The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

-romantic comedy film

Romantic comedy film

Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...

 starring Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy

Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....

. It is a remake

Remake

A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...

 of the 1963 film of the same name

The Nutty Professor

The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...

, starring Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...

. The original music score was composed by David Newman

David Newman (composer)

David Louis Newman is an American composer and conductor known particularly for his film scores. In a career spanning nearly forty years, he has composed music for nearly 100 feature films.-Life and career:...

. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup

Academy Award for Makeup

The Academy Award for Best Makeup is the Oscar given to the best achievement in makeup for film. Usually, only three films are nominated each year rather than five as in most categories...

.

Murphy plays benevolent university professor Sherman Klump

Sherman Klump

Professor Sherman Klump is a fictional character portrayed by actor Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, similar to the Julius Kelp character played by Jerry Lewis in the original film. Sherman is a jolly, kind hearted science teacher at Welman College...

, who is morbidly obese. He invents a miracle weight-loss

Weight loss

Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...

 potion and, hoping to win the affection of the girl of his dreams, tries it on himself. Social situations demand that he call himself by a different name while he is using the potion and his slim self becomes an independent personality.