by Doug Brunell
(04/14/2004)
www.filmthreat.com



I've never been a huge fan of Eddie Murphy. I don't even like his music (probably one of the loosest uses of that word I've ever used). I guess I just never found him all that funny.



My earliest memory of the man occurred when he was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" and some of my female family members were watching and wondering aloud about the size of his penis. That was my introduction to the man who would later go on to voicing a jackass (art imitating life, perhaps). It was a rocky start, and the path ahead never got any smoother.



For a time, America loved Murphy. He was a black man white America could appreciate, and the fact that he wasn't very political made it even easier for white America to embrace him. He had well-received stand-up films and movies such as "Beverly Hills Cop," which my brother played the soundtrack to on a nearly non-stop basis. There were fond "SNL" memories. For the longest time, Murphy could do no wrong. Every honeymoon comes to an end, though, and Murphy soon lost his cheap appeal.



There were the expeditions into Top 40 radio and a string of bad movies that seemed to reach the depths of despair with "The Adventures of Pluto Nash." And what was the deal with that transvestite? More importantly, what did his fans think of all this?



Murphy's older fans turned their back on the man who turned his back on them. The raunchy Murphy of old had turned into the kid-friendly Dr. Dolittle. The man who once had interviewers begging to talk to him now had to remind people of his former greatness. The future of black comedy was no longer associated with Murphy.



I wasn't surprised.



Murphy always struck me as a smarter Andrew Dice Clay and little more. His success amounted to being in the right place at the right time, and it counted more on luck than skill, as was apparent when his act lost its steam and he was unable to recover. The man who was once considered a wild gun who could say anything at anytime was now an afterthought. I'm sure that hurt his die-hard fans. It shouldn't have surprised them, though. It was pretty apparent that this was inevitable.



I think his career began its decline when he put out the "Party All the Time" single. The song was actually a hit, but did he learn nothing from William Shatner and Don Johnson? My friends, who were still devoted to Murphy at the time, agreed that the song seemed like a bad choice. "Give him a chance," they told me. "He'll be back." Oh, he came back all right.



It could be argued that Murphy turned his career around and went from a foul-mouthed comedian to a caring, sensitive, leading man family type of guy. That may have been his goal, but you'd have to admit that he lost something along the way. I didn't find him very funny before, but he's even less so now. In fact, the last time I laughed during one of his movies was while watching "Bowfinger." Murphy has had one golden moment as of late, though.



Shrek earned some nice bank, but that can't be credited solely with Murphy. Can't and shouldn't be. No, that was a cast project. Anything that has relied solely on Murphy has ... well, it's a gamble, and I'm surprised studios are still willing to make the bet.



The Murphy of old, the Murphy who Spike Lee accused of not doing enough to help out other black actors, the Murphy who paid for Redd Foxx's funeral -- he's not coming back. That may sadden his old fans, but there are other comedians they can follow. The Murphy we are stuck with is content doing Disney films. That's not a bad thing, but let's not pretend he'll ever return to his former "glory." That just won't happen at this point.



And for those of us who never found him all that funny in the first place and thought he was little more than a lucky hack -- well, it looks like we were right. "The Haunted Mansion," anyone?

2the9s said:

but, did prince work with eddie murphy? besides the tranny thang?

sosgemini said:

i think they were friends. his brother lost a basketball game to prince. that's all i know.

2the9s said:

ehehe

Natsume said:

or better yet, let's move it to the fan gatherings forum.

JasmineFire said:

Better yet, let's totally jack the shit outta this thread!

Hey! Today is Tax day in the US! Who's still working on theirs?

I owed much buck.

2the9s said:

i did my taxes in january or something. my dad is still doing his.

if you owe a lot fo money, doesn't that mean you're rich? it's a good thing!

2the9s said:

I didn't owe anything!!

JasmineFire said:

or that you claim to many deductions cause your a broke ho'.

