Before we get to Eddie's top five, we want to talk about Eddie's audible mentions, man if I just wanted to go through this as we highlight the performances that showcases unmatched range, ambition and cultural impact, from Trading Places to Dolomite is my Name? All right? Now? It's from the street wise hustle of Billy Ray Valentine's and the heartfelt reinvention of Rudy ray Moore. These honorable mention roles helped define Murphy's evolution from SNL's standout to a global
box office icon. Now, whether slipping into multiple outrageous characters or anchoring a socially satirical story, Murphy repeatedly proved that
comedy can be a tool for transformation. Now, Charles, these audible mentions may not crack the top five, but they're unforgettable moments of genius that shaped an entire generation of fans and comedians and Charles, let me before we get started, man, let me just also go back to something that you hit me with right before we got on the air, So a point of clarification, so it doesn't look like, you know, I'm not being consistent, because you know, I
always tease Charles Charles as the guy that kind of watches his stuff. So Murphy, as you know, has had several movies in his career where he's played multiple characters. You know, you think coming to America, you think nutty professor, you think you know, just you know what I'm talking about.
He's played multiple characters in films. So I told Charles, and Charles pointed it out, and he's right that if we're gonna put one of those characters that, like one of those movies where he plays multiple characters, the lead character is the top five character, not the secondary characters, which possibly could be supporting on honorary, but those those characters, like you know, a character that he played and coming to America the Jewish barber wouldn't be a top five performance.
It would be an honorable mention if it was good enough, but not top five. So anything else, Charles, any other strict rules or anything else you saw that we should clean up, even before we get started.
No, I think I think that's the main one. We're good with that.
All right, Charles, I'm gonna let you hit these honorable mintions. You got the list in front of your man, Go ahead on and do what you do, all right.
Our first, Now, some people may be appalled by this, but our first honorable mention is Billy Ray Valentine in Trading Places nineteen eighty three. A lot of people may say, oh, this should be top five, but we're talking about Eddie Murphy here, so yeah.
Let's stop for a seconds. So Billy Ray Valentine. Funny, you know the earliest films Trading Places. Why what do you think about Billy Ray Valentine.
Well, I think it's appropriate for it to be as an honorable mention because he's not the lead character in the in the movie, he's in a supporting role. I mean, he's Billy Ray is the foil to Dan Aykroyd's character in the film, and he's part of more of a troop than he is carrying the film on his own.
And so yeah, I think it's I think it's safe to say that he could be an honorable we'll mention versus, and when we get into the top five, you'll see that he's more the lead character the lead actor in the following films that we'll talk about.
So let me do the next one, man, So the next one and this one was tough.
Billy.
Now you did Billy Ray Valentine. This is Reggie Hammond from forty eight Hours. Now there's some discussion around this one. Man. I thought this one was tough for me because this is a this is a groundbreaking role that up until that point, I don't think we'd ever seen a black character with these sorts of lines and that kind of
attitude and swagger. You know, you go back to the famous scene where he's in the bar and you know, you know, and he pulls the guy out and the guy tells him like, you know, who, what right do you have? And he says, I'm a I'm a badge, Yeah, with a badge, which gives me permission to kick your f and a any time I want too. And I remember in the feat everybody was like, whoa Eddie Murphy man was electric Now forty eight hours. I think this
is his first film. I'm like, correct, this is his debut, Tim, Yes, yes, yeah, yes, So I mean to your point, this is Eddie Murphy and on somebody else's list, this is absolutely a game change, right, it is a game changing performance. Man. But then there's more career than this man, So what do you think about his performance in forty eight Hours.
Again, like you said, this was the jump off for Eddie Murphy as an actor when he did this role. Just like you said, a lot of people were shocked by his ability to carry his presence on the screen and it defined him as a superstar right from the jump. So it's amazing and yet again and he's playing off of Nick Nolty and he's doing doing things with him. It was how buddy comedy has evolved. So there's a lot of groundbreaking stuff to it, but it's still not the top. It's still not the top for me.
Man, you go ahead and do the next one.
Man, I'm gonna go to Quick from Harlem Knights, Murphy's ambitious directorial debut together with Richard Pryor and Red Fox in this prohibition Aristyle comedy. It's a lot of great stuff. There's a lot of quotable lines and the Quick he was the lead, but again he's part of an ensemble cast. And you know, he stands up well to Richard Pryor and Red Fox in the in the film. But again, uh, he's still he's still he's excellent in the film, but he's still part of a troop in here. He's not
exactly the lead, the sole lead in this film. So that's why Quick makes I think Quick makes an honorable miss Now again, yeah, he is the lead character in the film, but he has a whole lot of support with Richard Pryor and Red Fox, and a lot of people will go to see this movie because the collaboration of all those people, not just because it's Eddie Murphy's film.
I thought he was good in this film. I didn't think he was great in this film to your point. I thought the selling point of the film was the fact that it was the first time that we'd ever seen Richard Pryor, Red Fox, Eddie Murphy all on screen together and these gangsters. I didn't think the story was that great. I didn't think the villain was that great.
I mean, okay, I mean I laughed. But you know, it's not one of Murphy's best which for me, I'm comfortable seeing it on this list as an honorable mention. Now the next one, and this one is also interesting. Let's talk about his Marcus Grant from Boomerang, playing the
charm ad exect who finally meets his romantic match. Murphy flipped his persona from brash comic to suave leading man, and of course the film became a cultural landmark, celebrated for his fashion, his groundbreaking depiction of black professionals, and of course that killer soundtrack. Charles, this one is tough too. But I think part of what I see is that the film and all the elements are better than Murphy is. Murphy is not what elevates Boomerang to iconic status, but
he is a part of what it is. How do you feel about Boomerang?
