Being Eddie Murphy Looks Pretty Cool In The Being Eddie Trailer

An Eddie Murphy documentary has been long-deserved, but will this Netflix production get beneath the surface?

Come to think of it, it’s gotta be weird Being Eddie. Eddie Murphy got so famous so quickly in the early ’80s, and at such a young age, that it’s simply gotta do a number on your head. This upcoming doco from Netflix looks like it’ll be a pretty rote meteoric rise/massive impact/huge influence live-fest, and fair enough – Murphy has done more than enough to earn it. But I hope it gets into thornier areas, too. But given how guarded Murphy is about his personal life, I don’t like our chances.

Being Eddie Trailer

What’s the plot?

As the official synopsis tells us:

It goes without saying that there is only one Eddie Murphy. No other teen comedian shared a stage with Jerry Seinfeld at 17, and joined the cast of Saturday Night Live right out of high school. No actor has ever played a cop, a doctor, and a donkey — and dominated every facet of Hollywood he’s touched. Fewer still have been an A-list celebrity for over four decades, and never succumbed to its darker side. Murphy’s unusual combination of explosive charisma, focused ambition, raw talent, and deep-set circumspection puts him in a league of his own, and is on full display in Being Eddie, directed by two-time Oscar winner Angus Wall. The documentary gathers comedy and Hollywood legends like Dave Chappelle, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jamie Foxx, Jerry Seinfeld, Reginald Hudlin and more to celebrate the Oscar-nominated actor and his nearly 50-year career that’s seen him break barriers, invent genres, and inspire generations of talent. For the first time ever, Murphy invites the public into his home to revisit his breathtaking body of work, all the while revealing the dazzling interior life that has long driven — and grounded — this once-in-a-century star.

When’s it out?

Being Eddie hits Netflix on November 12.

What’s the vibe?

We get so many of these prestige celeb docos these days that the form is pretty familiar by now, and this looks like it ticks all the right boxes: archival footage, famous faces singing praises, family and friend interviews, etcetera and so forth. If you’re a fan, this is essential viewing. If it does anything more interesting is anyone’s guess, though.