Nutty Professor\|1996}}'' and its sequel ''Film/NuttyProfessorIITheKlumps''.
2	----
3
4	[[foldercontrol]]
5
6	[[folder:The Klump Family]]
7	!!Prof. Sherman Klump
8	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thenuttyprofessorshermanklump.png]]
9	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Sometimes, when you want something so so bad, you do just about anything to get it."'']]
10	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
11
12	->''"You know it's funny, how you get used to certain things in life. You get used to being overweight. I did. You even get used to people making fun of you. Somewhere along the line, I got used to being alone. And I just don't want to be alone anymore."''
13
14	The main protagonist of the films. He's very intelligent and very kind, but he's not comfortable with his looks. He invents a potion to make himself thin turning him into a thin man called Buddy Love. However, the potion doesn't last long and Sherman creates more. When Sherman becomes Buddy, his appearance doesn't just change, his personality does too.
15	----
16	* {{Acrofatic}}: During his exercising montage, he gains a [[TruthInTelevision realistic degree of agility]].
17	* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's an affable and genuine nice man but when Buddy pushes him too far he shows his combative side and it's actually impressive.
18	* BigEater: To the point where it makes him extremely uncomfortable with his own body.
19	%%* BigFun
20	* BlackAndNerdy: He's African-American and a highly-intelligent college professor.
21	* ButtMonkey: We can say he's basically BornUnlucky. He's repeatedly mocked for his weight, he loses his job twice and his evil alter-ego always puts him in troubles expecially with the women he loves.
22	* CatchPhrase: "Oh my goodness."
23	* CoolTeacher: Sherman is very popular as a college professor as he's genuinely nice and is passionate about his job. The only one who speaks badly of him is Dean Richmond, mainly because he's sick of his experiments and tries to replace him with Buddy Love as soon as possible.
24	* DoggedNiceGuy: He has a history of being this.
25	* FatalFlaw: Sherman's insecurities are the source of conflict since they lead him to do incredibly dangerous things to himself
26	* EmbarrassingNickname: "Joe College", courtesy of his brother, Ernie Klump.
27	* GeniusBruiser: He's a large-looking and very intelligent professor. In the first movie we can see that he also gains some athletic qualities after spending time in the gym.
28	* GentleGiant: He's a large and oversized man and also a truly nice and good-hearted one.
29	* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: Sherman seems to be fired in each movie before being hired again later.
30	* HeavyVoice: Like the rest of the Klump family, Sherman has a much huskier voice than Buddy; dropping back into it is even an early sign of his transformations, alerting Buddy that he's losing control of Sherman's body again.
31	* LovedByAll: Due to being a NiceGuy and a brilliant scientist, barely anybody holds any resentment towards Sherman, who is adored by his students and coworkers alike. This is evident by how many of his students greet him at the start of the first film as he walks to class.
32	* MamasBoy: Lives with his parents despite being a very intelligent college professor.
33	* MoralityPet: He becomes this to Cletus in the sequel. Thanks to having more screen time, Cletus shows that he does love his son and that he's very proud of him.
34	* NiceGuy: Sherman is a very friendly and polite man, and is a brilliant scientist to boot. He does suffer from insecurity regarding his weight, but barely anybody else judges him for it.
35	* StraightMan: Sherman is the only one of all the Klump males who behaves the most decent and most respectfully and is always good intentioned in all of his blunders.
36	* TookALevelInDumbass: PlayedForDrama: [[spoiler:Removing Love from his DNA damages his genes, causing his intelligence to decline. He can't teach his class, has trouble articulating words, and is a bit of a bumbler. Towards the end of the movie, he loses his memory, and breaks up with Denise, not wanting to burden Denise by being dumb. He is able to recover his brilliance by reabsorbing Buddy]].
37	* UglyGuyHotWife: He ends up married with the much prettier Denise at the end of the second movie.
38	* VirginInAWhiteDress: GenderInverted: Grandma Klump mentions that because "Sherman's never had relations", he can wear a white tuxedo.
