Eddie Murphy was at his best when he did Saturday Night Live and his own stand up comedy. I would even say that some of his earlier films were okay. He is far better when given the opportunity to be himself, and improvise a little. I miss the days of Delirious and Saturday Night Live. Now at most we get Dr. Dolittle and Shrek. I miss the vulgar side. So let’s take a trip down memory lane, and have a few laughs.
We interrupt this review to bring you this special report. Good evening, Teh Noms reporting, we have just received word that Buckwheat has been shot. Brought to you by Texxon, Life goes on, and Texxon is there. *cough* You have to have this set of sketches in order for this to be a “Best of”. It goes on and on and on… With them showing the video of Buckwheat being shot at least 10 times. It doesn’t start to get funny till the 4th or 5th time of seeing the video. The funniest thing is how they repeat the lines. Heeelarious.
A favorite character of mine that Eddie did was Mr. Robinson (Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood). It is his take on Mr. Rogers. But he is the ghetto. He has a landlord that shows up with an eviction notice, a guy that shows up with a “chemistry set”, and a man who is mad cause Mr. Robinson ripped off his daughter. I love his “special word of the day” parts. The best bit is when he tells the kids to repeat the words. He gives the kids a word of the day (female dog), then tells them to walk into their mothers room and repeat it, while he waits. Hahaha. He says that if you got slapped, you said it right!
One of the funniest sketches on this disc was saved for the ending credits. It has Eddie with Stevie Wonder. He is telling Stevie Wonder to do an impersonation of himself. They are going back and forth trying to tweak their different parts of the impersonation. Whats funny is Eddie seems to have a good voice when he sings a part of one of Stevie’s songs. But its funny cause Stevie finally busts out with his song, does a good job, then Eddie tells him at the end that his impersonation sucks. Still makes me laugh every time I see it.
Video
This video is presented in the 1.33:1 fullscreen aspect ratio. Remember Saturday Night Live? Great, groovy, super. It’s the same exact thing. It’s been about a very long time since Eddie Murphy has been in SNL (early 80’s) and the video appears faded and worn. It’s a shame that this footage they are re-using over and over and over couldn’t be restored in some fashion. The colors are okay, but it should have been better.
Audio
As expected, the audio is the original Dolby Digital 2.0. The dialog is fairly clear, but the audio sounds quite dated now. If it wasn’t for Eddie Murphy’s voice carrying this presentation, it could be mistaken for an old Abbott and Costello sketch. Again, it’s standard fare and one who has heard these sketches from almost 30 years ago should get what they expect.
Special Features
- Additional Sketches: The special word for today is “Scum bucket”, do you know any scum buckets kids? I bet you do! Like perhaps the ones who called additional sketches, “special features”.
- Outtakes: This shows scenes where Eddie messed up. Everytime he cracked a smile or started laughing during a sketch.
- Photos: About a dozen or so still shots of Eddie in his various costumes and characters.
Final Comments
There are a lot of funny sketches on this disc. That said, is it anything that a Eddie fan wouldn’t have seen already? No, probably not. And what is with them releasing all of the Saturday Night Live stuff like this? This disc was already out, just like the others, and they are just re-releasing them with a different cover. I check before I buy a DVD, wouldn’t you? So those that already have seen this or own it, are not going to pick it up again. For those of you who only know Eddie from Dr. Dolittle, Shrek, or Nutty Professor, close this review, and go at least Netflix this DVD (and Delirious for that matter). You have been truly missing out on some great comedy.
Sketch List (As Printed on Back)
James Brown’s Hot Tub
Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood
Buckwheat Sings
White Like Me
Velvet Jones
Ebony & Ivory
Black History Minute
Little Richard Simmons Show
Jesse Jackson
Buckwheat Is Shot
Prose and Cons
Career Corner
Gumby
The 5th Beatle
Buckwheat is Dead
Solomon and Pudge
The Stevie Wonder Story/Credits
