Eddie Murphy deserves some praise. His Delirious concert from nearly thirty years ago is a masterpiece, but this Spike TV tribute show, which comes across as a polar roast in which the recipient is praised instead of insulted, is all wrong. It’s not just the format that’s the problem; it’s the fact that old Eddie Murphy video clips are the only funny thing about it.
Every guest, from Jamie Fox to Chris Rock, aims to make you laugh and even their lamest jokes work on the giddy Saban Theatre crowd, but their attempts rarely work on me. Tracey Morgan is a hack. The Stevie Wonder performance, which shows he still has a wonderful singing voice, is, in this context, off-puttingly random. The whole show is a bit of a mess.
my rating : 2 of 5
2012
I find this Eddie Murphy performance mostly disappointing. He’s a disarming mimic and should go back to acting if he can’t write better material. He depends on a lot of cheap shots toward obvious groups: women, gays and overweight people. I think we’re aware that humiliation like this for it’s own sake is destructive… not funny. Comedians need license of course… and we depend on them to help us laugh at ourselves. So if they do take cheap shots, they should put some irony in it so there’s insight instead of just bullying.