It’s hard not to miss the old Eddie Murphy when you see trailers for films like “Daddy Day Care” or his newest comedy, “Imagine That.”
Where did the hip, edgy comic with that braying laugh go?
So rather than bemoan his transition from cutting edge comic to a kinder, gentler Eddie, let’s toast his top 5 screen moments from a pretty impressive film career.
- “48 Hrs” – The bar scene: Our first taste of what Murphy could bring to the big screen.
- “The Nutty Professor” – Murphy works overtime. It’s easy to dismiss the film, and its sequel, as merely kid’s fare. But Murphy brought a gaggle of characters to life in a way few others could duplicate.
- “Trading Places” – The legless veteran. Pure PC free comedy.
- “Bowfinger” – Murphy crosses the road. One of Steve Martin’s better film projects had Murphy playing two roles – and doing both well.
- “Shrek” – “You cut me deep”: Murphy’s whimsical vocal work in the first “Shrek” feature seemed to liberate the comic actor at just the right time in his career.
(Photo: Eddie Murphy plays a put upon dad in the fantasy film “Imagine That.”)
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In the restaurant, Beverly Hills Cop, claiming the bad guy gave him an STD.
Bowfinger, the speech about blacks only winning Academy Awards when they play slaves and whites win when they play retarded people. His solution – play a retarded slave. A precursor to Tropic Thunder’s full-retard moment.
Since it was a major release, Eddie Murphy Raw and the Bill Cosby bit, and the San Francisco bit, one that couldn’t be made today.
Beverly Hills Cop II, sneaking into the gun club with a bag of vitamins, pretending they are hyper-explosive bullets.
So simple yet so Eddie, Trading Places and the rush is on at the stock market after the panic and Eddie is standing there calmly taking down one at a time.
Oh so many, and oh how I miss Eddie.
Any of the barbershop scenes in Coming to America.
My all time favorite Eddie movies are Trading Places and Delirious. I can watch both over and over.
Coming to America. All 3 of his characters (himself and Arsenio Hall) Hilarious!