When it comes to the comedy genre in the entertainment industry, one cannot fail to mention one of the most popular stars: Eddie Murphy. The actor and comedian has earned a special place in the hearts of audiences with his charisma, his ability to make people laugh and his humorous films and TV productions. Like all entertainers, Murphy had to start somewhere to become the icon he is today. In his case, he started performing stand-up comedy in various clubs until the 1980s when he got his first big break by joining the cast of Saturday Night Livea production that benefited greatly from his contributions.
Shortly after participation SNLMurphy made his screen acting debut in the film 48 hours., the first of many productions that now make up his portfolio. The 80s undoubtedly became his golden age and helped consolidate him as a major star of the genre who left an indelible mark on popular culture with his performances.
Throughout his career, Murphy has had highs and lows, starring in both critically acclaimed and popular productions as well as some flops. Some of his most popular movies include Dr. Doolittle, Shrek, Dolemite is my name, And The crazy professor, among many others. However, audiences still remember his 1980s films as some of his greatest contributions to the industry. See all his movies from that decade, ranked.
9 Best defense
In 1984, Murphy and Dudley Moore starred Best defense, a comedy that failed to impress both critics and audiences. This production features two stories that never intertwine: Wylie Cooper’s and Lieutenant TM Landry’s. Cooper is a hapless engineer who develops a tank-based aiming system for the Navy in 1982. Landry, on the other hand, is the commander who tests this system on the tank two years later. But Cooper’s work isn’t the best, and all the decisions he made about the project years earlier lead to several unfortunate incidents involving Landry as the main character.
Original, Best defense was a film intended to star only Moore in the lead role, but due to poor results at the initial screenings, they added a role for Murphy, taking advantage of his recent popularity and hoping it would improve the overall performance of the film would improve, something that unfortunately did not happen.
8 The golden child
The golden child is a 1986 film directed by Michael Ritchie that follows Chandler, a social worker who specializes in missing children’s cases and has been chosen for a demanding task: to find “The Golden Child”, a Tibetan boy with magical powers who has been kidnapped and presumed to become humanity’s next savior. Although Chandler takes the job, he is skeptical about the whole situation, but it won’t be long before he finds out that he’s completely wrong.
Charles Dance and Charlotte Lewis support Murphy in this production which, despite the bad reviews, became a box office hit. The role of “The Golden Child” was actually played by a girl named Jasmine Lauren Reate, in what would become her acting debut and the only role of her career at the same time.
7 Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II is the second film in the Beverly Hills agent movie series. Directed by Tony Scott and released in 1987, this production again stars police detective Alex Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills after his adventures in the first film to help his old colleagues solve the “Alphabet Crimes”, a series of armed robberies on several stores that resulted in Captain Andrew Bogomil being seriously injured.
After the success of Beverly Hills agent, the release of the sequel was widely anticipated by audiences and Murphy fans alike. Although the film became a box office hit, it failed to achieve the critical acclaim and profit level of the original production.
6 Haarlem nights
Haarlem nights was Murphy’s last film of the 1980s, and the only one in his entire career directed by him, who also served as writer and star. This production follows Sugar Ray and his adopted son Quick, owners of a thriving nightclub. Their good fortune angers Bugsy Calhoun, a mobster who owns most of the clubs in Harlem and is willing to do anything to shut down Sugar and Quick’s establishment.
Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello and Michael Lerner join Murphy in this production, and while the film became a blockbuster and later gained cult status, it was poorly received by critics.
5 Coming to America
In Coming to America, Murphy plays Akeem Joffer, Prince of Zamunda, a fictional African nation. Akeem already has everything he could ever ask for in his kingdom, or so he thinks until he turns 21 and suddenly starts yearning for something bigger for his life. When his parents tell him they plan to marry him in an arranged marriage, he makes the life-changing decision to move to New York City to find a woman who will truly love him, regardless of his noble background. Naturally, this journey forces Akeem to adapt to a lifestyle very different from his own, leading to some hilarious adventures.
John Landis directs this 1988 comedy based on an original story by Murphy. The main cast member is joined by Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley and John Amos. Coming to America was a film acclaimed by critics and audiences, which was followed by a sequel, Coming 2 America, 33 years after its release. Unfortunately, this episode failed to live up to the success of the original film.
4 Eddie Murphy Raw
1987 marked the theatrical release of Eddie Murphy Raw, a stand-up comedy starring Murphy and directed by Robert Townsend. This production, in which he performs a comedy routine and several sketch segments in front of a live audience at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, went down in history as the highest grossing stand-up comedy concert film ever released.
For RawMurphy had already worked on another comedy special called Eddie Murphy is delirious, although this was only a TV special. Up to the present day Raw remains one of the best stand-up specials in comedy history.
3 Beverly Hills agent
The 1984 feature film Beverly Hills agent was the one who propelled Murphy to worldwide stardom. This buddy cop movie follows Axel Foley, a skilled but very strong-willed police detective who is faced with his toughest and most personal mission yet: to apprehend the killer of his childhood friend, Mikey Tandino. Since his boss won’t let him because he’s close to the victim, Foley leaves on vacation and heads to Beverly Hills, determined to single-handedly expose the killer, even if it could lead to big trouble.
Murphy leads the cast of this production that quickly became a critically acclaimed blockbuster that launched a franchise that spanned two sequels. In addition to Murphy in the cast of this Martin Brest movie are Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher and Steven Berkoff.
2 Trading places
John Landis directs Trading places, a 1983 comedy that quickly became a critically acclaimed blockbuster. Starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, this film follows Louis Winthorpe III and Billy Ray Valentine, two people from opposite sides of the social hierarchy who are subjected to a secret experiment where they are forced to trade their lives to see how they perform. in a different environment.
So, after a confrontation between the two, Winthorpe is framed as a thief and loses his social status, while Valentine gets the businessman’s job and lavish lifestyle. In addition to Aykroyd and Murphy in this production are Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott and Jamie Lee Curtis.
1 48 hours.
Undoubtedly, the first place in this ranking goes to 48 hours., the movie that marked Murphy’s screen acting debut and the one that jump-started his career in the first place. To this day, this Walter Hill film remains one of the best in the actor’s and comedian’s repertoire. 48 hours. follows Jack Cates, a San Francisco police inspector who teams up with a prisoner to track down a very dangerous group of criminals. To accomplish this task, the team only has 48 hours, and as if this limited amount of time wasn’t enough, there’s a bigger problem: they hate each other.
Nick Nolte and Murphy star in this film alongside Annette O’Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar and David Patrick Kelly. 48 hours. became a box office hit and received critical acclaim. For his role, Murphy received a nomination for New Star of the Year at the Golden Globe Awards. Due to the popularity of this production, a sequel was released in 1990 in which the protagonists reprized their roles, although this part was not as warmly received as the original film.