The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 02, 1984, Page 10, Image 10
Murphy hits pa
By Maria Baens
"I come from a predominantly black family bu
to run into a relative named Buckwheat."
So complained Eddie Murphy in his first albi
Murphy," taped live at the Comic Strip in New 1
That album hit gold pay-dirt and was nomii
Grammy in 1982. Murphy was then a mainsta>
"Saturday Night Live." He was embellishing his
wild impersonations that included a grown-up
named Buckwheat, who in one episode was a
cynical prison poet Tyrone Green, whose poer
Landlord" awed pseudo-critics and Gumby, th<
figure with a cigar and a foul mouth.
AS A standup comic, Mvir- A
phy spares no one. His two
albums, co-produced by "| qq^ J-j,
Murphy and his managers, l. i
Robert Wachs and Richard BuSflWICk A
Tienkin, attest to his "nas- BrOOklVfl It'
tv." incisive humor. He '
throws brick-thick jokes at place to
gays straight people, whites, because VOU
blacks, Chinese and Arabs. . . '
He knows only street hit just once.
language. Four-letter words {he fjrs{
are an essential. He flings . .
them at the audience as easily Six people goi
as one hurls frisbees. He lets man ../hot
loose like a hurricane. He ma"' Wf1at W
delves eagerly into sexual im- Back up and
plicitness without subtlety I
and without fear.
In his first album. "Eddie Eddil
Murphy," he describes the i
neighborhood that nurtured ^
his brand of humor: "i got hit by a car on Bushv,
in Brooklyn. It's a bad place to get hit because yc
hit just once. You got the first guy and then six
ing...'hey, man, what was that? Back up and che
He goes on, "In Brooklyn, they don't call the
It's showtime." People came up to the prone Is
said, "1 think you're gonna die. Both your legs
Man, you're in bad shape. Them your lips over tf
finally another asked, "You can't move at all, you
ly? Well, you won't be needing these sneakers no
dc taking tnese."
Waning away from SNL, Murphy signed a $15
tract with Paramount Pictures. His first two mov;
successes, "48 Hours," with Nick Nolte an
Places," with ex-SNL player Dan Ackroyd.
THE 22-YEAR-OLD comic actor made his sec
taped live from Constitution Hall in Washingto:
Aug. 17-18, 1983. The album, "Eddie Murphy: <
Selleck plavs s
in pre-World W
By Margarita Pate c
Tom Selleck has never looked so good. He >
is positively gorgeous in his latest big screen
film, "Lassiter." The movie takes place in
pre-World War II England. The atmosphere J
created by the wardrobe and general scenery i
in this picture is like a sophisticated "Raiders 1
of the Lost Ark."
Towering above the rest of the male ac- i
tors, Selleck plays a suave, easy-going thief 1
who is framed by the FBI and Scotland Yard. <
What's their price? They want the very successful
Nick Lassiter (Selleck) to get into the i
German Embassy and steal $10 million worth i
of uncut diamonds.
The only obstacle ? besides the Germans f
and the dogs ? is a very strange Lauren Hut- i
ton. Fond of animals, small boys and pain,
Hutton acts out this role with startling control
and precision. While watching a sweaty I
boxing match, a large drop of blood splatters r
on her cheek, and she wines it off and pate it' c
(
HUTTON, INTRIGUED and turned on
by the black man's ability to endure pain,
tries to arrange an evening with him. She t
sends Selleck to make the plans, but he is c
refused by the boxer's manager. e
Scotland Yard provides a lot of trouble for 1
Selleck, but it also is the location of the safe i
where the diamonds are supposed to be. The \
nlun ic fr?r Mirt tr? arrpnt Wiittnri'c rvainful!*/ ?
romantic overtures, crack the safe, get the
diamonds, get out of the embassy and then
turn in the diamonds to the police. ?
What does Nick get in return for his hard \
work? He gets a promise so full of holes, a c
blind man could see through it. The chief inspector
of Scotland Yard is a stocky little guy
who looks mean enough to punch your <
mother. So, Nick makes his own plans. " I
v _ . . ...
Jane Seymour is perhaps the pivotal <
"N.
EntertainTi
-
ydirt with outrag
it I have yet
im, "Eddie
fork City.
nated for a
career with
little rascal
issassinated; JUBBBKSSSr^mM^S^fi'
n "Kill My .A * .. ' ; ^ IlL _%
; green clay ^flSsSSStoSlWtttSP'W^^^Ktt?
? > - ^.rl+r^y-rr^-:\ ^Hf' 1
/ a car on ^&L
venue 'n
O a uau
get hit
don't get
You got
and then
ng...'hey, BH?
'pq that?
check." HflB wgv,:0;
Comedian jHV V
i Murphy HH| W
'ick Avenue wgl
)u don't get HBflBs fe|M
people go
ck" wbs i
ambulance. V
/lurphy and HB| 1
look broke. ?8Hg| i
iere?." And
t sure? Realmore
so I'll HH&
million conies
were huge went on to win this vear's Gramniv for h
d "Trading In it, Murphy's humor continues to be ;
obscene. He interprets the notion of Mr. 1
ning rendition makes for a bizarre joke.
