Well, Eddie Murphy has another movie where he’s in an over-the-top character in an outlandish getup and wig—but at least this time he has a good reason. Now he’s playing the man who’s playing the over-the-top character.
Dolemite Is My Name, Murphy stars as Rudy Ray Moore, the musician and comedian famous for portraying a character whose name was Dolemite—a pimp and club owner turned unlikely blaxploitation franchise hero. The solid supporting cast includes Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Snoop Dogg, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and—hey!— there’s Wesley Snipes!
But perhaps even more promising is that this has a script from Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the writers who already did such charmingly off-kilter biopics as Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Man on the Moon, and Big Eyes.
We’ll find out if this effort hits those high-water marks or falls closer to the pair’s Problem Child 2, That Darn Cat, and Screwed when Dolemite Is My Name hits theaters and Netflix this fall.
