Was Eddie Murphy really underrated?

[propita]

Has anyone seen “Bowfinger”?

Murphy does double duty as two completely different characters in what is practically a parody of Hollywood. I think he should have at least been nominated for best supporting actor for his performance and this exclusion was just unfair. Yeah, he hasn’t done really a lot of substantial work in drama, but Marisa Tomei got an oscar for the comedy “My Cousin Vinny."

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I would have liked to see what Star Trek IV would have been like with him in it. (He was supposed to play a college professor who sees the Klingon ship decloak - in the middle of Super Bowl halftime. When he chose to do The Golden Child instead, the part was pretty much deleted, and Gillian Taylor was created)

 

[Roger Wilco]

Underrated? Wasn't he one of the best paid Hollywood actors for some time?

 

[Reverend]

Yeah I'd say he was fairly well rated. Not under, not over, just rated.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Unless you listen to his early comedy, which was R rated

I would swear there was a rumor back in the day of him maybe appearing in STIII, but it was so long ago.

 

[Owain Taggart]

He's had his brilliant moments. Much like older comedians, however, he seems to have really chosen bad movies to be in lately. Oh, I know. In the new Trek movies, they could have some of the actors that were almost cast in the movies to make an appearance. It's an alternate universe... what if Eddie Murphy were to appear playing the character he almost played?

 

[od0_ital]

^

Like older comedians, he had kids & he started makin' movies they could watch.

 

[Reverend]

OK, so what do we all think is Eddie's finest work? My personal favourite has to be Trading Places, though I'd put Coming to America as a close second. I mean you have to love Eddie Murphy playing an old Jewish white bloke arguing about boxing with a barber who is also played by Eddie Murphy while Eddie Murphy is getting his hair cut...and people think he did a good juggling act with Bowfinger and Nutty Professor!

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'd agree on Trading Places. One of my favorite 80's pictures.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I think he's a bit underrated these days, and that's in spite of gaining an Oscar nomination a couple years back. In fact if anything that Oscar nomination made some people go "Oh, right, Eddie Murphy can turn in really good work when he wants to."

People have lost sight of the fact that one time Murphy was (and still is) a brilliant, brilliant comedic actor. That's just gotten buried under a glut of horrible, horrible movies. Many of which have come out in the past decade one after another.

 

[Starbreaker]

Ahem

Pluto Nash
Norbit

 

[Goliath]

^Even Homer nods.

 

[auntiehill]

UNDERrated? Um,....................no.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I think he's a bit underrated these days, and that's in spite of gaining an Oscar nomination a couple years back. In fact if anything that Oscar nomination made some people go "Oh, right, Eddie Murphy can turn in really good work when he wants to."

People have lost sight of the fact that one time Murphy was (and still is) a brilliant, brilliant comedic actor. That's just gotten buried under a glut of horrible, horrible movies. Many of which have come out in the past decade one after another.

Yep, exactly. I'm sure he could be brilliant again if he had the right script. Personally, I really think he was brilliant in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Chris Rock seems to try to be Eddie Murphy in some of his movies by following in his footsteps and he just comes across as really annoying instead.

Right now however, he seems to choose terrible scripts, much the same way Robin Williams has been doing. Like od0 has stated, he started making movies his kids could watch, instead of just doing a great movie that both adults and kids could watch. Oh, I think his best stuff lately has been playing Donkey in the Shrek series.

 

[Captain Craig]

I'm scratching my head like others as this question of him being Underrated.
He was one of the biggest stars from the early 80's till around 2000. Having his fair share of a few misfires(Vampire in Brooklyn, Metro)

Murphy had lots of lead marquee time. Most people probably like:
48 Hrs
Trading Places
Coming to America
Beverly Hills Cop(ok at least 1&2)
Nutty Professor
Dr. Doolittle

The last decade for Eddie has been flip the prior twenty where he made his name have value. He's been in a few hits and had mostly flops. His best films the past 10yrs have to be:
The Shreks
Daddy Day Care
Dreamgirls(and only for the Oscar nod)

I think that Eddie needs to get back on track. His career really has mirrored Harrison Ford in a way except that Ford didn't make memorable movies for the middle part of last decade. He did Hollywood Homicide and Firewall and those are about the only ones to mention and they weren't good films, just wide released ones. Indiana Jones 4(2008) was his relaunch of sorts and now has Morning Glory out and will be in next summers (imo) blockbuster Cowboys&Aliens. Eddie needs his Indy 4 and that is most likely Beverly Hills Cop 4. Dust off Axel's Lions Jacket like Ford dusted off the fedora and give us some more Foley love, come on Eddie!!

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I think I remember hearing about a new Beverly Hills Cop being in limbo for quite awhile now. I know he wants to do another one. Heck, maybe he should team up with Robin Williams for something.

