Dolemite is My Name
Eddie Murphy Returns!
I’ve always liked Eddy Murphy. I’ve always liked his coarse brand of comedy. It wasn’t the only thing that he had to offer but for me he was that guy who could curse and make it sound cool (I know right?!).
I first saw him in Beverly Hill Cops and then in 48 Hours. This was before I even watched his fantastic performance in Coming to America.
He’s genuinely funny, he’s charismatic and he’s a damn good actor. Over the years I’ve seen him in a variety of movies and at a point, I began to feel as if he was trying to be more commercial and trying to broaden his reach.
These slew of movies (I see you Norbit) didn’t connect with me and I felt he was probably getting too old for the game and should retire.
Then I see the trailer for his new movie being distributed by Netflix and the first thing that comes to my mind is that Eddie Murphy is back to top form.
Trailers can be so well cut that the final movie can leave you feeling cheated because the trailer promises something that the feature can’t deliver on. I felt this way with Six Underground and I went into Dolemite cautiously optimistic.
From the very first scene, we see Eddie Murphy playing the role of Rudy Ray More; a man who has big dreams and believes in himself so much that he’ll bet on himself every single time.
While this film is meant to be a biopic, I could almost see this as a kind of Eddy Murphy story in the sense that it feels like he’s talking to the audience watching him and telling us that he’s still here and that he has what it takes to make us laugh so effortlessly.
And the laughs are effortless. The jokes are genuinely funny and it looks and feels like the entire cast and crew had a blast making this film about a man who wasn’t willing to let society tell him who he was meant to be, he would make his own path.
It’s a feel good movie about believing in yourself and never giving up despite the odds. It’s about friendship and thinking outside the box.
It’s one of the best films of 2019 for the sole reason that it tells a true story that also happens to be funny and you’ll have a blast watching this.
The caveat though is that you might not enjoy this if you don’t like crass jokes.
Watch it if the above doesn’t bother you. Watch it if you want to see Eddy Murphy chew scenery like only he can. Watch it because you enjoy a good comedy and finally because you want to see the unbelievable true story of a man who used raunchy comedy to make a name for himself.
Final verdict: 9/10
