Film Review - Dolemite is My Name (2019)

Dolemite is my Name is a new Netflix film starring Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling performance artist who invents a character named Dolemite in order to make himself known on the stand up stage, sooner or later he produces some very successful comedy albums and soon he sets his sights on making movies.

Dolemite is so much fun and I had a big big smile on my face while watching it and first I just have to start with Mr Eddie Murphy, the moment I first heard him talk on this movie I just thought to myself “He’s Back” and it was just this feeling I had throughout the whole film He’s Back, that trademark smile, that ability to think quickly on his feet during a scene, knowing how to time a comedy laugh and being able to show great dramatic potential and be charismatic its all there and this man has had a very bad habit over the years of blowing up his own career due to his own ego but watching him in this movie there’s none of that this is vintage Eddie again and it feels so fucking good.

Also great in the film is Mr Wesley Snipes and like Eddie his career has had some huge bumps along the way but he too delivers some great work here and again like Eddie he delivers some great laughs as well as some good dramatic moments and its so good to see him back on form as well.

Also this film has some beautiful craftsmanship on show here, firstly the production design is great especially with the old 1970s cinemas that look so big and seat so many that went away as multiplexes took hold and carved their way through those old cinemas and also the costume design by Ms Ruth Carter is terrific, it so captures that 1970s era so well with the colourful jackets, the canes, the hats and the dresses which she also did so well on Black Panther in 2018.

And lastly the script tells a great story of an artist who refused to take no for an answer and fought tooth and nail to get his vision on stage, record and screen and its very good to watch and it’s a role that just fits Eddie so well.

If you couldn’t tell already I really loved Dolemite is my Name mainly because Eddie Murphy one of my favourite stars because of Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 is back on top and when this movie ended I thought to myself “Coming to America 2 is in great hands” as this team is making that sequel and I am very confident they will deliver the goods once again, 4 out of 5.