 

[Too Much Fun]

If Eddie Murphy is 'under' anything, it's 'underused' in Hollywood. By that I mean he's not used to his fullest potential, appearing in so many lame family comedies that are beneath him. To be fair, part of the problem is there just aren't as many clever comedy scripts around in modern Hollywood as there were in his heyday of the eighties, but still, he could have been a lot pickier.

I've been catching up on his 80s work over the past few years. It wasn't that long ago that I saw "Beverly Hills Cop", "48 HRS", and "Trading Places" for the first time, and every time I watch one of these movies, I just become more impressed by what a tremendous talent Murphy was in his 20s, and sadder about how much his career has sucked for the past 15 years or so (aside from the occasional bright spot like "The Nutty Professor", "Bowfinger", "Shrek" or "Dreamgirls").

I'm looking forward to seeing "Coming to America". Murphy was so lucky in the eighties finding directors and writers who knew how to come up with projects that were perfectly suited to his talent. This kind of stuff just doesn't happen as much these days, not just with him, but with a lot of actors. I think it's part of the reason why The Rock hasn't had a big hit starring vehicle despite his strong screen presence. Too bad "The Rundown" was a flop. It should have been his "48 HRS" (it was even compared to that movie), but I digress.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I think he's a bit underrated these days, and that's in spite of gaining an Oscar nomination a couple years back. In fact if anything that Oscar nomination made some people go "Oh, right, Eddie Murphy can turn in really good work when he wants to."

People have lost sight of the fact that one time Murphy was (and still is) a brilliant, brilliant comedic actor. That's just gotten buried under a glut of horrible, horrible movies. Many of which have come out in the past decade one after another.

Yep, exactly. I'm sure he could be brilliant again if he had the right script. Personally, I really think he was brilliant in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Chris Rock seems to try to be Eddie Murphy in some of his movies by following in his footsteps and he just comes across as really annoying instead.

Right now however, he seems to choose terrible scripts, much the same way Robin Williams has been doing. Like od0 has stated, he started making movies his kids could watch, instead of just doing a great movie that both adults and kids could watch. Oh, I think his best stuff lately has been playing Donkey in the Shrek series.

Sadly (I don't care for the Shrek movies) that's more or less true.

And at least Robin Williams redeems himself with movies like "World's Greatest Dad" and his small but definitely memorable performance in "Shrink". Williams at least still seems to be interested in doing movies that offer some kind of challenge to him as an actor. Murphy has been phoning it in for years now, and that's a shame to people who know at one time he was capable of some really good work.

 

[Holdfast]

OK, so what do we all think is Eddie's finest work? My personal favourite has to be Trading Places, though I'd put Coming to America as a close second.

Add in the first Beverly Hills Cop, and you have the perfect Eddie Murphy trifecta.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I think he's a bit underrated these days, and that's in spite of gaining an Oscar nomination a couple years back. In fact if anything that Oscar nomination made some people go "Oh, right, Eddie Murphy can turn in really good work when he wants to."

People have lost sight of the fact that one time Murphy was (and still is) a brilliant, brilliant comedic actor. That's just gotten buried under a glut of horrible, horrible movies. Many of which have come out in the past decade one after another.

Yep, exactly. I'm sure he could be brilliant again if he had the right script. Personally, I really think he was brilliant in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Chris Rock seems to try to be Eddie Murphy in some of his movies by following in his footsteps and he just comes across as really annoying instead.

Right now however, he seems to choose terrible scripts, much the same way Robin Williams has been doing. Like od0 has stated, he started making movies his kids could watch, instead of just doing a great movie that both adults and kids could watch. Oh, I think his best stuff lately has been playing Donkey in the Shrek series.

Sadly (I don't care for the Shrek movies) that's more or less true.

And at least Robin Williams redeems himself with movies like "World's Greatest Dad" and his small but definitely memorable performance in "Shrink". Williams at least still seems to be interested in doing movies that offer some kind of challenge to him as an actor. Murphy has been phoning it in for years now, and that's a shame to people who know at one time he was capable of some really good work.

Yeah, I agree. He should ditch his agent for someone who will find him better work. Maybe he should get Robin William's agent, because like you say, at least Robin Williams has been stretching himself as an actor by finding new stuff to do, often outside of comedy, even. Maybe he needs a drama that will make people see a new side of him and excersize his acting abilities. That's what I've admired out of Robin Williams and his ability to delve into different kind of roles. I think it's important for an actor to do these kind of roles because otherwise they'll just become complacent and eventually the offers start to dry up as they get older. Heck, he could take a cue from Leslie Nielsen, who was a dramatic actor before he turned to comedy. It's all about adaptation.