Eddie Murphy: Raw

I'm not kidding, my stomach is sore from all the laughing. After a brief sketch that serves as a lead-in and to some extent, a setup, this is 77 minutes of pure and gradually increasing hilarity(and there is actually insight to a ton of what he says). This and Hot Fuzz(which had the greater effect on me, but you really can't compare these) are the only two things where I've ever felt like I might croak, that my (23-year old and trim as of writing this, mind you) body might be overwhelmed from my enjoying the crap out of what I was seeing and hearing. I love Murphy when he is allowed to do what he does best, and not asked to do it in an irritating manner. The man has a machine-gun for a mouth(in the sense that it can fire off absolutely lethal verbal projectiles at such a speed that counting them soon becomes an exercise in pointless behaviour) and he can behave arrogantly as well as self-deprecating(if the scales aren't necessarily equal). His impersonations are excellent, and Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor(R.I.P.), Michael Jackson(R.I.P.), Africans, Jamaicans, Italians, etc. must have been embarrassed, if they don't have(or had in those 2 cases) a sense of humor about themselves. This is a performance by Eddie, and like other stand-uppers, he ties it together and repeats certain punchlines. The whole thing keeps to an astounding pace(with very few exceptions), and flies by. This is filmed and edited with skill, evident especially in the fact that you don't notice it; it doesn't draw attention to itself, and off the man. There are stereotypes in this, and it is in general quite controversial. The main focus is on relationships, women and sex, though he does talk about gay people, us whites and our inability to dance, and there is a brief bit of bodily function jokes. There is a constant stream of strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of the comic the way I would a hot meal to someone hungry. 8/10

There was once a day when everything Eddie Murphy said and did was hee-larious. Back in 1987, at the height of his powers, Eddie released a movie version of his stand-up act Raw, a sort of follow-up to 1983's Delirious.

Film at New York's Felt Room, Eddie discusses Mr T, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor (doing faultless impressions of all), Johnny Carson's costly divorce, relationships, gays, a home-made McDonalds burger that ruined his childhood etc. It's all pure comedy gold. After about half an hour you'll realize that the reason your face hurts so much is because you're smiling too hard. My favorite moment has to be any impression Eddie does of the average white guy, especially the 'white dude dancing' moment.

Where did this Eddie Murphy go and who is the man that gives us kiddie drek such as Daddy Day Care and Haunted Mansion? If you need a major dose of Eddie in his prime then check this one out. I promise you'll love it and you'll be quoting it for days.

Look out for a youthful Samuel L. Jackson and Basil Wallace as Eddie' uncle and dad too.

This movie came out late 1987, and people were dying for a sequel to "Delirious" which was 1983. If you go back and watch Richard Pryor's "live in Concert" or "Here and Now" you see that Eddie used some of Pryor's stuff, but gave it its own shot of himself (In delirious, Murphy does the "bARBQ scene/story" and he describes his aunt falling down the steps. It is the exact same description Pryor does in "Live in Concert" when he describes black women at funerals.) RAW used all the things that made Eddie Murphy famous; his deadon imitations, and his gift for telling stories. I can't even watch Martin Lawrence, DL Hughely, Cedric the Entertainer and a few others without noticing Eddie Murphy's influences right away. People forget how big he was, and how good- wayyy before he started doing bad talking animal movies. There are some debates over which was better Raw or Delirious....they are both hilarious, but you can tell the mindset was much different only 4 years later. In RAW, Murphy compares himself to Johnny Carson, while in Delirious he was just the most popular guy on Saturday Night Live. RAW is one of the best and funniest concert comedies ever, and I dare someone not to laugh out loud when watching it......NOTE: This movie was reviewed in 1987 when it came out by Siskel and Ebert "AT The Movies", which was when they were getting really popular in syndication, and it spurred one of the best on-air disagreements between the two EVER. Siskel likened RAW, and Eddie Murphy overall, as being as funny (or funnier)and outrageous as Pryor, Carlin or Lenny Bruce. He loved the movie. Ebert despised it, and chastised Siskel for being "immature" and he also felt that Murphy's attitudes toward women were patronizing, damaging and even went so far as to call RAW a "pale imitation of a good comedienne". I thought Ebert was nuts at the time, and now that Siskel is dead, I can't find any review of RAW on Ebert's website. I've emailed him numerous times about it, trying to figure out why a movie that was so popular, and not even that long ago, would not be in his database. Does anyone else thinks that sounds fishy?

This is not quite as funny as Delirious, but nothing could be. However, it is still is one of the funniest stand-ups around. The first half an hour is on par with his previous stand-up. The first half an hour he does impressions of some of the same people he did impressions of in DELIRIOUS. This includes Michael Jackson and Mr. T again. He also does impressions of what I can only surmise has to be a real life phone call from Bill Cosby. This is one of the funniest parts of the show as his voice and idiosyncrisies of Bill are right on. His ensuing conversation with Richard Pryor is also quite funny.

There is also some great bits in here about women, dating, and marriage. And while many people have claimed that Eddie is nothing but a misogynist with his rantings now, it has to be said that there has to be some truth to what he is ranting about.

The show does lack a little near the end but that is okay because the rest of the show is one hilarious skit after the other. He even takes on his parents again and does quite a good job.

Raw is not quite as funny as Delirious but it is a great follow up to his first one.

7 out of 10

Live in New York, Eddie Murphy may well look quite ridiculous in his purple jumpsuit but he holds the stage really well in this large arena. It goes without saying that his material is relentlessly foulmouthed and occasionally offensive but it rarely bothered me because he does manage to be consistently funny throughout the show. His topics are mostly in the realm of relationships in regards sex and women generally. This worried me a little bit because these topics hardly offered much in the way of originality but actually he did really well with it.

It wasn't that he avoided clichés (because he doesn't) but more that he manages to inject energy into his whole show. At times his material is very strong but even when he is being obvious and crude, his energy lifts it, engages the audience and makes it feel better than it is. I wasn't rolling with laughter all the time but I did really enjoy the show so, even when I didn't laugh at some bits, it wasn't really a problem but he was generally still amusing. Director Townsend doesn't really help him by having the camera tight on him so much either; Murphy's energy is in his whole body so the close shots reduce this somewhat – plus the whole setup makes it hard to appreciate the audience being in the room.

Overall though a funny and energetic show from Murphy. It isn't a classic by any means and his material is hardly original but he has stage presence and energy and that helps a lot. Maybe too crude and foulmouthed to be to everyone's tastes but if it is your thing then it is worth a look.