Dolemite is My Name

The baroque funk of Dolemite is My Name

Craig Brewer's Dolemite is My Name is a pleasant comedy and perfect vehicle for star Eddie Murphy. Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, a comedian in the Redd Foxx mold who had success playing the titular badass during the blaxploitation era. Murphy is the best standup comedian since Richard Pryor and Dolemite liberates him from the kiddie pictures he has been mired in and gives him a chance to show off his still sharp comic chops. Mr. Brewer's direction was more personal and inspired in the maudit Black Snake Moan, but it is serviceable here. The real auteurs of the film are screenwriters Larry Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Dolemite bears more than a passing resemblance to their Ed Wood: a biopic in which a band of outsiders defy all impediments to create a show. Messrs. Alexander and Karaszewski provide chewable chunks of dialogue for a distinguished cast. Craig Robinson, Wesley Snipes, Da'Vine Randolph, Ron Cephas Jones and Mr. Murphy are especially memorable.

The screenplay has a sure sense of the historical moment and the designers have responded appropriately. Dolemite celebrates funk style at its most baroque, afro wigs and leisure suits abound. As in Ed Wood, there is an underlying sweetness to the bizarre and ramshackle proceedings. The courtliness of Mr Murphy and Ms. Randolph's relationship is particularly welcome amidst the crass humor. I also appreciated the slice of film history Dolomite provides and how a viewing of Billy Wilder's The Front Page provoked Moore to target an underserved audience. Despite its brash exterior, Dolemite is My Name has an inner intelligence and charm.