Dolemite Is My Name

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME - Netflix

Dolemite Is My Name, based on the meteoric rise of infamous comedian and rap pioneer Rudy Roy Moore during the 1970s, is roaring and rousing success. Cementing itself as a possible award-winning contender with a scene-stealing performance from lead actor Eddie Murphy, who blows everyone out of the water with a sublime charismatic and electric performance.

Murphy is utterly glorious as Dolemite, bringing his comedic A-game bravado found in most of his 80's output but also a wonderfully captivating dramatic turn that the actor rarely gets to put forward. Not necessarily emotionally engulfing per se, but Murphy crafts a character that has a substantial amount of weight regarding his character’s plight and journey — not to mention a delicate poignancy regarding just what Dolemite had to fight against. Taking into account that this is just the actor's second feature film in seven years after his critically acclaimed role in 2016's Mr Church, Murphy's return as the titular character is even more spectacular with him showing zero signs of rust.

Craig Brewer's film is a celebration of not only Rudy Roy Moore but of any and all African-American culture surrounding or influenced by the impact of Dolemite. With that promotes a fabulous amount of texture, richness and creativity, especially surrounding the cast list with a substantial amount of co-stars for Murphy to elevate his game. Mike Epps, Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson and Keegan-Michael Key are just a few substantial names on the call sheet with each having a decent amount of screentime to showcase their respective talent, especially that of Snipes who plays flamboyant and charismatic director D'Urville.

The issue with this celebratory side of the film is that everyone who is anyone has a cameo or bloated role: Chris Rock, T.I. and Snoop Dogg are just a few names that crop up here and there. Clearly, these performers are fans and influenced by Moore's work, but the film often slows down and takes itself out of its trajectory each time these type of cameos come up, and with that, the pacing slightly suffers in a sort of start and stop mode. Thankfully it never becomes tedious, but the film is incredibly close to drowning in its own self-indulgence only for it to remember this is a biopic and not meta-documentary.

Dolemite Is My Name is released on October, 25 2019.