Like a good many comedic actors who rose to fame in the 1980s,Eddie Murphyfirst gained popularity through being a cast member onSaturday Night Live. Successful movie roles followed this, as did some high-profile stand-up specials:Delirious(1983) andEddie Murphy Raw(1987), neither of which can be considered feature films in the traditional sense, but are still worthy of honorable nominations.
Murphy also found some success as a singer, but it’s his movies that endure the most, and continue getting released to this day, thanks to a resurgence of sorts for Murphy and his career in the last few years.The following films – including both live-action and animated works – are representative of the best Eddie Murphy’s filmography has to offer, and are ranked below from good to great.
10'48 Hrs.' (1982)
Director: Walter Hill
Most people would point toLethal Weaponand its sequels as representing the peak of 1980s buddy cop movies, and maybe that’s fair… but48 Hrs.came first, and scratches a very similar itch. Additionally, it’s extra important to consider and highlight when it comes to Eddie Murphy specifically, as it was the first feature film he ever appeared in, and he has a starring role at that.
He’s paired withNick Nolteas the other half of the buddy duo, with Murphy being the younger, hipper, and funnier of the pair (and a criminal), and Nolte being comparatively older, grumpier, and more grizzled (as a cop getting the help of Murphy’s criminal character).It hits the beats you’d expect, but this kind of movie populated a formula that’s a winning one for a reason, and so48 Hrs.is a pretty good time overall.
Watch on Paramount+
9’Bowfinger' (1999)
Director: Frank Oz
Bowfingeris one of numerous movies about making movies, and a key one in showing why that kind of premise – and the self-referential humor that often comes with it – is so much fun. It’s about a struggling filmmaker who comes up with a wild plan to find success and avoid bankruptcy, with it essentially involving filming a movie undercover and around a well-known actor, never getting his permission necessarily, but still having him be the movie’s “star.”
Steve Martinis fantastically castas the scheming director, and Eddie Murphy plays both the oblivious actor and that actor’s twin brother, who’s eventually brought in to help make this messy and ambitious film. As a satire about fame and Hollywood,Bowfingeris pretty good,with Martin and Murphy (the latter in two roles) making for a great comedic pairing.
Watch on Starz
8’Coming to America' (1988)
Director: John Landis
For a while, Eddie Murphy was famous forplaying several roles in the same movie, but in a post-Norbitworld, some might say he was more infamous for doing so. It depends on the movie, though, and what Murphy has to work with. Thankfully, inComing to America, the material was strong, and so it’s fun to see him play four roles at once within the same movie, disappearing into each pretty effectively.
The main character, though, is Prince Akeem Joffer, from the fictional African nation of Zamunda. He does indeed visit America to try and find a bride, withmost of the comedy coming from how he tries to fit in as an ordinary person within a chaotically busy New York City. It’s a fish-out-of-water comedy through and through, but it works, holding up pretty well; not perfectly, but well enough considering its age.
Coming to America
Rent on Amazon
7’Dreamgirls’ (2006)
Director: Bill Condon
As mentioned before, Eddie Murphy’s a singer on top of being an actor and stand-up comedian, with a total of three studio albums released between 1985 and 1993. Look, none of those were necessarily great albums, but they’re one part of Murphy’s vast career in entertainment, and did showcase that he had some singing chops, and could perhapsstar in a musical if he wanted to. And he did, in 2006, withDreamgirls.
He’s certainly got some competition in the singing department, consideringDreamgirlsalso stars the likes ofBeyoncé,Jennifer Hudson, andJamie Foxx, but Murphy’s quite good here, all things considered.It’s also notable for being a rare non-comedy that Eddie Murphy has starred in, instead being about three young women trying to make names for themselves as singers, first by providing backing vocals for Murphy’s character, a well-established singer. It’s a solid story elevated by the music and the strength of the various performances, withDreamgirlsbeing quite good overall.
Dreamgirls
Rent on Apple TV
6’Trading Places' (1983)
Trading Placescame one year on from48 Hrs., and was another key early role of Eddie Murphy’s that helped his rise to fame as a movie star. His co-star here isDan Aykroyd, who plays a well-off commodities broker, while Murphy plays a less well-off street hustler. Like the rather literally-titledComing to America,Trading Placesdoes indeed see these two trading places.
It all comes about because of a bet between considerably wealthy individuals who seem to want to initiate the swap for sheer amusement.There’s something of a message here, too, even thoughTrading Placesis largely focused on comedy and never gets too serious, and it also works surprisingly well as a Christmas movie, for anyone burnt out on watching allthe usual suspects during the holiday season.
