Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

7/10

Starring

Eddie Murphy

Keegan-Michael Key

Mike Epps

Craig Robinson

Directed by Craig Brewer

Dolemite Is My Name is a beautiful film. That’s just the best way to describe it. It’s a biography, drama, and comedy all rolled into one, and while watching, you keep asking yourself, “Where did Rudy get this courage to always bet on himself?”

This movie is about a man named Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy), who created a persona called Dolemite and made a name for himself with it. It was a hard road for him, and this movie is all about that journey to achieve the fame he wanted. The explicit nature of the movie might make you think it has nothing more to offer than cursing and silly stuff, but that’s exactly what the character Dolemite is all about.

The movie starts with Rudy trying to get a DJ on a radio show to play any of his songs. The DJ works at a radio station that broadcasts from a record store where Rudy also works. Rudy also works part-time at a comedy club as an MC, but his material isn’t hitting the mark.

One day, a homeless man who regularly comes into the store starts rhyming. He tells the tale of a man named Dolemite and his wild adventures, using explicit rhymes. While hanging out with his friends, Rudy gets the idea that the Dolemite character could be a great persona for his comedy. He goes to the homeless man and his friends, records their rhymes, and takes them home to refine the material, making it funnier and sharper.

He tries it out at the comedy club where he works, and it’s a hit. Night after night, he sells out. He then records a comedy album and sells it from his car to anyone who wants to hear Dolemite rhyme.

One day, while taking his friends to the movies, Rudy gets the idea to make a movie about his Dolemite character, and that’s where the story really takes off.

The movie’s production is captivating, and the way the script develops keeps you glued. The film is almost two hours long, but I wished it went on longer. The comedy really kicks in once the production of the movie within the movie begins.

Every actor in this film delivers, and huge kudos to Eddie Murphy—he went above and beyond. Wesley Snipes also outdid himself in his role as D'Urville Martin.

Dolemite Is My Name is a movie I can’t wait to see again, just to watch a man put everything on the line to get the boost he needed to go the distance.