Review by Jessica Carr
According to Dolemite, good movies need “Titties, funny, and kung-fu.” It’s probably good then that Dolemite Is My Name has a potent combination of all these things. I was pretty sure by watching the trailer that this would be the beautiful beginning of an Eddie Murphy renaissance and I’m happy to report that I was right!
Murphy kicks ass as performer Rudy Ray Moore, a man who most people probably wouldn’t know the name of unless they were a fan of 70s blaxploitation cinema. Moore was hitting a slump in his comedy career, so he created a character: Dolemite the pimp. Then he did something outrageous; he tried to make a movie. The film is a beat-by-beat telling of Moore’s journey as he made the first Dolemite film, which led to him making more films in the Dolemite series.
This biographical comedy is really about persistence. When we first meet Rudy, he is getting to be one of those washed up comedians who nobody really pays attention to. He believes in his dream to make a film even though he has absolutely no experience in it. To me, casting Eddie Murphy in this role was a perfect decision. After all, the movie is about a guy who everyone has stopped believing in, much like Murphy, whose film career has dwindled in the last decade. But through perseverance and passion, both Rudy in real life and Eddie in this film are able to make audiences believe in their talent again.
In terms of technicality, the film doesn’t really do anything out of the ordinary. Director Craig Brewer seems to look at Rudy’s biography as story already laid out for him. It is a lot like Disaster Artist, where the film is showing how a cult classic was made – so the scenes with the actors are often almost exactly like the original.
However, I like Dolemite is My Name more than Disaster Artist because it shows the film industry through the African-American perspective. One scene that comes to mind is when Rudy and his friends go to a theater and watch Billy Wilder’s The Front Page. They’re surrounded by white people roaring in laughter, but Rudy and his friends just don’t find the jokes funny. So Rudy grabs his friends and a bunch of film students and sets out to create something that they would enjoy watching.
I also love the supporting cast in this film. My favorite person was Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), a talented singer and actress that becomes both Rudy’s protege and possibly his best friend. He looks to her for advice and support especially before shooting his sex scene when he worries that he doesn’t have the right figure for a romantic male lead. She tells him to not take the scene so seriously – to play it funny instead of straight – which makes for one of the best scenes in the film.
Overall, Dolemite is My Name is very funny and ultimately inspiring in the way it tells the true story of a man who created art against the odds. I think it also sets the stage for a much anticipated comeback from Eddie Murphy, another talented guy who still deserves your attention.