Trading Places
5’Shrek 2' (2004)
You could make the argument that animated movies shouldn’t be considered alongside an actor’s live-action movies for the purposes of ranking, but few people have been quite as good at voice acting as Eddie Murphy. His voice is naturally expressive, but he seems to push it even further when all he has to work with is that voice, andthe charisma/personality found in his live-action roles ultimately shines through in those voice-only roles.
Case in point,Shrek 2, which is alsojust a great sequel in any event, and exceedingly close to the first in terms of quality. Donkey is just as rambling, lovably annoying, and energetic as he was in the first movie, and making him have to compete, in a sense, for the role of the title character’s sidekick leads to plenty of comedy (fittingly,Antonio Banderasalso makes a huge impression voicing that competitor, Puss in Boots).
Watch on Peacock
4’Beverly Hills Cop' (1984)
Director: Martin Brest
While48 Hrs.had its fair share of comedy and a little action,Beverly Hills Copgenerally offers more, and feels a bit snappier/explosive as a result. As such,it helped establish Eddie Murphy as something of an unconventional action movie star even better than that 1982 film did, not to mention it also allowed him to play a cool and charismatic cop this time around: Axel Foley.
The movie does still allow Murphy chances to be funny, but he does get to do more than just serve as comedic relief. He’s also unequivocally the star here, whereas he shared top billing earlier on in his career with Nolte (48 Hrs.) and Aykroyd (Trading Places). Beverly Hills Cop has also become the more successful and long-running live-action series Murphy’s been associated with, given a fourth film in the series,Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, wasreleased 40 years on from the first movie.
Beverly Hills Cop
Watch on Netflix
3’Mulan' (1998)
Directors: Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Forget aboutthe Mushu-less live-action remake in 2020. For anyone wanting the realMulanmovie, it came out in 1998, and it still holds up amazingly well. The story is simple but powerfully and memorably told, following a young woman who disguises herself as a man to save her aging father from getting conscripted into the army, which is after recruits because of an impending Hun invasion.
Eddie Murphy voices a tiny dragon known as Mushu, who is undoubtedly there for comedic relief, but it’s welcome when the rest ofMulancan get surprisingly heavy, owing to it taking place during wartime. There is a balance between the more dramatic parts and the comedy Murphy offers, andhe’s able to steal scenes without overwhelming the movie… though givenRobin Williams’s role as the Genie inAladdin, Mushu will probably never top any list as the absolute best comedic sidekick from an animated Disney movie (the competition’s just too tough there).
Watch on Disney+
2’Dolemite Is My Name' (2019)
Director: Craig Brewer
Though always known for his straightforward comedies and memorable voice roles, Eddie Murphy had, before 2019, still demonstrated more range than people give him credit for. But then 2019 saw the release ofDolemite Is My Name, which is also technically a comedy, but gives Murphy much more to do than most of his fairly one-note live-action roles of the 2000s and 2010s had offered.
That’s becauseDolemite Is My Namesucceeds as a biographical filmon top of being a comedy, with Murphy portraying the central figure,Rudy Ray Moore, who starred in, wrote, and produced various cult classic blaxploitation movies, particularly during the 1970s.Dolemite Is My Nameworks asa homage to Moore, a celebration of his wild films, and a well-told biographical story, with Murphy being excellent in the lead role. Itlikely would’ve been Oscar-nominated, had 2019 not been such a strong year overall (Adam Sandler’s turn inUncut Gemswas even snubbed that year).
Dolemite Is My Name
1’Shrek' (2001)
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
One of the most iconic animated movies of all time (arguably), it’s hard to look pastShrekany time there’s a ranking to be done that could featureShrekas a contender. It was an early computer-animated film, and one that signified Pixar didn’t have a monopoly over the format, by any means. It also was kind of edgy, but never pushing things too far, appealing to young and old alike while being an effective parody of fairytales/old Disney movies, nevertheless remaining a good fantasy film in its own right.
It introduced numerous iconic characters, too, with Eddie Murphy’s Donkey obviously being one of them.Hesays too many memorable things to count, and Murphy’s line deliveries are just perfect(everyone else is strong too, though, especiallyMike Myers).Shrekis a big enough deal that aShrek 5has been announced, scheduledto release a full quarter of a century after the original… and people are still – not to mention already – excited about it.
