Dolemite Is My Name: Eddie Murphy hasn’t been this great in decades
While the current talk of a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Eddie Murphy is laying it on too thick, his craft, commitment and connection to Dolemite Is My Name is there for all to see, admire and enjoy.
Leigh Paatsch
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If Eddie Murphy’s wired and inspired turn in the lead of Dolemite is My Name doesn’t hit you as the comeback of the year, then you are just too hard to please.
Seriously, the one-time most famous comedian in the world (both as a live stand-up and on the big screen) has not been this great in decades.
While the current talk of a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Murphy is laying it on too thick, his craft, commitment and connection to this material is there for all to see, admire and enjoy.
In a generously paced comedy based on a true story, Murphy plays the late Rudy Ray Moore.
You’ve probably never heard of the guy, but after seeing this movie, I can guarantee you’ll be hitting YouTube and Wikipedia for further evidence this remarkable character actually existed.
To cut a long story short – and at a running time of two hours, the movie is in no rush to tell it to you – Rudy Ray was a former no-hit-wonder singer who miraculously reinvented himself as both a wildly popular comedian and movie star with African-American audiences in the 1970s.
Moore’s breakthrough moment was tapping into a cultural heritage of humour, music and storytelling that spoke powerfully to the black experience in America across the centuries.
Sure, the jokes were blue and his delivery was, err, unconventional to say the least – Moore’s live act is cited in some circles as a major influence on the first-wave rap artists of the 1980s – but Moore was an irresistible force once he connected with an audience.
What this mercurial figure lacked in talent, he more than compensated for with a flair for do-it-yourself, seat-of-the-pants entrepreneurship that succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams (or what was considered to be the boundaries of good taste at that time).
A joy to watch from start to finish, further boosted by a ripping support cast led by Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock and Snoop Dogg.
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (R18+)
Director: Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow)
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock, Keegan Michael-Key, Snoop Dogg.
Rating: ***1/2
Murphy’s lore rewritten
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