Eddie Murphy owned the 80s’ comedy scene
Eddie Murphy was to comedy in the 1980s what Michael Jackson was to music. This might be hard for some of our younger readers to understand. Eddie Murphy peaked way before the Norbit, the Nutty Professor, and his brief experimentation with trans ladies of the evening. Thirty years ago, Eddie Murphy was the name in comedy. Pick any movie of his from the era (you can skip through Harlem Nights). You know what, we’ll just pick for you and you can thank us later.
Two movies that you must get a hold of immediately are Coming to America and Trading Places, the latter being a favourite for is Wall Street angle. Honorable mentions include the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies. He was king of the standup with Raw (watch if you can bear the poor quality of the bootleg, runtime: 1:44:43) and Delirious (watch, runtime: 1:48:10) being classics we picked up from our older siblings when our parents weren’t looking. His brief stint on Saturday Night Live saw him emerge as the first black comedy superstar from its graduating class. Age will do things to you. Forgive him, and watch the man at his best.