Eddie Murphy: Raw

Director: Robert Townsend

Overview

Filmed in front of a packed New York City crowd, the concert film Eddie Murphy: Raw presents the comedian (near the height of his popularity) performing his standup material. The energetic and often extremely raunchy set begins with a series of impressions, most involving some celebrity becoming upset at Murphy for unflattering jokes: a squeaky-voiced Michael Jackson threatens to pummel Murphy into the ground; an enraged Mr. T is confused by Murphy's verbal sleight of hand; and even paragon of calm Bill Cosby loses his cool while chastising the comic for his dirty mouth. After some digressions finding humor in racial differences and other matters, Murphy proceeds into the centerpiece of his act, a series of routines about contemporary relationships between men and women, including an extended bit about what life would be like were he to become married -- jokes that some have criticized as heavily misogynist. Finally, Murphy concludes his set with an extended, comedic but sympathetic, reminiscence about his childhood and family life, a tone that matches that of the film's prologue -- a fictional re-creation of Murphy, in his childhood, entertaining a family gathering with what turns out to be an inappropriately off-color joke.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/15/2022
UPC:	0810072549587
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	R
Source:	Paramount
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	35,663

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Eddie Murphy	Himself
Samuel L. Jackson	Eddie's Uncle,Uncle Gus,Performer
Tatyana Ali	Eddie's Sister
Gwen McGee	Eddie's Mother
Basil Wallace	Eddie's Father
Billie Allen	Eddie's Aunt
James Brown III	Thanksgiving Guest
Eyde Byrde	Mrs. Butts
Michelle Davison	Thanksgiving Guest
Clebert Ford	Uncle Lester
Geri Gibson	Card Player #2
Birdie M. Hale	Aunt Rose
J.D. Hall	Party Guest
Barbara Harris	Thanksgiving Guest
Tiger Haynes	Card Player #3
Jody Jones	Eddie's Cousin
Jo D. Jonz	Eddie's Cousin
John Lafayette	Thanksgiving Guest (sketch)
Davenia McFadden	Eddie's Aunt (sketch)
Warren Morris	Poetry Reader (sketch)
Deon Richmond	Little Eddie (sketch)
Damien Dante Wayans	Child Running in the House (sketch),Interviewed Fan
Ellis Williams	Eddie's Uncle (sketch)
Lex Monson	Card Player #4
Carol Woods	Eddie's Aunt
Pat Golden	Performer

Technical Credits

Robert Townsend

Eddie Murphy

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Robert Townsend	Director,Screenwriter
Eddie Murphy	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Robert D. Wachs	Producer
Keenen Ivory Wayans	Screenwriter,Producer
Richard Tienken	Executive Producer
Jeffrey Chernov	Producer
Gary Alexander	Sound Effects
Jon Christodoulou	Sound Effects
Julia Evershade	Sound Effects
Bill Fertig	Sound Effects
Ed Gleason	Sound Effects
Pat Golden	Casting
Frank Graziadei	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Long before he became a fixture in kiddy-friendly blockbusters and endless sequels, Saturday Night Live alum Eddie Murphy was simply a comedian. This 1987 concert film, shot at New York City's Felt Forum, captures Murphy at the apex of his fame -- and, coincidentally, of his powers as a standup comedian. (Of course, he hasn't exactly been touring the comedy clubs since.) Already several years into what was then a consistently successful Hollywood career, Murphy plays the superstar exceptionally well. Clad in purple leather and playing to an adoring crowd, he spends much of Raw riffing about his recent arrival on the A-list. His routine about getting dogged out by Bill Cosby (and grousing about it with Richard Pryor) may seem designed to broadcast Murphy's place in the pantheon of great black comedians. But it's also side-splittingly funny, as are many of the profane routines that follow. At the time of Raw's release, many hands were wrung in the analysis of Murphy's material as inherently racist, homophobic, and sexist. It's up to the viewer to decide whether those charges are true, especially in light of the generations of standups who have followed. Anyway, the litmus test of a concert film isn't its political correctness, but rather its effectiveness. Raw is, above all, a supremely effective standup concert. Between the button-pushing, the scatological humor, and the Hollywood send-ups, Murphy touches on all of his typical themes. But his gentler routines about middle-class family life are just as amusing. They also help round out the reputation of an artist too often dismissed for the commercial concessions of his later career. Eddie Murphy the movie star may have sold out and never looked back, but Eddie Murphy the comedian went out on top.

All Movie Guide - Brian J. Dillard