Dolemite Is My Name

Greetings again from the darkness. The old flea market adage is "one person's trash is another's treasure", and the same can be said for comedy. What you find obtuse and humorless may be the funniest thing your neighbor has ever seen or heard. No scientist can explain this phenomenon, and it's never been better exemplified than with a scene in director Craig Brewer's (BLACK SNAKE MOAN, HUSTLE & FLOW) latest film. Rudy Ray Moore and his group of friends are in a theatre watching Billy Wilder's comedy THE FRONT PAGE (1974), starring Walther Matthau and Jack Lemmon. The befuddled looks on the faces of Moore and his cohorts can't mask their confusion over the raucous laughter in the theatre and what they are viewing on screen. It's a turning point for Rudy Ray Moore and his next career step.

Eddie Murphy stars as Rudy Ray Moore, and though it's not necessary, having some knowledge of the career of the real Mr. Moore will likely enhance your viewing experience during this exceedingly entertaining, and sometimes riotous biopic. Ruby Ray Moore was a hustler who dreamed of making it big in show business - first as a singer, then as a stand-up comedian, and finally as movie star. His ambition and dreams kept him going, even after others wrote him off. We first meet Rudy as an assistant manager at Dolphin's of Hollywood record store. He's trying to smooth-talk the store DJ (Snoop Dogg) into playing Rudy's R&B records ... one of which is "The Ring-A-Ling-Dong" song. The DJ tells him the time for that music has passed, but the next light bulb soon goes off Rudy. A local panhandler (a terrific Ron Cephus Jones cameo) regales those in the store with tall tales from the 'hood. Rudy decides to fine-tune those tales and turn it into a comedy act.

Add some clothes and attitude and that's how Dolemite was born ... Rudy Ray Moore's onstage alter ego - part pimp, part rapping philosopher. His memorable catchphrase is repeated a few times throughout the film, and I'll do my best to present a PG version: "Dolemite is my name, and 'effing' up mother-'effers' is my game." Yep, now you have a better feel for Rudy and Dolemite. However, co-writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewsi (also co-writers on Tim Burton's ED WOOD, 1994), and especially Eddie Murphy, dig much deeper and provide a look at the man, his friends, and his career pursuits.

It's pretty interesting to see a guy, without much going for him, figure out a strategy that ends up working. Part of his wisdom was in 'knowing his audience'. His own preferences, and those of his friends, played right into what went on stage, on vinyl, and on screen. When a producer tells him his act will only be funny to the 5 blocks in Rudy's neighborhood, Rudy brilliantly responds, "Yeah, but every city in America has these same 5 blocks." It's that kind of instinct, along with his generosity, and understanding his own shortcomings, that allowed him to reach a level of success. The scene where he cuts a deal with uppity actor D'Urville Martin (a superbly funny Wesley Snipes) portrays Rudy's keen sense of persuasion ... he played to the ego.

Eddie Murphy reminds us of his immense comedic talents and how he became such a mega-superstar in the first place. Here, he's not really impersonating or mimicking Moore, but rather capturing his spirit and paying tribute to a man he so clearly respects. The supporting cast is also outstanding. In addition to Mr. Snipes, who we wish had more scenes with Mr. Murphy, Craig Robinson is hilarious as singer Ben Taylor, Keegan-Michael Key is socially-conscious playwright Jerry Jones, Titus Burgess is wide-eyed co-worker Theodore Toney, Mike Epps plays Moore's pal Jimmy Lynch, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (THE ROAD) plays the student-DP. In addition, we get a couple of other cameos from Chris Rock as DJ Daddy Fatts, and Bob Odenkirk plays a film distributor with dollar signs in his eyes. Deserving of special mention is Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("On Becoming a God in Central Florida") as Lady Reed, Rudy's muse and discovery. She is funny and ferocious in this role that should lead to much more work.

The film is produced by Netflix and it screened at the inaugural North Texas Film Festival. The music (Scott Bomar) and especially the costume design (Ruth Carter) are top notch, and contribute to the story and film. Rudy Ray Moore became a Blaxploitation icon at a time when the comedy of Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, and Moms Mabley were popular - so hopefully that gives you some indication of the type of humor the film delivers. Raunchy humor with Kung-Fu action and plenty of skin - that's the formula for the three Dolemite movies, as well as Moore's comedy albums (and their covers). This was a time when dropping Fred Williamson's name garnered instant respect. Some may compare this to James Franco's THE DISASTER ARTIST, but instead I recall Mario van Peebles' BAADASSSS!, a tribute to his filmmaking father Melvin. Hopefully your sense of humor will allow you to find the many laughs in this one, because Dolemite is dynamite ... and that' a WRAP!

