What a year for Eddie Murphy and his fans. After years absent from the big screen, Murphy returned triumphant with Dolemite is My Name, the best episode yet of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and announced plans for a stand-up tour.
On top of all that, he shot Coming to America 2 and struck a massive deal with Netflix for comedy specials. The year of Eddie Murphy isn’t over, though. To finish off 2019, he’s hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time after a 35-year absence this Saturday with musical guest Lizzo.
The Promo
http://gty.im/145258183Murphy was a cast member on SNL from 1980 to 1984 and last hosted the show in 1984, when
Beverly Hills Cop was released. Despite all the high-profile movies he’s made since then, Murphy never hosted the comedy show again. As the story goes, David Spade made a crack about Murphy’s movies, which he didn’t take too well.
Apparently, it bothered him enough to lose interest in hosting. The last time he associated with Saturday Night Live was the 40th anniversary special. Now, he’s back, it’s a big deal, and SNL is treating it as such in a new promo:
Murphy is hosting the Christmas episode, and even if the quality is as inconsistent as the rest of SNL’s 45th season, Murphy makes it an event.
Standing Up Again
Murphy, who’s been happy to stay at home and spend time with his family these last few years, will hit the road again as a comic after Beverly Hills Cop 4. In the ‘80s, Murphy was the Michael Jackson of comedy. With Raw and Delirious, Murphy was a superstar on the stage.
After a 30-year absence from stand up comedy, he’s going to tour with new material, which he plans on testing out at comedy clubs. (Perhaps one day anyone visiting The Comedy Store in West Hollywood will see him hit the stage.) Reportedly, Murphy has a deal with Netflix for specials in the neighborhood of $70 million, but the streaming service has yet to confirm the story.
Dolemite is My Name!
Murphy is in the awards race at the moment, having just earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a comedy for Dolemite is My Name. Craig Brewer’s movie features one of the best, if not the best, performance of Murphy’s career.
His charisma is off-the-charts in it, but beyond the pure joy of Murphy cracking up an audience again, he expresses a deep love and soulfulness for the act of performing and creating. It’s a celebration of creativity and perseverance. Murphy is beautiful in Dolemite is My Name. There’s a tangible soul in his performance, which fingers crossed, gets him the Oscar he should’ve won for Dreamgirls.
What’s Next for Eddie Murphy
Murphy is going back to the past a bit with sequels to Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop, with Netflix having acquired the distribution deal to the latter. He sees Dolemite, Coming to America 2, and the next Axel Foley movie as a bookend, a standout chapter in his varied career. If he decides to stay on the couch forever, he’ll have ended things on a funny note.
Now that Murphy is back to stand up and making great comedies, the question is, when will he grace our ears with more music?
The man behind “Party All The Time” and a handful of albums hasn’t released a song since 2015 with “Oh Jah Jah,” a pleasant addition to his career. He still spends time making music, even playing on the set of his films sometimes. The more creative output from Murphy, the better.
