Eddie Murphy has only appeared in two movies this decade: Tower Heist, A Thousand Words, and Mr. Church. (He also voiced Donkey in Shrek Forever After, but that doesn’t count, for many reasons.) The comedy legend has been missed, but I guess no Eddie Murphy is better than Norbit star Eddie Murphy.
In fact, it’s been 13 years since his last universally praised project, Dreamgirls, and he’s returning to the 1970s for his next film. Directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), Dolemite Is My Name stars Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, a multi-talented comedian and self-proclaimed “Godfather of Rap” who also appeared in multiple blaxploitation films as his self-created character Dolemite.
“The most important thing to realize with this project is that this was his project; he wanted to tell the story of Rudy Ray Moore,” Brewer said about Murphy (he’s also directing Coming to America 2). “I had known Eddie and he looked at Hustle & Flow and saw the same kind of themes in that movie as this was one, and he’s the one who really supported me being the director of this. We’ve established a really great, respectful working relationship. Also, I just wanted to work my ass off to see him on the big screen again doing what he does best.”
Watch the trailer above. Here’s the official plot summary:
Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy portrays real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.
Dolemite Is My Name, which also stars Tituss Burgess, Craig Robinson, Mike Epps, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Snoop Dogg, and Wesley Snipes, will release on Netflix and in select theaters this fall.
