Mrs. Klump, If You're Nasty

07/31/2000 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Cameron Turner

Being an internationally known music superstar wasn't enough to land Janet Jackson the leading-lady role opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. In fact, her megastar status was actually one of the main obstacles she had to overcome in order to get the part. "I think they wanted me to audition twice because they wanted to be able to make sure that they could separate the singer from this person onscreen," Janet recalls.

That person onscreen is Dr. Denise Gaines, a brainiac who's madly in love with Eddie Murphy's big-bellied Professor Sherman Klump. Denise's mild-mannered bookworm personality was a whole 'nother groove compared to Janet's bold and sexy pop music persona, but Murphy had faith in Janet from the beginning; in fact, he has respected her acting skills for quite a long time. "I've known for years that she's a good actress," Murphy explains. "I remember watching her on TV in Good Times when she was a little girl."

Janet was only 11 years old when she made her small-screen debut as sweet street kid Penny Gordon on the classic inner-city sitcom Good Times. As a teen, she went on to high-profile TV roles on Diff'rent Strokes (as Todd Bridges's steady girlfriend, Charlene) and the musical high school drama Fame. But it wasn't until 1993, long after she'd established herself as an R&B diva, when Janet broke out on the big screen in John Singleton's Poetic Justice.

As her musical career took off, Janet's acting career was reduced to just a few lackluster gigs spread out over a period of several years. Let's face it, Poetic Justice didn't exactly set the world on fire, and Janet's performance as an emotionally torn ghetto princess was iffy at best. Furthermore, that was seven years ago, and Miss Jackson hadn't acted since. So she had to fight for the Nutty Professor part. Because she was competing for the role with much more experienced actresses (like Nia Long), she had to work hard to prove herself.

Janet says she felt she was "horrible" in her first audition, and when she was called back for a second screen test, she was beaten down with the flu. "I was really sick that day, but I really wanted this, so I flew in from New York [to L.A.], and I just went for it," she recalls.

Janet ultimately snagged the part, and Murphy says she rocks the movie. Murphy brags about his co-star, saying, "Janet's like this superstar. But what's brilliant is that there's none of that in the movie. What shows you that she's a really strong actress is that Janet Jackson's incredibly sexy and beautiful and all that, but in this movie, she's just this adorable college professor. And she's completely believable!"

Janet was shocked at just how believable Eddie was when he portrayed the various Klump characters. She expected the special-effects make-up (by Oscar-winner Rick Baker) and costumes to be convincing, but what really threw her was how Eddie turned the personalities on and off. "He would walk in in the morning, and it was Eddie in costume and make-up with that famous laugh. But the minute the cameras started rolling, he became each character, and it was amazing!" remembers Janet.

Murphy was so hilarious as the Klumps that Janet had a tough time concentrating on the set--especially since he has a habit of wandering from the script. "Eddie ad-libbing and me trying to keep a straight face--that was really hard for me, and I ruined a few good takes because I was falling on the floor," admits Janet. "I was dying and trying to hold it together. I was pinching my neck, and trying to turn away from the camera."

But beneath all the wild humor of Nutty II is a sweet love story. Janet plays a beautiful and brilliant woman who could probably have any man she desires, but the guy who completely sweeps her off her feet is the Michelin Man-bodied, bespectacled, bow-tied Sherman Klump. "So many women are talking about how they could fall in love with Sherman, and he's someone I could fall in love with because it's about what's inside," Janet points out. (Hmmm...it's hard to imagine Janet Jackson hooking up with a guy who looks like a nerdy version of one of the Fat Boys. But, hey, now that she's officially split with longtime love Rene Elizondo, this is the perfect time for all the overweight loverboys to step up!)

The Nutty Professor II gives Janet the chance not only to showcase her acting ability, but to combine her two careers--singing and acting--into one, with the soundtrack's single, "Doesn't Really Matter." The song also provides Janet with a bridge to the next phase of her musical development, as it ends her long association with Grammy-winning super producer/ writers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Janet is currently in the studio working on her next CD (which should drop sometime in 2001), but this time she's got a new partner, Rockwilder, the brother who helped Method Man & Redman create last year's hit, "Da Rockwilder." "There was a point where I felt I wanted to switch up," Janet says. "It was the Velvet Rope album that brought [my relationship with Jimmy and Terry] to some sort of completion for me. Once I got that out, I felt it was okay to explore other producers."

Janet admits that she didn't know who Rockwilder was the first time she heard his music, but the tracks had her bumpin'. Janet remembers it like this: "I saw the song with Method Man and Redman on BET, and I fell in love with it. I called, and found out who it was, and we started talking, and he said, 'Actually, I wrote songs with you in mind. Can I send them?'"

So far, Miss Jackson has only cut three tunes for her upcoming album. She says it's too early to describe the overall thrust of the CD, but she admits that it will be "much lighter than Velvet Rope" and "a happy space."

What about the on-again, off-again talk of a Jacksons reunion album and tour? Janet says nobody has called her about it. "I keep hearing about this reunion, and I'm the last Jackson to find out about it!" But she adds that perhaps the family reunion rumors only apply to her brothers. Janet's not mad about that, however; in fact, she says that would be "awesome." For the moment, Janet's looking to set an awesome new tone for her own career with The Nutty Professor II and her new musical direction.