Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
I understand that this movie is a biography and based on true events. However, I find one very large flaw in the premise. In the period setting of 1974, the Eddie Murphy and his friends go to the movies and feel ostracized by the enjoyment of the white audience members all around them. They can’t identify with the scenes of the film being shown, and they don’t understand the humor. The manner of speaking isn’t realistic to the way they talk, and the song performed is too censored for their style. In other words, the film is too “white” for the non-white audience members to enjoy themselves. So, Eddie Murphy’s character and his friends decide to create their own subgenre of film (the birth of blaxploitation) so they don’t feel so alone.
Now, here’s the flaw: the movie being shown in the theater was The Front Page. Anyone who knows anything about old cinema (or history itself) will recognize this movie as a remake of a 1931 film. It kept the 1931 period setting in all respects, which was why the hairstyles, clothing, cars, style of singing, choice of song, and patter of speech all seemed out of place in 1974. It was not a racial distinction, it was merely a historical distinction. To show Susan Sarandon singing, “Button up your overcoat when the wind is free,” as an example that white and black music was different was not only wrong, it was insulting to historians.
A 2019 audience member who has no idea of anything prior to the internet age will see her cropped hair, the round microphone, and laugh at the silly sounding lyrics. “She’s so white,” they’ll say, agreeing with the characters in the film that a different genre of film is needed. But why couldn’t the characters in Dolemite Is My Name go to see a different 1974 movie? The Longest Yard, Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Godfather: Park II, The Towering Inferno, or Earthquake would have been thoroughly entertaining, no matter the audience’s skin color. By choosing a 1931 period piece, the filmmakers were trying to prove a point. And by “cheating”, that point is completely moot. Also, this film lightly argues that the movie they make is the first of the blaxploitation genre, but that’s not true. The genre can be traced back to the late 1960s.
With my criticism out in the open, you can check out this Netflix movie if you want to see reason behind the buzz of Eddie Murphy’s Oscar snub. Imagine if you took his Oscar-nominated performance from Dreamgirls and gave his character his own movie. He’s a musician who repeatedly tries to sell his new image to higher-ups in the business who repeatedly don’t want it. Add in a ton of foul language, replace the songs with stand-up routines, and take out the love story, drug use, and heavy dramatic acting. Netflix movies tend to focus on the sensational, so if you like their style, you might like this one. I prefer seeing Eddie’s deeper, subtler performances in A Thousand Words and Mr. Church, which I believe were true Oscar snubs.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to strong language, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Eddie Murphy movies here!
Now, here’s the flaw: the movie being shown in the theater was The Front Page. Anyone who knows anything about old cinema (or history itself) will recognize this movie as a remake of a 1931 film. It kept the 1931 period setting in all respects, which was why the hairstyles, clothing, cars, style of singing, choice of song, and patter of speech all seemed out of place in 1974. It was not a racial distinction, it was merely a historical distinction. To show Susan Sarandon singing, “Button up your overcoat when the wind is free,” as an example that white and black music was different was not only wrong, it was insulting to historians.
A 2019 audience member who has no idea of anything prior to the internet age will see her cropped hair, the round microphone, and laugh at the silly sounding lyrics. “She’s so white,” they’ll say, agreeing with the characters in the film that a different genre of film is needed. But why couldn’t the characters in Dolemite Is My Name go to see a different 1974 movie? The Longest Yard, Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Godfather: Park II, The Towering Inferno, or Earthquake would have been thoroughly entertaining, no matter the audience’s skin color. By choosing a 1931 period piece, the filmmakers were trying to prove a point. And by “cheating”, that point is completely moot. Also, this film lightly argues that the movie they make is the first of the blaxploitation genre, but that’s not true. The genre can be traced back to the late 1960s.
With my criticism out in the open, you can check out this Netflix movie if you want to see reason behind the buzz of Eddie Murphy’s Oscar snub. Imagine if you took his Oscar-nominated performance from Dreamgirls and gave his character his own movie. He’s a musician who repeatedly tries to sell his new image to higher-ups in the business who repeatedly don’t want it. Add in a ton of foul language, replace the songs with stand-up routines, and take out the love story, drug use, and heavy dramatic acting. Netflix movies tend to focus on the sensational, so if you like their style, you might like this one. I prefer seeing Eddie’s deeper, subtler performances in A Thousand Words and Mr. Church, which I believe were true Oscar snubs.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to strong language, I wouldn’t let my kids watch it.
More Eddie Murphy movies here!