Eddie Murphy proved his big screen comedy prowess with Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places but the studio was still concerned about him helming a movie by himself. Luckily, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer believed in him and ended up convincing Paramount that he could do it, bringing him on board Beverly Hills Cop after Sylvester Stallone stepped out. And the rest is cinematic history – the movie broke records left and right and firmly established Murphy as a full-fledged movie star. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Eddie Murphy series with Martin Brest’s 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop.
We talk about what holds up in this 80s cop comedy and what doesn’t hold up as well – and where we disagree on these. We look at how the film came together, from the early ideas and the various writers to the period when Stallone was the lead to bringing Murphy on and how the script was finally shaped. We discuss Murphy and how he fits in the film here, and how the rest of the cast works to fill the rest of the world. We chat about Brest and his directing style, and discuss his career and his disappearance from the industry. We talk about the iconic theme by Harold Faltermeier and how it fits into the film, paired with the iconic soundtrack that represents everything Bruckheimer was doing with his movies at the time. And we look at how this film did at the box office, becoming the top film in 1984 and setting the stage for cop comedies thereafter.
It’s a fun film, even if it has some issues, but definitely represents what Murphy was doing in the 80s. We have a great conversation about it so check out the movie and tune in!
Film Sundries
- Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Netflix
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original poster artwork
- Flickchart
- Letterboxd
- Clips from Martin Brest’s Short Hot Dogs for Gauguin
- What Happened to Martin Brest?
