Saturday, July 20, 2013

Why Were Eddie Murphy Vehicles So Good?

I've been thinking about "The Heat" because I thought it was quite bad (and gets worse the more I think about it), and yet everyone I talk to seems to like i.  I think it boils down to whether you like Melissa McCarthy or not.  I'm not a fan, I realized.  I hate her self-pitying attempts at emotion.  She can play gross out funny, but that's it.  My favorite role for her is the side character in Bridesmaids because she is simply comic relief.

The Heat is an engine for McCarthy.  Many Hollywood film are simply engines to watch stars we like.  I think back to all the great Eddie Murphy movies from 1982-Harlem Nights: 48 Hours, Trading Places,  The Golden Child, Beverly Hills Cop, and Coming to America.

From a business perspective, these were all Eddie Murphy vehicles.  Sure, in the first two they paired him with someone - Nolte and Aykroyd - just like they did with McCarthy with Bullock.  And maybe I just like Eddie Murphy better than Melissa McCarthy, but I think there is a qualitative difference in all of those movies versus The Heat (except perhaps Golden Child) above and beyond the difference between Murphy and McCarthy.  The scripts were downright good.  I dunno, it feels like times have changed.

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