Eddie Murphy is Back in ‘Dolemite’

In case you’ve forgotten, Eddie Murphy is a movie star.

The viral clip of him and fellow ‘Coming to America 2’ actor Wesley Snipes meeting ‘Bad Boys for Life’ stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence also filming at Tyler Perry Studios is a sweet and recent reminder, but Netflix’s ‘Dolemite is My Name’ (2019) is the real hallo again.

Starring Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, the film tells the unbelievable true story of an ageing but irrepressible entertainer whose dreams of fame have fizzled into him working at a record store where the in-house DJ (Snoop Dogg) won’t spin his dated tunes.

Eventually, in walks a wino with tall tales to spare as well as a pimping, foul-mouthed folk antihero to embody and Moore has the makings of his own legend.

Scant on any moral or monetary repercussions for Moore essentially stealing the wino named Rico’s character and rhyme schemes, the film takes the appropriation in its stride and focuses on Moore’s meteoric rise.

Playing like a black Tommy Wiseau, after the success of his comedy persona, Moore fancies himself a blaxploitation film star despite all conventional evidence to the contrary – relatively advanced age, paunch, thinning hair and a marked lack of acting talent or ability to do the karate he insists on having in his films.

As the initially dejected then go-getting, culture-building and shrewd Moore and the lewd, rhyming, larger-than-life Dolemite, Murphy returns to form playing both sides of the character with sensitivity and comedic aplomb.

Also starring the solid cast of Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Snipes, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson and Titus Burgess, the film chronicles the disastrous making of a movie by a controversial comedy star who later became known as the godfather of rap.

Debuting a comedy style that involved music played behind his bawdy rhymes, Moore is credited with influencing rappers such as Snoop Dogg who once said “without Rudy Ray Moore, there would be no Snoop Dogg, and that’s for real.”

A solid biopic from the streaming giant and a celebration of relatively unsung hip-hop and comedy hero, ‘Dolemite is My Name’ is worth a watch to see Murphy back in action, learn more about the culture and have a pretty a good time.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

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