Time To Celebrate The Comedic Genius Of Eddie Murphy!
It’s a sentence that can spark some heated debates, but for a time, Eddie Murphy was the greatest movie comedian of them all!
After making a name for himself as a member of SNL and a standup comic, he exploded onto the movie scene in “48 Hours”, followed by “Trading Places” and “Coming To America”…
Introducing Axel Foley!
And of course, in the 80’s the mega-success of “Beverly Hills Cop” made him the most popular comedian on the planet…
Of course there were hits and misses, as there always are, probably none more so than his mega-bomb “The Adventures of Pluto Nash”…
There are many other examples of Eddie Murphy coasting on his past success…but I always felt Murphy had great acting inside of him – just waiting to come out…
In 2006, Eddie’s chance came…he was mesmerizing as James “Thunder” Early in the musical “Dreamgirls” – and when he won the Supporting Actor Golden Globe for the role, it seemed an Oscar was within his grasp…
But the Oscar that year went to Alan Arkin for “Little Miss Sunshine” – and Murphy seemed to stop trying – appearing in films that just didn’t grab audiences…and he seemed tired and uninterested in some of his roles…but when this comic Actor decides to step up to the plate, he can knock it out of the park!
Eddie Murphy’s Comedic Gem!
When given the right material, co-stars and direction – and if he is interested in trying – the results can be comedic genius – and here is one of my favorite comedies of all time that gave Eddie that “perfect storm”:
Bowfinger!
He wasn’t just funny once, Eddie Murphy is brilliant TWO TIMES in one of the funniest “movies about movies” ever made!
Time to experience the world of “Bowfinger”! This comedic gem stars Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham and a host of others, in a hilarious love letter to Hollywood, stardom and the love of movie making.
Here’s the plot: When desperate movie producer Robert Bowfinger (Steve Martin) fails to get a major star (Eddie Murphy) for his bargain basement film, he decides to shoot the film secretly around the star. This setup gives Murphy a chance to play two roles – which he does brilliantly – check out the trailer for this neglected comedy classic!
That’s right, desperate Producer Bowfinger ambushes paranoid action star Kit Ramsey and films him, making up a plot as he goes along. Eddie Murphy plays dual roles: as Ramsey, and also as a goofy PA who just wants to be in the business…oh, and he happens to be Kit’s brother, Jiff Ramsey…
Robert K. Bowfinger: Would you be willing to cut your hair?
Jiff Ramsey: Well, yeah, but it would probably be better if someone else did it. I’ve had a few… accidents.
Heather Graham is the young wannabe who steps off the bus in Hollywood and asks innocently:
“where do I go to be famous?”
But the movie works because Eddie Murphy shows up and steals every scene…as Kit Ramsey, he shows just the right amount of movie star paranoia…
And Murphy really commits to the role of Jiff Ramsey, a loveable klutz who just wants to be part of the movie business, even if that means doing Starbucks runs for the whole team…
And this scene, when he has to cross a freeway filled with “stunt drivers”, really shows his comedic skills…
Comedic gold! Kudos to the entire creative team behind “Bowfinger”, and especially Eddie Murphy, who shows just how good he can be…and he’s not alone!
Steve Martin’s Greatest Role!
And of course, Steve Martin was no slouch, either. In addition to his terrific performance in “Bowfinger”, he also made another classic cult comedy:
If you haven’t seen the teaser trailer for “Scoundrels”, you are missing one of the greatest “Single shot” trailers ever!
Read about the comedic masterpiece that is “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” – and see that trailer – by clicking HERE:
https://johnrieber.com/2013/05/09/classic-comedy-dirty-rotten-scoundrels/
And of course, there is one last thing to share – if you think Eddie Murphy is brilliant, see where he got it from:
If You Love Murphy, Then You MUST IDOLIZE Richard Pryor!
Yes, before there was an Eddie Murphy there was a Richard Pryor – the single greatest standup comedian of all time. Read all about this legendary performer by clicking here:
Celebrate your love of cinema by checking out all of these movies!
Categories: Academy Awards, Awards, Books / Media, Comedy Movies, Great Films, Movies, Movies About Movies, Obscure Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
Feels like I’m in your office chatting – always insightful, entertaining…and fascinating!
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Bill, thanks for reading it – always great to hear from you!
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Wow! Talk about thorough! Excellent work, John!
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Thanks for your comment, and for reading the story! I appreciate it!
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Great post, John! Loved it. So many great Eddie Murphy films out there but Bowfinger is hands down pure genius. Teaming Martin and Eddie together was inspired. Good work, man!
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Thanks for your comment! It deserves more attention that it got at the time!
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I love EDDIE! He’s made a few stinkers (pluto nash and all those professor clump movies for example) but he is comedy royalty for me. Putting him with Steve Martin was the BEST, there is no way that wouldn’t be a good movie. lol
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