Women want HALF!

EDDIE MURPHY RAW (1987)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

1987 might have been the most notorious, controversial year for Eddie Murphy. Here was a man who was not just a star, he was a superstar. He had power and commanded attention from everyone - his gargantuan laugh, wide, flashy grin and misogynistic jokes and impressions of other celebrities were the toast of the town. Murphy was riding high and everyone knew it. So his just return to comedy concerts was a welcome one. However, as in the purely misogynistic "Beverly Hills Cop II," Murphy's new concert film, "Raw," was as much about his hatred and putdown of women as it was anything relating to comedy.

Great comedians like Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce and the like can take personal subject matter and make it funny and truthful as well. Eddie Murphy took his childhood stories and his gross-out bathroom humor in "Delirious" and made it hysterical with a core of truth - everybody could relate to difficulties in maintaining bowel control or an erection. "Raw" is Murphy's attempt to understand women and their obsession with money. If a woman marries Johnny Carson, as he states, then she can divorce him and take half his money. "Half!," a phrase repeated again and again by Murphy. He does not apply this only to rich people but to himself. His quick recovery is to marry a buck naked African woman who has no idea about material or financial needs - she will love Eddie for himself, not for his money. But this scenario is not likely to last when she starts to talking to other housewives. It will not be just the money but as he states, "What have you done for me lately?"

The beginning of "Raw" has a terrific pre-title opening scene where we see a young Eddie entertaining his family by simulating urination and bowel control (look quickly for Samuel L. Jackson). Then we head right to the concert film, which starts with Eddie's acute impressions of Michael Jackson, Mr. T., James Brown and so on. This is Eddie at his best. But when he gets to the subject of women, he loses control. Murphy does not have the talent to make such a topical subject less than hateful. Any subject is ripe for comedy but Murphy is too obviously caught up in making a point when he should be making people laugh. He is angry and raw and downright nasty yet his comic tone, unlike "Delirious," is more abrasive. Whatever comic potential exists is lost with his repetitive whining that can get monotonous.

"Raw" is not a total flop, and I did laugh occasionally. I am an Eddie Murphy fan and I have seen this film twice, once in a theater and other time on video. His bit on Bill Cosby who accused Eddie of abusing the four-letter word is laugh-out-loud funny. I also like the story of his drunk uncle or the hamburgers his mother made that rarely resembled McDonalds' own brand. The funniest bit involves a club where a man threatened to sue Murphy for blinding his vision thanks to strobe lights! Those bits are enjoyable to watch again and again. But the rest of "Raw" will likely exhaust you, wondering when Murphy will give up talking about his constant dismissal of women as nothing more than sexual objects. When you are staring at the screen at Eddie Murphy for an less than an hour and not laughing then something is quite rotten in Denmark.