The Eddie Murphy of Raw –- the one who had not yet learned humility at the hands of a stalled career –- is an almost archaic beast. It’s not just the references to Mr. T, Brooke Shields, and The Cosby Show that date the film; it’s the content and tone of Murphy’s humor. The bulk of his material is decidedly homophobic and stunningly sexist. Without attaching too great an anachronistic PC reading to his routine, it’s a bit chilling that we once found the kind of hostile generalizations and offensive stereotypes in Raw not only perfectly acceptable, but fall-down funny. The best comedy, after all, should be timeless.
Underneath the messages his routine conveys, the topics Murphy covers are almost amateurishly generic. The differences between men and women or between whites and blacks had been mined to death even before 1987, making much of the film not so much “raw” as unoriginal. Murphy also seems wary of getting at all personal, as though the success he found throughout the ‘80s has left him guarded; when he finally does open himself up a bit, such as an extended bit about his mother’s homemade hamburgers, it makes for some of the movie’s funniest moments. Otherwise, we’re constantly aware that we’re watching Murphy the star, not Murphy the man. The few references to his life are too inaccessible to be funny – that is, unless you, too, have had women try to take half of your millions.
If Raw finds Eddie Murphy the comedian off his game, it still finds Eddie Murphy the performer at the top of his. Murphy is nothing short of brilliant as a comedic actor, but much less so when it comes to his standup. He’s like the inverse of Chris Rock, who is possibly the best standup comic working today but can’t be funny in a film if his life depends on it. Raw provides the best example of the split between the two elements; though not entirely successful as a comic, Murphy is gifted and hilarious as a performer. He manipulates every tool at his disposal. His priceless facial expressions –- which one couldn’t have seen in the live show, save for in the front row -– are done great service by director Robert Townsend, providing one of the few cases where seeing the film is preferable to the live experience. And though he’s not much of a physical comedian, Murphy knows just the right ways to use his body to punch up a laugh. It’s impressive how much mileage he gets out a little thing like swinging the microphone.
After over a decade of mediocrity on screen (save for his Oscar-nominated turn in Dreamgirls, which he immediately squandered with his follow-up, Norbit), it’s time for Murphy to seek new representation. Too many of the films he’s done since Raw have been either lowbrow kiddie fare or “high-concept” special effects comedies; in either scenario, his considerable talents wind up buried. Even if Raw isn’t entirely successful, it does remind us of how great Eddie Murphy once was, and just how truly, truly funny he can be.
