Review of Dolemite Is My Name (2019) by Jumpcut_Online — 04 Dec 2019

I realise that a 27-year-old Welshman potentially isn’t the target audience for a comedy about a 1970s comedy legend famous for his blaxploitation era contributions, but the laughs were too few and far between for me to consider it a bonafide comedy. Rudy’s stand-up routines were funny but that was because they were all his original stuff. The film had an opportunity to explore who exactly Rudy was behind the scenes and showcase just how funny he was in his own life; Murphy gives it his all in a very good performance, but he never got a chance to showcase his genuinely hilarious capabilities often enough.

This is where I struggled to connect with the film overall; I could recognise how good the performances were, but aside from a few moments, it never made me laugh out loud consistently enough. It has a very nice feel-good sentiment to it and the film is never better than when it’s just Eddie Murphy entertaining a crowd with his classic “Dolemite is my name! And **** up **** is my game!” routine, but it felt like a missed opportunity to explore the character further as opposed to focusing solely on the larger-than-life rise to stardom for Rudy Ray Moore.