Dolemite Is My Name

Best Netflix original ever made. The entire cast was just perfect to say the least. Eddie Murphy nailed this in every way. Thank you for doing this movie.

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.

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!

Eddie Murphy is back on top with this biopic of Rudy Ray Moore, the hustler, shameless self-promoter of wildly cornball action-comedies of the 1970s. Murphy has finally found a character to really sink his teeth into...and Murphy relishes every moment of inhabiting the joyful and strangely charming yet naive character desperately searching to simply express himself a an entertainer of the people and for the people. His character is an outsider who elevates other outliers all searching for validation and some simple joys in the midst of working class America.

Murphy is funny, charming, and touching as this flawed heroic character. He deserves all the acclaim for bringing this story back to life and surrounding himself with talented ensemble cast and strong direction and wonderfully zany costumes of the 70s era.

This film is at times foul and other times touching and it deserves your attention throughout as it revels in the joys of telling a story deserving to be told and to be relished and enjoyed by anyone searching for an escape from the mundane or cynical stories prevalent in movies of today.

"Dolemite Is My Name" is a typical biopic bolstered by its implacable hilarity, its affection for its subject and its commitment to the time and place it is set. And yet, I'm still being nagged by something about his lead performance. Don't get me wrong, Murphy is very, very good, and I'd love to see him tackle Pryor next because of that. Just like Rudy Ray Moore, I buy him more than I do like Dolemite.That's probably the intention here, as Moore repeatedly says in the movie that the role is a put-on. That I keep rolling around in my head this performance says something about its staying power.Murphy isn't exactly the most charitable actor when he's the lead, a by-product of his star power, but he's here at its best when he's slyly letting the scene be stolen from below him.