:ond album, He expresses his envy for those who c
n, D.C., on women go crazy." He attacks Mick J
Comedian," vengeance and doesn't stop there. Accorc
uave thief 9
ar II setting
:haracter in this movie. Because of her, the
/iewers believe what they see. ^
%
A BEAUTIFUL woman, Seymour, and V
selleck have a wonderful on-camera
nagnetism. She loves him, and he loves her. 5%
But they can't seem to get it together. ffl
A fair amount of nudity is in this movie, A
ncluding Selleck's rear end, which isn't real
y important to the storyline of course, but it
ioes provide a little charge to female viewers. ?
The best part of the movie, besides Selleck,
s that it moves fast and doesn't have lapses
n the pace. There is a lot of action as well.
Fhere's a fight scene, a car chase, Germans,
;uspense, danger and all the good things that
nake an adventure film fun to watch.
A nleasant surnri?#? ic tho
, r. .u inv ucovuvc ui any
-iitler types. Although the bad guys are Gernans,
and the embassy has Third Reich flags
ind busts of Adolph Hitler, it's not
werdone.
WHENEVER THERE is a bad cop,
here's usually a good cop as well. The good
:op in "Lassiter" is an FBI guy. He ir amaz:d
and intrigued with the ease with which
^assiter steals. Attracted to the money made
n Lassiter's business, as well as the man
limself, the FBI guy triestomake life as easy
.. i ?
la I^UUIUIC iui i-a.ssucr.
"Lassiter" is definitely a stylish movie,
?nd the characters are relatively easy to ^ *
vatch. Although you may not like one or two Tc
)f them, there's none you'll really hate. c Hutt
fillet
This reviewer may have been slightly blind
eu by belleck's amazing good looks, particularly
in his dinner jacket, but Lassiter is a
soundly entertaining film, well worth seeing.
re nT
finns hranrl nf
Jackson "ain't the most mi
a feverish version of the
Life," Murphy superbly m
pitched sensitivity. Mur
in Michael Jackson's falsett
maine, stop teasing." T
brothers.
^ With some vehemence, Y
ging sound as a "James Br
|?? his best Elvis Presley anc
Wonder can impress him i
MBh EVEN HIS mother is r
describes his mother as a '
r nto, get me somi
tissue. Jermaine, sto|
teasing."
? Murphy mock:
i Michael Jackson':
I sensitive
^ _-A It is no small wonder w
stage and the movies can g
t stability. This means, sad
acidic Velvet Jones, the si;
do; to Gumby and his asc?
tive brand of frenzy on "!
HE WILL have to catei
bad words and the sex joke
those who, nonetheless, a
the public ever decides the
)cst comedy album. will have his wit to fall ba<
ibrasive, bizarre and His mimicking is uncannj
" as gay, and his cun- raucous mood.
While certainly not advij
:an sing and "make first two albums showcase
agger's lips with a laughter. From underneatl
ling to him, Michael emerges brisk and funny.
<w ; ^ SQ J-y..\
2k / I
/
/
akes a thief
im Selleck, Jane Seymour, and Lauren
on star in "Lassiter," a fast-paced film
1 with style and intrigue.
V
I
humor
asculine fellow in the world." With
supersinger's "She's Out of My
imics and hypes up Jackson's highphy
brings it to a close by weeping
o, "Tito, get me some tissue. Jerito
and Jertnaine are Jackson's
le labels a particularly difficult gag
wwii lytic, ci uuiid ituiuiiauv in
j insists that the only way Stevie
is to "take the wheel."
lot spared of his scathing wit. He
"Shoe Artist" who threw her shoes
at him with the precision of a
gun-wielding Clint Eastwood
character. Murphy starts,
"She comes walking in like
this," whistles the theme
from "Outlaw Josey Wales,"
and says in a cold tight-jawed
g Clint Eastwood impression,
"why'd you eat the ice cream
P off the floor?" The next
sound one hears is something
swooshing through the air
like a boomermiL' A kid
- 0. - bawls
and prays, "God,
S please kill her."
Of course he doesn't mean
' it. There is obvious affection
here. Murphy vividly recalls
his unusual relatives. One is
"Aunt Bunny" who had a
thick moustache, weighed
250 pounds and annually fell
downstairs in the Murphy
hy Murphy will leave "SNL." Live
ive him more freedom and financial
lly enough, saying goodbye to the
y hairdresser with the corncob hairerbic
philosophy and to the distincSNL."
to the audiences who can take the
:s free of TV censorship, leaving out
ppreciated his brash style. If he or
it the four-letter words must go, he
:k on. His creativity is tremendous.
/. His stage presence can create a
iable as gifts to mom and dad, these
iviurpnys incredible gift to induce
h that vicious vocabulary, Murphy
r*?? I - i
* *"*> v \