I'm not kidding, my stomach is sore from all the laughing. After a brief sketch that serves as a lead-in and to some extent, a setup, this is 77 minutes of pure and gradually increasing hilarity(and there is actually insight to a ton of what he says). This and Hot Fuzz(which had the greater effect on me, but you really can't compare these) are the only two things where I've ever felt like I might croak, that my (23-year old and trim as of writing this, mind you) body might be overwhelmed from my enjoying the crap out of what I was seeing and hearing. I love Murphy when he is allowed to do what he does best, and not asked to do it in an irritating manner. The man has a machine-gun for a mouth(in the sense that it can fire off absolutely lethal verbal projectiles at such a speed that counting them soon becomes an exercise in pointless behaviour) and he can behave arrogantly as well as self-deprecating(if the scales aren't necessarily equal). His impersonations are excellent, and Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor(R.I.P.),Michael Jackson(R.I.P.),Africans, Jamaicans, Italians, etc. must have been embarrassed, if they don't have(or had in those 2 cases) a sense of humor about themselves. This is a performance by Eddie, and like other stand-uppers, he ties it together and repeats certain punchlines. The whole thing keeps to an astounding pace(with very few exceptions),and flies by. This is filmed and edited with skill, evident especially in the fact that you don't notice it; it doesn't draw attention to itself, and off the man. There are stereotypes in this, and it is in general quite controversial. The main focus is on relationships, women and sex, though he does talk about gay people, us whites and our inability to dance, and there is a brief bit of bodily function jokes. There is a constant stream of strong language in this. I recommend this to any fan of the comic the way I would a hot meal to someone hungry. 8/10

This opens with a young Eddie Murphy shocking his family during the Thanksgiving gather in 68. It's his standup in Madison Square Garden. He's afraid of Mr. T but not so much Michael Jackson after making fun of them in Delirious. He imitates Bill Crosby chastising him and praises his hero Richard Pryor. It's a night of foul-mouthed nasty stories with references to various pop culture personalities. He and his purple outfit has the audience in the palm of his hands. This is Eddie Murphy at his highest point. He is irreverent and fearless. He comes off as a homophobic misogynist and it doesn't matter. He takes on anything and anyone. He's full of power and energy. Robert Townsend captures it all.

Eddie Murphy at his peak in Hollywood had a great deal with the studios, after the money made off of 48 Hours and Trading Places, barely disappointed. This 1987 special is one prominent example. One night this came on TV recently and I could not change the channel. I heard rants on celebrities, celebrity life, romantic life (consisting of pretty much a second act in a way),race, etc, and it was in classic Murphy style. I have heard a lot of romance comedy (sex, little things, different kinds of women),but in this film Murphy takes it to another level. Not only does everything seem to be absolutely real, the stories he tells work almost cinematic ally coming full circle from where they started. And a lot of the humor coming in large doses very quickly- sometimes just from facial expressions- is worth the watch even if you're just in it to get the laughs. As this is my first Eddie Murphy stand-up special (a long-time admirer of his SNL & old-school movie work) I was caught off guard perhaps- I knew his stand-up ranked with pretty high, as it was the kind of material that influenced the likes of Chris Rock. But, as with the anything of worth in stand-up, it has to be off and absurd to really hit for the big laughs, and a couple of times it really knocked in. Some of these you might find if you're digging it, but if you're just a casual fan of Murphy much of the topics he touches on will hit somewhere at you. Not to mention two specific bits (a phone call with Bill Cosby, and a bit around the perfect wife) are as close to genius as the barbershop scenes in Coming to America. If you haven't seen either special I can't say which one to start with, however whatever combustible forces raged round in the late 80's with Murphy (before he seemed to abandon stand-up for acting) are displayed through a natural, usually hysterical performance. And in the moments that aren't big with laughs at the least held my interest. GRADE: A