39	* WeightWoe: Despite being well-loved, he is very insecure about being obese, which is what leads him test his experimental weight loss serum on himself. By the end of the first movie, he overcomes his insecurities over his weight, which does stick for the sequel.
40
41	!!Cletus "Papa" Klump
42	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
43
44	->''"If I want to put a trumpet in my ass and run around this restaurant and blow, then 'Hallelujah! Yankee Doodle!' that's my business!"''
45
46	The father of the family. Says whatever he wants and does what ever he wants, that includes farting at the dinner table when there's guests. Constantly argues with Grandma.
47	----
48	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Cletus doesn't hold back his obnoxious personality even when company is over. It doesn't help that he is under the impression that Sherman is getting married to Carla when he brings her over for dinner.
49	* AppealToNature: He's angered by how everyone is trying to lose weight, because everyone is supposed to be different sizes.
50	* BerserkButton: Mentioning his performance issues in the bedroom.
51	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:At the end of the second film, Cletus forces Sherman to drink from a water fountain contaminated with Buddy’s DNA, by dunking his head into it. This act of fatherly love restores his son’s intelligence.]]
52	* BigEater: All of the Klump family are this, but he appears to be the biggest of them all, as indicated by him having the largest meal at his "retirement" dinner.
53	* DeadpanSnarker: Mostly when dishing insults to Grandma.
54	* FreudianExcuse: At least in the second movie. The reason why he's so grumpy he's because he's been laid off from his job which also causes problems in his sex life.
55	* {{Gasshole}}: A mild example; he's more acerbic than outright assholish, but he more than fits the gassy part of the trope. He openly demonstrates his gasshole tendencies on both family dinner scenes in the first movie, resorting to deliberately breaking wind and utterly destroying any tracks of conversation that preceded it. Much to Ernie Junior's vast amusement.
56	* GrumpyOldMan: Somewhat in the first film; justified in the second film, thanks to the combination of his getting laid off from his job, and his impotence.
57	* {{Jerkass}}: Mostly aimed towards his mother-in-law, though he tends to argue with his wife about minor things, and loudly proclaims his right to break wind at the table.
58	** JerkassHasAPoint:
59	*** Cletus tells Sherman that he's not going to be happy until he accepts who he is and how fat he is.
60	*** While he may be very rude and boorish, he does have a valid point that people shouldn't talk about things like colon cleansing or masturbation at the dinner table.
61	** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Clearly cares a lot about his family, no matter how much he may mouth off at them. He also genuine loves his wife despite berating her a lot as in the second movie he apologizes to her for yelling and when he briefly turns younger thanks to Sherman's formula he gently declines an attractive older woman who was shown interest in him.
62	%%* LargeHam
63	* TheLoinsSleepTonight: A subplot of the second film involves his depression over a recent job loss, and how it is having a negative effect on his bedroom life.
64	* {{Manchild}}: He dresses like a gigantic toddler at home, and farts to troll his wife.
65	* NiceGuy: Played with in the second film, as he shows his softer side more openly.
66	* PapaWolf: When Jason reveals that Buddy Love is trying to kill Sherman, he reveals that he brought a knife.
67	* PetTheDog: In the second movie after yelling at his wife who was trying to have a romantic moment with him he almost immediately apologizes for that in a genuine regretful tone.
68	* PottyFailure: When he craps his pants by accident after trying to fart in the first family dinner scene.
69	* TookALevelInKindness: In the second film, he's shown to be much friendlier and genuinely supportive of Sherman's career.
70	* {{Troll}}: Cletus is definitely one of these, whether it be insulting Grandma Klump or farting at the dinner table.
71	* RamblingOldManMonologue: Sherman unwittingly sets him off on one after he mentions that he's trying to avoid the calories in the fat and skin of the chicken dinner they've prepared.
72
73
74	!!Anna Pearl "Mama" Klump
75	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
76
77	->''"Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!"''
78
79	The mother of the family who gets over excited.
80	----
81	* AffectionateNickname: She very sweetly calls Sherman "baby".
82	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: She doesn't help matters when arguing with Cletus about where they Sherman and Carla will get married.
