7. The Nutty Professor (1996), remake of The Nutty Professor (1963)

The 1960s Jerry Lewis comedy was about a geeky professor who invented a potion which transformed him into smooth swinger Buddy Love. The remake featured a manic lead performance (well, seven lead performances) by Eddie Murphy, who played a number of different characters in the movie, and whose potion instead causes his chubby Professor Klump to lose over 250 pounds in weight. Murphy brings real heart to the Professor character which the original just didn’t have, but is still upstaged by newcomer David Chappelle who chews the scenery as one of the nastiest stand-up comedians of all time. The remake also manages to avoid subjecting the audience to 90 minutes of Jerry Lewis’ nasal voice, which is quite important in a comedy where you don’t want everyone to walk out halfway through.