While doing press for Tower Heist, Eddie Murphy talked a bit about wanting to get away from doing family-friendly comedies, of the sort that have largely seen him score big at the box office even if the critical reaction hasn’t exactly been positive. But even if he doesn’t plan to make more in the genre, his most recent effort, A Thousand Words, has finally brought forth a trailer, which you can watch below.

We say recent, but A Thousand Words has been stick in limbo for around three years, sitting on a shelf waiting to be released. And now, thanks to Murphy’s decision to host the Oscars, it’s getting its shot! Hooraaaa…. Wait… Billy What now?

Anyhoo, the plot finds Murphy as Jack McCaw, a fast-talking, truth-bending publisher type who’s never above telling a few porkie pies to get what he needs. But when he lies to the wrong man – Cliff Curtis’ Zen guru Dr Sinja – he’s given an interesting dilemma: a tree grows in his yard, holding a thousand leaves. One leaf drops for every word Jack speaks… And he’s only got a thousand of them before he dies. So what lessons can he learn now that everything he says is actually important?

The likes of Allison Janney, Kerry Washington and Kick-Ass’ Clark Duke round out the cast. A Thousand Words is out on April 6, 2012.