^ Had Billy Crystal done anything meaningful when he started hosting? I can't remember what year he started, or what he did & when.
Billy Crystal, however, had a bit more of a reputation as a song-and-dance/showman. He may not have had a movie that'd came out recently that was worth knowing about but his reputation as an effective MC preceded him. Eddie Murphy, however, can't quite make those same claims to fame.
As far as I'm concerned, Eddie Murphy from Delirious or Raw is what I'd like to see. They'd talk about that longer than any wardrobe malfunction or lesbian kiss.
That's just it. We're
not going to get the Eddie Murphy from Raw or from Beverly Hills Cop. We're going to get the Eddie Murphy who did Norbit and the Nutty Professor who's been sterilized and cleaned up for a Prime Time Sunday TV audience. We won't even get the potentially good Eddie Murphy that looks to be in "Tower Heist." I feat that any ground he may gain there may be negated some-what by Doing the Academy Awards.
It's not a venue suited for his comedy style. Going back to Billy Crystal, his comedy style that makes him popular is "clean enough" to work in Primetime Sunday.
I'm not trying to say Eddie Murphy's stint at the Academy Awards won't work just that it has a lot going against it. I don't see how Eddie can be funny in this type of venue.
I could be proven wrong, however.
I do think he looks like he's going to be great in "Tower Heist" though. When I saw that trailer I was like, "What?! Did Brett Ratner travel back in time to 1990 and get the GOOD Eddie Murphy?!"
As much as you can hate on Ratner for X-Men First Class, that project had a lot of weight with it he couldn't handle. This type of movie looks like something he can pull off. (See: Rush Hour.)