83	* BerserkButton: Cletus saying bad things about her mother and farting loudly during dinner.
84	* {{Catchphrase}}: "Fabulous!", "Sherman! Sherman! Sherman!" and "Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!" usually with her clapping.
85	%%* LargeHam
86	* MamaBear: When Jason reveals that Buddy Love is trying to kill Sherman, she reveals that she brought her razor.
87
88
89
90	!!Ernie Klump Sr.
91	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
92
93	->''"Happy day, happy day, happy day, my ass."''
94
95	Sherman's brother, and the father of Ernie Jr.; unlike Sherman, he has a rather surly demeanor. He is proudly blue-collar and constantly jibes at his brother's college background.
96	----
97	* BigBrotherBully: Downplayed. He's kind of a grump to Sherman but other than that, he's quite supportive of him.
98	* TheGenericGuy: He's the Klump family member who we know the least about, other than that he seemingly takes more after his father, whereas Sherman takes more after their mother. An off-hand comment to Grandma (and Ernie Jr.'s mother not being seen or mentioned in either film) also indicates that he's divorced.
99	* GoodIsNotNice: While he isn't a villain by any means, Ernie always has a sour attitude for no apparent reason.
100	* {{Jerkass}}: His general attitude doesn't exactly make him a nice person.
101	** JerkassHasAPoint: Ernie mentions that Sherman can eat more heartily if he exercises, which Sherman takes to heart.
102	** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: At the end of the second film he [[spoiler: sings at Sherman's wedding. He breaks down and says "I love you, Joe College!"]]
103
104
105	!!Grandma Klump
106	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
107
108	->''"Keep insultin' me." [picks up a knife] "I'll toss this between the crack of your ass."''
109
110	Anna's mother, and a very horny Grandma who is always at war with Cletus.
111	----
112	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Towards Buddy Love in the second movie. Made even more disgusting that she's drooling for her grandson's alter-ego (though she doesn't know it in her defence).
113	* CoolOldLady: The way she pulls a dinner knife and prepares to throw it at Cletus, you'd better believe it.
114	* DirtyOldWoman: While she talks about sex a lot in front of Carla in the first film, it's taken up to eleven in the second when she orders a stripper for Denise's batchelorette party, and then forces herself on Buddy when she mistakes him for said stripper.
115	* FalseRapeAccusation: After Grandma strips off her clothes, she threatens to scream if Buddy doesn't give her a kiss.
116	* FanDisservice: That garage scene with Buddy.
117	* {{Jerkass}}: She could be considered one because of how she not only talks the most crass of all the Klumps, but also because she is the least classy and is most crude and vulgar of them all. Even with the way she always insults Cletus and making them verbally always at each other's throats trading back and forth personal insults which always bothers Anna (Sherman's mother). Not to mention how vulgar she is by going as far as the stunt she pulls on Buddy Love thinking that he is a male stripper which actually is bad enough to gross out a vulgarly perverted man like him to the point of making him vomit. These along with all the examples with her show you that she has the least moral conduct of all the Klumps.
118	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Murphy admitted that she's a parody of comedy pioneer Moms Mabley.
119	* RamblingOldManMonologue: GenderInverted.
120	* {{Troll}}: Loves needling Cletus about his performance issues.
121
122	!!Ernie Klump Jr.
123	->'''Played by:''' Jamal Mixon
124	Ernie's son and Sherman's nephew
125	----
126	* EmbarrassingNickname: Mama Klump calls him "The Baby".
127	* EveryoneHasStandards: He's visibly disgusted when Grandma's boyfriend Isaac eats a meatball who was just spilled out by Cletus.
128	* FatSlob: He chugs ice cream from the machine, much to his father and Mama's disgust.
129	* TheHyena: While he's normally quiet, he'll be left in stitches when Cletus farts or when Grandma begins talking about having relations.
130	* JuniorCounterpart: To Ernie Klump.
