For Murphy, the ability to riff in the vocal booth perfectly folded into his capacity for improvisation. Like Williams, Murphy switches between clowns - the Baptist preacher, the paternal guardian, a strawman soldier - on his way to personal redemption. It’s a wholly crafted character that imbues this historic story of a daughter pretending to be a man to save her father from combat, with a keen punch and forceful rhythm. Similar to Robin Williams before him, Eddie Murphy retooled his standup experience and raunchy onstage persona into animated magic. “Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow,” exclaims Murphy as the magical dragon Mushu. Murphy cuts up with his heroes for some of the sharpest banter of his career, particularly the pinkie toe scene, which not only honors and lampoons his peers but demonstrates his own presence and ability to play with the best. In a deep ensemble featuring Black Hollywood legends - Richard Pryor as Quick’s adoptive father and Sugar Ray as a fellow club owner, as well as appearances by Redd Foxx and Della Reese - Murphy works to fully establish himself among this set of resplendent luminaries. A historic film with a political thrust foretelling the eventual gentrification that would happen to the New York neighborhood, Harlem Nights is a more subdued performance by Murphy as the suave, almost noirish Quick. In his lone directorial work (which he also wrote and produced), Murphy is hot-shot Harlem club owner Vernest "Quick" Brown. The camera is equally enamored with him, especially in the taut honky tonk bar scene, where his confrontation against racist white cowboys cuts through the cinematic air with a confidence that belies his relative inexperience. Even with his inchoate acting ability, Murphy displays impeccable timing and a suggestive dramatic tension that rises above the dross material on the page. While Murphy doesn’t appear until about a third of the way through the film, he’s an immediate burst of charisma, to such a point you wonder why he isn’t the lead. In his debut screen performance as the supporting act opposite Nick Nolte (playing a racist, no-nonsense cop), Eddie Murphy portrays the sex-crazed inmate Reggie Hammond, who Nolte enlists on a 48-hours-leave from prison to track down an at-large murderer in San Francisco.
#Eddie movie movie#
Here are the 14 best Eddie Murphy movie performances, ranked. This list will consider how each performance and character fit in Murphy’s journey as an actor, his cultural prominence, and how he added new layers to his on-screen presence. It’s through these that we see how he has grown and reconfigured himself from upstart stand-up comedian to an Oscar-nominated actor who has reimagined the Black leading man away from the prestige space held by Denzel Washington, and earned a corner of box-office dominance that defied his staunchest critics in the process. While one could easily rank the best Eddie Murphy movies - regurgitating a list that offers few surprises and even fewer insights into his career - what’s far more interesting is looking at his best performances. That work began early, when he modeled his stand-up presence after heroes like Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx (beginnings he lovingly references in the opening of his seminal stand-up special Raw ), continued when he came to SNL, and took on greater urgency when he entered Hollywood.Īs an actor, Murphy’s career can be split in several phases: the early expanding of his SNL persona into hip raconteur, his man of a thousand faces era, his dance with child movies, his decline, and his recent revival. That’s because the comedian-turned-actor has spent his entire career honing his craft. What makes a great Eddie Murphy performance isn’t always the same as what makes a memorable Eddie Murphy movie. While one could easily rank the best Eddie Murphy movies, what’s far more interesting is looking at his best performances.
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