At just a teenager, Eddie Murphy transitioned from performing stand-up comedy in New York City to becoming a star on Saturday Night Live. By 21, he was acting alongside Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. and by 25, he had already won a Grammy, released a successful HBO comedy special, and achieved superstar status with hits like Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Now, after four decades and numerous films, Murphy is ready to open the doors of his mansion to reflect on his illustrious career in front of the camera.

BEING EDDIE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

The Overview: Angus Wall, a two-time Oscar recipient known for his editing on The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, steps into the role of director for this feature-length project.

A star-studded lineup, including Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Brian Grazer, gather to honor Murphy’s comedic brilliance. They highlight his capacity to transcend racial boundaries and motivate upcoming comedians. The story of Murphy’s life and cinematic journey is narrated by Murphy himself, as he either sits for interviews or strolls through his luxurious California residence.

Reflecting on his ambitions, Murphy shares, “I wanted to be as funny as Richard (Pryor). I wanted to be cool like Elvis. And I wanted to be as big as The Beatles.” In the ’80s, he certainly achieved those dreams!

The documentary revisits Murphy’s early ’80s era on SNL, his breakout role in 48 Hrs., followed by his successes with Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Initially, Trading Places was intended for Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, but Pryor’s infamous accident opened the door for Murphy. He also credits his quest for real-life romance as inspiration for Coming to America. Audiences are treated to memorable scenes from Boomerang, The Nutty Professor, Bowfinger, and Shrek.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Another documentary about a celebrated comedy star of the 1980s came out earlier this year, but unlike the Emmy-winning posthumous look at Paul Reubens in Pee-wee as Himself, Being Eddie gives its subject free rein. Murphy is fully in charge of telling the story he wants to tell about himself.

Performance Worth Watching: Because we haven’t seen or heard as much from Murphy as perhaps comedy fans would’ve liked (at least until his 2019 return to guest host SNL, which we’ll get to), seeing and hearing what he chooses to tell us now feels even more significant, as much as what he’s still withholding.

Sex And Skin: None.

Our Take: You probably didn’t need to hear other comedy superstars heap praise upon Murphy to believe the hype, but they’re lined up here, anyhow.

“He changed the way we view comedy,” said Jamie Foxx.

“The rules are just different for him,” said Jerry Seinfeld, who in comparing Murphy to other “magic people” whose skill sets appear otherworldly to us mere mortals, noted that most of those other larger-than-life characters typically find their lives exploding all-too-early in a ball of flames. “But not Eddie,” Seinfeld said.

Dave Chappelle added that while Murphy enjoyed a front row seat to life, “the core of him seems unscathed by it.” And at the end of the documentary, Chappelle suggested that Murphy somehow survived superstardom just by “being Eddie.” Which is a wild way to get to the title. But by this point, comedy fans have realized that this documentary doesn’t so much reveal what it was like to be Eddie, as much as give us the opportunity to be with him for a little while, to inhabit the same airspace. Even if only indirectly through the camera lens.

There are moments, albeit rare, where we get glimpses of the real Murphy.

In an opening scene, Murphy echoes the old Bruce Springsteen lyric about 500 channels and nothing’s on, despite five of those channels broadcasting Murphy’s movies. “I be like, ‘There ain’t s–t to watch! I don’t want to see none of this s–t,’“ he jokes.

There are times where he’s walking alone in his cavernous home, countered by scenes with some of his 10 children and many grandkids, casually enjoying each other’s company. But we only see Murphy in his most recent relationship, with his partner Paige of the past 12 years. Any past mistakes, whether personal or professional, are glossed over or not mentioned at all. Much is made of footage from his week guest-hosting SNL in 2019, heralded as his homecoming after being scorned by a David Spade joke in the mid-’90s, as if we all didn’t see his awkward appearance in SNL40. The idea that Murphy should’ve won an Oscar for Dreamgirls but didn’t because Norbit flopped is broached, but never investigated. This documentary isn’t interested in asking questions or seeking answers, choosing instead to bathe us in nostalgia.

There’s a moment in archival footage where David Letterman suggested we saw the real Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls, only for Murphy to quickly shoot him down, insisting we’ve never seen the real Eddie onscreen. Except current-day Murphy tells us he used his real pain from his real-life divorce to fuel his portrayal in that movie. Which would be great if we had ever learned anything about that relationship in this doc.

Our Call: Being Eddie sadly is nowhere near as chaotically thrilling as Being John Malkovich. And yet, for anyone born in Pete Davidson’s generation or younger, it must be quite a thrill to realize Murphy enjoyed a legendary run even before Shrek! So ultimately, STREAM IT.

Sean L. McCarthy works the comedy beat. He also podcasts half-hour episodes with comedians revealing origin stories: The Comic’s Comic Presents Last Things First.