131	* TheSilentBob: He has no dialogue in the first film, apart from laughing at his grandfather's flatulence. His only lines in the second film are "Hey, how come Uncle Sherman is talking funny?" and "Now, that's cool. That's real cool." In an extended version of the restaurant scene, he says "How are you doing, Mr Issac?"
132
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder: Supporting Characters]]
136	!!Buddy Love
137	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thenuttyprofessorbuddylove.png]]
138	[[caption-width-right:300:''"I can't believe I'm so thin! You ever just feel thin? I am ''thin''!"'']]
139	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
140
141	->''"Sherman, you needed me! I taught you to be confident! You needed me, Sherman! Sherman, no matter what, no matter what... you got to strut."''
142
143	Sherman's alter ego. He seems to be the answer to all of Sherman's problems until he takes over Sherman's life. In the second film he's separated from Sherman's body in an experiment, and gains his own body after a mishap involving a dog.
144	----
145	* TheAce: He's got all of Sherman's intellect, and none of the qualities that hold Sherman back. Though in the second film, his occasionally acting like a dog occasionally proves troublesome, and ultimately leads to his downfall.
146	* AdamWesting: Buddy is an exaggeration of the fast-talking, foul-mouthed {{troll}} character Murphy's known for.
147	* AdaptationalVillainy: In the original Buddy was pretty obnoxious and conceited but doesn't do anything villainous. In this film, Buddy starts out this way, but starts to become truly evil as the film progresses, eventually attempting to make the transformation stable and permanent [[DeathOfPersonality which would cause Sherman's identity to be entirely consumed and replaced by that of Buddy]] ([[FateWorseThanDeath as opposed to Sherman's being killed outright]]).
148	* BeautyIsBad: To contrast with the homely yet kind-hearted Sherman, Buddy is handsome yet very cruel and selfish.
149	* BigBadSlippage: He initially just starts out as Sherman's alter-ego, but over the course of the first film starts to become a separate personality that seeks to take over Sherman's life permanently.
150	* CatchPhrase: "What the hell are you looking at ?!" from the second movie.
151	* EvenEvilHasStandards: He's understandably abhorred by Grandma Klump's depravity.
152	* EvilLaugh: Has a very loud one that he lets out whenever one of his plans comes to fruition.
153	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In the second film, he goes out of his way to use Sherman's youth serum to secure his own path to fame and fortune, while sabotaging Sherman's attempted demonstration of it so Buddy's presentation will look better. In the end, he's finally defeated when [[spoiler:Sherman uses the same youth formula to regress Buddy back to an embryonic state so he can be reabsorbed]].
154	* TheHyena: Initially he acts like this deliberately so as to annoy Reggie Warrington, but soon starts doing it unironically, mostly whenever he gets one up on someone.
155	* {{Jerkass}}: Initially he's not so much this as brash and overconfident. As time goes on, however, he starts becoming more outright evil, to the point of eventually plotting to permanently change Sherman into Buddy, essentially 'killing' his original persona.
156	* LargeHam: Just watch the scene where he throws a tantrum at Carla when he arrives to the club an hour late.
157	* LaughablyEvil: Even as it becomes clear that he's actually villainous he's such a colossal ham that even his worst antics still have an element of humor to them.
158	* LineOfSightName: A janitor calls him "buddy" while trying to get his attention. He gives this name to Carla when introducing himself. As he gazes at her, he can only think of one possible surname: [[LoveAtFirstSight Love]].
159	* LiteralSplitPersonality: In the second film, Sherman's attempts to extract the genes responsible for Buddy's personality in him results in Buddy manifesting his own body, albeit with a few dog traits mixed into his original persona.
160	* NoIndoorVoice: He speaks with a loud voice.
161	* PsychopathicManchild: Buddy is an egotistical, boisterous, and hedonistic sociopath with a dangerously aggressive side; he's also incredibly petty and childishly selfish, at times coming across more like a comically rebellious teenager. [[spoiler: Ironically, he's finally defeated when Sherman tricks him into ingesting a dose of youth formula, regressing him into infancy.]]
162	* SexierAlterEgo: Like his 1960s counterpart, he's a lot more confident, charismatic and outgoing. However, he also has the benefit of shedding over half of Sherman's body mass.