The movie is a beautifully portrayed story of grit and having the support of a few good people around you.

The writers and Murphy showed Rudy Ray Moore as a real entertainer in that he did not care about displaying his ego to the audience - he just wanted to deliver what he knew the people enjoyed.

His friends did not always share his vision but they supported him until the end anyways. Their roles were played by actors who can project soul into the screen and were shot to make the most out of that soul.

Even the sound track was great and made watching the movie more entertaining and inspiring!

Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) was a true from the streets success. And, a late bloomer, as it were. After years of trying to breakthrough as an entertainer in L.A., the 40-something Moore took some stories he heard around his neighborhood and created the stand up comedian character of the cocky Dolemite. That act lead to underground success with self-released record albums and touring. With the Blacksploitation film genre exploding, it was only a matter of time until Dolemite hit the big screen. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski's script traces those crucial years in Moore's life in the early 70s. A raw, rude and raucous screenplay it is. Director Craig Brewer mostly keeps to the spirit of the writing and lets the dialogue and the acting take center stage. And, with Eddie Murphy delivering a strong energetic performance, it's best to stand back and let him fly. And, soar he does. With the makeup, hair and some extra pounds, Murphy takes on the dynamo persona of Moore/Dolemite. Occasionally, Murphy is "too good" an actor to totally capture the rough hewn Moore, who was more a force of nature than a smooth performer -- but, it's hard to fault him for giving "too good" a performance! Wesley Snipes is almost unrecognizable as D'urville Martin, a "name" actor who Moore lures by letting him Direct. Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Nicholas Von Sternberg* Dolemite's cinematographer straight out of film school who leads a band of young white behind the scenes crew members. The real scene stealer is Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Lady Reed, a small town girl who Moore discovers on tour. The entire cast throws themselves into this with a verge and enthusiasm that is palpable. The movie is a bit too long, with padded exposition and too close a fealty to the bio-pic template, but, as Dolemite himself might say: Who gives a $^@# about that!? You want action? You want laughs? You want some nasty?! We got it all! Listen to Dolemite.

* Note: I've worked closely with Nick Von Sternberg, so yes, it's based on a true person. Very kind gentleman. Indeed, he is the son of master filmmaker Josef Von Sternberg (although he passed when Nick was still a teen). Nick worked for over two decades as a cinematographer before leaving the business.

A very entertaining and well acted biopic about a common man who found his luck and became the inspiration for many artists in future generations. One of those artists is Eddie Murphy who now brings Rudy Ray Moore on screen, a man who even influenced Rap and the way it developed. Murphy is fantastic and easily gives the best performance of his career. He really nailed the role and was able to completely vanish into that character. A very award worthy turn and great comeback for him. Another comeback story is Wesley Snipes who is absolutely hilarious and self ironic. Never thought he had that in him and that gives me the feeling his comedic and also dramatic talent was wasted all those years before. Another noteworthy and beautiful turn was done by Da'Vine Joy Randolph. The film itself had a very realistic and colorful look with nice production design and great costume work. The screenplay was very good as was the direction of Craig Brewer. It perfectly mixes comedic elements with dramatic moments and in its result is a very respectful and faithful biopic. Definitely worth to see and another winner feature for Netflix. Watch out for Eddie Murphy in this Oscar race. At least a Golden Globe nomination should be a given.

"Dolemite is my name" is one of my favourite movies of the year so far along with Joker and Parasite. It's largely down to the career best performance by Eddie Murphy, who is simply mesmerising as Rudy Ray Moore. He brings so much energy to this role, along with his charm and humour. Eddie has never been this funny. Most of the jokes are raunchy so it might not be for everyone but it's impossible not to fall in love with Eddie in this film. I hope he is nominated in the best actor category at Oscars. He could even win it because he is that good.

Apart from Eddie, the film is full of brilliant performances, in particularly by Wesley Snipes who matches and sometimes steals the show from Eddie. It's a true ensemble. It's a shame that this movie is not getting a wide theatrical release because let me tell you if there is one film this year which needed to be seen on the big screen it's 'Dolemite Is My Name". A hilarious, heartfelt film which gives a really positive message to everyone who has a dream. A must-see crowd pleaser.