The reason why I let you read Marcus Graham from Boomerang is because I would have had it in my top five because of because of the fact the fact again that this is a role he hadn't played before. He was this timid guy, and I mean he was suave and debonnair, but he was also kind of insecure, and he really was a different character in this film that we had ever seen before, and that this was more of a drama than a comedy, and it was really inspiring to see Eddie Murphy stretch himself in this
kind of a role. And so yeah, again he's in an ensemble cast, but it was really about him and how he reacted to, you know, just being in love. And it was a romantic comedy and I enjoyed it, and I think it showed, like I said, a different side of Murphy than we had seen before.
So let me be real transparent, right now, Eddie Murphy made his chops as a comedian, right, and these comic films, right, And we'll talk about this a little later when we get to the top five. Now, when you look at what's in the top five, you know, there's only so many dramas or serious roles that we're gonna put over some of the comedic stuff that he did, right, And there's at least one other dramatic performance which is coming up that I think trump's what he's done in this film.
So again, stuff being as an honorable mentioned, we only get pick five. So if you can only pick five, there's gonna be a lot of stuff that, as they would say, hits the cutting the room floor that I agree with you, Charles, I'm not I'm not mad. I thought he was great at the Moraine too, but I'm like, there's five other things that I just are a smedge better. And speaking of that, not in this stays in Uh, you know this this area of honorable mention. Now, this
is just a personal favorite for me. His Thomas Jefferson Johnson, the name, you know, and the distinguished gentleman. I thought
it was funny, man, it was, you know. We look at it as one of his underrated performances where he plays a fast talking cond man who scans his way into Congress only to discover Charles a conscious once he sees how the political game really works and ironically and the times that we're living in, the satire that this film presented is still irrelevant, and Murphy makes the transformation believable and funny. Talk about the distinguished gentleman.
The distinguished gentleman. We was George Santos before George Santos came around. I mean, really, that's what it was. And you're you're, you're absolutely correct. A lot of people just did not see this, did not accept how how excellent and satirical this film was. Uh And and only through time now where we are now, if we can look back and see it that we say, wow, that that was really a good performance and really smart and really insightful to the political uh uh machine that we have
that happens in government. Nowadays. So yeah, I really enjoyed this performance and I'm glad it made the list even as an honorable mention.
Right now, this next one, boy, this was this was this was like pulling tea yes and something else. And now I'm gonna let you lead off and then I have commentary. Man, what was the next honorable mention on his list?
The next honorable mention for us is Rudy ray Moore. In twenty nineteen's Dolomite Is My Name, Murphy returned to the big screen with this affectionate biopic of underground icon Rudy ray Moore, who we know who is Dovermite. And you know you're right this movie was.
He got he didn't get an OCAR nomination for this.
I no, he was actually snubbed. He did not get an OSCAR nomination for Dovermite. Who felt really badly about the fact that he didn't get that nomination. But uh, the performance is right right at five B maybe on the on the list. For me, I'm like, it could have really cracked. But we have another performances.
You know what I'm saying. So that's why you now watch this. Marcus Graham, Rudy ray Moore. See what I'm going with this, right?
All right?
Man? Well we got a couple more in the honorable mention category. Man, uh, this one actually, we can just go over this real quick. Randy Watson and the others, like you know, everybody that Eddie Murphy played Incoming to America that wasn't present team but and and that just goes to show you you get an honorable mention out of that. I was telling somebody the story last night
that people forget how funny Coming to America was. I had this thing at least three, three separate times, Charles on VHS, and I kept lending it out to people, and I would never get it back. I had to keep on buying it. It easily for me. If we ever did list of the funniest movies Addie Murphy ever did, this would probably be at the top of the heat for me. You know, everything about this film just all works. Man. He has a stellar supporting cast. He has you know,
him and our Sinio. Their chemistry is good. The story is sweet and earnest. You know this holes the mood. It's so good that the fact that they tried to make a part two thirty years later and of course it didn't work. Of course it didn't work. Like how do you how do you scale Everest and beat Everest? You can't do it? So yeah, man, So that one finished as an outiable mention in Charles, what's the last one? And this one's tough too, because this is a great underrated performance.
Well, this is a dual role that he played Kit Ramsey and Jeff Ramsey in bod Finger, where you know, it was really cool to see Murphy do this nerdy character that that that in the film, and then Jeff was like really soft in mild and Kit was like wow. So it was really I mean, again, the range that he this was, I think this was the first time we saw him do well. He did multiple characters in Coming to America, but this way he did two definitive
characters that look the same. He just played them differently and it was just really genius. And the pairing of him with Steve Martin in that movie was I think was really incredible too. So again, you know, it's the collaboration in that effect as well. So both Fingers a great movie.
All right, y'all. So those are all the honor mentions, and and before somebody starts at home, Well, where's Norbit. We're gonna talk about Norbit in the second. I'm saying I'm always saying this from the standpoints, and I'm still angry that they released Norbit during the Academy Awards season when Eddie Murphy should have won an Oscar and people blame Norbid. It's one of the reasons why he didn't.
So Norbu's not on the list. Vampire and Brooklyn's not on the list, The Golden Child's not on the list. Pluto Nash is gonna be on another list. When we make the worst Eddie Murphy movies of all time, that's probably number one. So yeah, there's a bunch of movies that didn't make the list. Charles so