163	* TakingYouWithMe: A spiteful version. Knowing that [[spoiler: Sherman will continue to degrade without reabsorbing him, Buddy exhausts and destroys himself fleeing Sherman after being reduced to genetic slime until he completely melts away]].
164	* TestosteronePoisoning: Literally, in fact. The formula spikes his testosterone considerably. At first, this just makes him the bold, outgoing ladies' man that Sherman [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan isn't]], but later--as his T-levels turn dangerous--he becomes a vain, violent bully.
165	* {{Troll}}: Being Sherman's hedonistic id, it's not surprising that he takes pleasure in getting on peoples' nerves.
166	* VillainProtagonist: At first, until it becomes clear that he's a completely separate persona and plans to take over Sherman's life.
167	* XanatosGambit: Upon developing his own ego and persona, Buddy leaves a video message for Sherman, mocking him for his appearance and mild- mannered nature, knowing that Sherman's confidence would be so destroyed that he'd willingly turn back into Buddy rather than remain himself or [[spoiler: become so enraged and disgusted with Buddy that he would destroy all the samples of his serum just to prove him wrong and then resume drinking his diet protein shake which Buddy had earlier replaced with the serum. Sherman chooses the latter but either way, Sherman would revert back to Buddy and grant Buddy the chance to enact his plan to take over their shared body permanently.]]
168
169	!!Carla Purty
170	->'''Played by:''' Creator/JadaPinkett-Smith
171	Sherman's girlfriend in the first film.
172	----
173	* LegFocus: How the audience -- and Sherman -- is introduced to her, as we see from Sherman's POV as he looks up from the floor (where he was picking up a sweet wrapper) and looks up her legs to the rest of her body.
174	* MeaningfulName: Purty sounds a lot like "Pretty", which fits given how attractive she is.
175	* PunnyName: A little more on-the-nose than her 1960s counterpart, with her name being even closer to "Pretty".
176	* PutOnABus: The second film indicates that she and Sherman decided that they were BetterAsFriends, and that she returned to Chicago.
177
178	!!Denise Gaines
179	->'''Played by:''' Music/JanetJackson
180
181	->''"You reach over here again, you're gonna pull back a nub."''
182
183	Sherman's girlfriend, and later fiancée and then wife, in the second film.
184	----
185	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: By the end of the second film, she gets married to Sherman, who weighs probably more than twice as much as she does.
186	* MaleGaze: Sherman stares at her cleavage at the beginning and he gets what appears to be an erection (which turns out to be Buddy erupting from his crotch).
187	--> '''Reverend:''' If anyone knows why these two should not be married, let them speak now. Or forever hold his penis."
188	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Aside from one or two minor differences in her character and backstory- she's implied to have been a former childhood friend of Sherman's, and is a fellow professor instead of a grad student- she's essentially the same character, note-for-note as Carla.
189	* UnfazedEveryman: Gets along just fine with the obnoxious overweight Klump family.
190
191	!!Dean Richmond
192	->'''Played by:''' Creator/LarryMiller
193	The greedy Dean at Welman College who hates Sherman and makes fun of his weight.
194	----
195	* BerserkButton: Mentioning his unfortunate incident with Petey the hamster.
196	* BestialityIsDepraved: Cruelly inverted with a giant hamster.
197	* BlackComedyRape: When the tainted serum turns Petey the Hamster into a giant monster, Dean Richmond tries to sneak out under the cover of a lady's fur coat. Petey immediately mistakes him for a female hamster and the inevitable result is broadcast live on TV.
198	-->'''Grandma Klump (while watching with the rest of the family):''' That man ain't gonna never be right again."
199	* ButtMonkey: Mildly so in the first film, where this is limited to his unknowingly drinking coffee laced with hamster droppings and then getting a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Buddy near the end. Much more pronounced in the second film, courtesy of his encounter with Petey.
200	* DeadpanSnarker: Shown in his first scene with Sherman, where
201	* DeanBitterman: Zig-zagged; while he does show a lot of the jerkish qualities associated with this trope, most of the time it's aimed specifically at Sherman, mostly because of how many rich donors his mishaps have driven away.