Natsume said:

hey, what are you doing in my thread?

you unpatriotic boobie!!!

Natsume said:

That's cause you probably claimed Christopher as a dependent and will get cold busted by the IRS!

This thread misses a big point about Eddie Murphy's career: He put out some great films that fell short of the mark of commercial triumph. Sure, black people supported them and went to them, probably even have many of the films on DVD or video, but the numbers weren't there, after a while.


Coming to America. Say "sexual chocolate" and folks just roll. A great film that probably has had an even greater life on cable than in its theatrical release.

A lot of folks point to his Boomerang as a great film. It had a funny plot, an all-star cast and characters whose antics have become black cultural touchstones: "You got to co-OR-dinate," "Strong-AY!" and "it's racial" (include hand movements on that last one). But, how many nonblacks rushed out to see it when it was in theaters?

Same for Harlem Nights. Great film, full of antics, and it was wonderful seeing Eddie teaming up with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. It had the makings of a fine film, blacks seemed to dig it quite a bit -- but how successful was it?

The Bevery Hills Cop franchise had run out of steam by the final sequel. Another 48 Hours was almost torturous to watch.

So, is it any wonder that -- particularly after the giving-a-helpless-transvestite-a-ride scandal -- Murphy decided to go for more family-friendly fare? He's made a lot of money being a Klump or talking to animals.

As for giving less money to up-and-coming artists, EM has a family to support now. I'm not sure what he's expected to do.

And, I liked some of those songs of his, particularly that duet with Michael Jackson! But I would.

sosgemini said:

I am so patriotic!

Look at my flag:

Damn, threadbare just rejacked this thread from right out under us...

ThreadBare said:

why are you talking about eddie murphy's career? this thread is about taxes!

2the9s said:

JasmineFire said:

Cuz, that tripe overlooked Boomerang!!!

Natsume said:

me, neither.

ThreadBare said:

wha? taxes, man! TAXES!!!!!

JasmineFire said:

Perhaps you lovely ladies would care to contribute to the Threadbare Tax Fund, because I owe, I owe...

ThreadBare said:

but that just means you're rich! you should be happy!

ThreadBare said:

I creamed myself when I heard Party all the Time for the first time ever...

JasmineFire said:

No, it means I got bumped into a higher bracket but had fewer deductions this year.

ThreadBare said:

I am on the same page with ThreadBare. I hate to see these little gnat journalists kicking stars when they're supposedly down. He'd have never had it in him to dis Eddie when he was "on top."

In any event, "Coming To America" was as funny as any of the early movies. "Boomerang" remains his best movie. "Harlem Nights" is underrated, but mildly disappointing because any movie with Eddie, Richard, Redd and Robin Harris in it should have been the funniest film ever made. The "Nutty Professor" films were corny, but the Klumps were hilarious. He's made some duds, but the Doolittle flicks and Daddy Day Care made bank. I don't dig him that much anymore, but he's not doing badly.

But do you notice that none of these movies involve him playing the wisecracking, horny, macho black foil/sidekick to a white co-star, and how none of these newer films are set in a predominantly white environment? When he was rollin' with Nolte in 48 Hours, Ackroyd in Trading Places, or the cats in Beverly Hills Cop, he was the greatest thing going.

I'm not drawing conclusions, just making observations.

namepeace said:

Just having a conversation with my wife about this as you were posting! Great minds think alike.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 15 11:09:53 2004 by Adisa]

ThreadBare said:

Sexual Chocolate, everybody! I believe the children are the future....


No clue as to how successful it was, but how sexy was Eddie in that cream-colored suit? And that scene in the restaurant still cracks me the fuck up ("twelve-sandwich-eatin', gelatin-ass...")


Dr. Doolittle 2 kicks much ass!

I have one thing to say to Doug Brunell:
Put a telephone pole....in ya butt!

FunkMistress said:

Hey baby! I love it when you come to visit in the GD forum.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

This Doug Brunell bitch was just callin' for my whip.