The big movie news over the weekend had nothing to do with doomed space flights or killer sharks.
Eddie Murphy’s name is being bandied about as the front runner to host the next Oscar ceremony.
Nothing is set in stone, yet, but the move does make sense on a few levels. A good Oscar host should be (intentionally) funny, and he or she needs to transform breaking news into scathing one-liners. Murphy can do both better than virtually any of his peers.
Or, at least the Eddie Murphy from the 1980s could.
It’s a mystery how well the now-50-year-old actor could handle the Oscar hosting chores, arguably the toughest stage any stand-up comic could play. Murphy’s star has been falling for some time, and even a brilliant turn in the 2006 film “Dreamgirls” couldn’t stop its descent.
The trailer for his upcoming ensemble comedy “Tower Heist” hints at that old Murphy magic, but we’ll have to see if the film itself represents a genuine return to form.
The biggest issue is what I’ll call the Chevy Chase factor.
Back in the late 1970s, Chase was the epitome of cool. He used just one season on “Saturday Night Live” to launch his big screen career. No one has done that before or since. He was so laid back the punch lines just rolled off his tongue, almost like muscle memory or instinct.
And then came 1993’s “The Chevy Chase Show,” the late-night vehicle meant to resurrect his career after duds like “Nothing But Trouble,” “Caddyshack II” and “Memoirs of an Invisible Man” (great title, mediocre movie).
That talk show Hindenburg revealed Chase as a shell of his former self. The live TV veteran looked as if he was clinging to every cue card for survival. Even when he returned to the news desk on “Saturday Night Live” in subsequent years he seemed like a different, inferior talent, a man flustered by the video camera’s red light.
Chase had lost his mojo, plain and simple.
Will the same hold true for Murphy should he be given the Oscar assignment? If so, the upcoming awards telecast could be a brutal way for viewers – and Murphy himself – find out.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I hold out hope that Eddie can revive his career. He still has talent (he was absolutely brilliant in Bowfinger, one of the best comedies of the past twenty years). Part of Chevy’s problem was the revelation that he is/was one of the absolutely biggest jerks in entertainment. Both of them have done a generally lousy job of choosing material.
Great minds must think alike. I have similar concerns about Murphy being the host & wrote down some pros & cons at my blog.
Chevy only had a brief cameo in The Couch Trip.
Chris,
Good point — fixed now. Thanks for heads up.