202	* {{Jerkass}}: While he does acknowledge Sherman's ability as a scientist, he also doesn't hesitate to poke fun at his weight, or threaten to fire him.
203	** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite this, he did ally with Sherman Klump to stop Buddy Love from stealing the patent for the fountain of youth formula in the climax of The Klumps and was visibly saddened when it seemed that the genius-level Sherman he'd come to know and, if occasionally, appreciate, was going away forever.
204	* ProfessionalButtKisser: Harland Hartley actually calls him a [[LampshadeHanging "professional butt kisser."]]
205	* TookALevelInKindness: To a point; he's still occasionally harsh to Sherman in the second film, but he's also more willing to acknowledge Sherman's expertise where before he focused on Sherman's mistakes. Notably, much of the harshness only takes place after the Petey incident, and he's still willing to help Sherman stop Buddy despite this.
206
207	!!Jason
208	->'''Played by:''' Creator/JohnAles
209
210	Sherman's assistant
211	----
212	* ButtMonkey: Holds this role in the first film, where he gets taken on a dangerously fast ride through Hollywood Boulevard by Buddy as he reverts to Sherman, then gets locked in a storage closet by Buddy, and then gets involved in a punch-up with him at the end. Less so in the second film, where Dean Richmond more holds this role.
213	* OnlySaneMan: Shares this role along with Carla in the first film, and Denise in the second. He's usually the person who points out the danger that Sherman's experiments are putting him in.
214	* UndyingLoyalty: Helps Sherman out of the various problems he brought upon himself.
215
216	!!Reggie Warrington
217	->'''Played by:''' Creator/DaveChappelle
218
219	->''"Enough! Silence! I can't take this shit no more. Now, you done talked about me enough, boy! I tried to be peaceful, but now it's time for Reggie to 'karatasize' your ass!"''
220
221	A loud and obnoxious insult comedian who performs at the nightclub "The Scream" who publicly humiliates Sherman for being fat.
222	----
223	* BerserkButton: He doesn't take kindly to being upstaged by Buddy Love.
224	* TheBully: Crosses the line from being a caustic comedian into this when he goes from quickly poking at people's flaws to insulting and belittling Sherman non-stop.
225	* {{Hypocrite}}: He loves making fun of people, but doesn't take kindly when people make fun of him.
226	* HypocriticalHumor: He's an ugly man with rat-like facial features, messed up teeth and a ridiculous hairstyle, but his entire act consists of mocking the appearance of others.
227	* JerkAss: One could have argued that his insults were just him doing his job, but his behavior towards Sherman and him resoritng to physical violence when Buddy gets the better of him pushes him well into this trope.
228	* LargeHam: He's quite full of himself.
229	* LaserGuidedKarma: After needlessly embarrassing Sherman, he gets even when Buddy roasts him terribly before upstaging his live. Then when Reggie snaps, Buddy manages to overpower him and throws him into a piano.
230	* MeaningfulName: Named after Reginald Hudlin and his brother Warrington, who he allegedly had a falling out with after appearing in ''Film/{{Boomerang\|1992}}''.
231
232	!! Lance Perkins
233	->'''Played by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy
234
235	->''"I'm a pony! I'm a pony!"''
236
237	A crazy TV workout guy who is based on Richard Simmons.
238	----
239	* CatchPhrase: "Yes, I can!" He encourages anybody who wants to lose weight to say this.
240	%%* LargeHam
241	%%* NiceGuy
242	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Lance Perkins is a parody of Richard Simmons.
243
244	!! Issac
245	->'''Played by:''' Gabriel Williams
246
247	->''"Well, if it isn't the world's oldest living Negro! Hey, how's things going on the Underground Railroad, Isaac?"''
248	-->-- '''Papa Klump'''
249
250	Grandma's boyfriend in the second film.
251	----
252	* TheVoiceless: He has no dialogue.
253
254	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / TheNuttyProfessor1996