Eddie Murphy’s hosting the Oscars? Well, maybe I’ll watch.
I never watch the Oscars because I don’t do movies. Then again, I really don’t watch the Grammys anymore, and I’m a music junkie. But I haven’t been to a theater in about three years, and I’ve never understood the appeal of an award ceremony that typically highlights movies you wouldn’t have ordinarily seen had the awards themselves not existed. I just don’t care that much.
But you throw Eddie Murphy out there and give us a chance to remember why his name means so much, and I’m there.
I’m not sure where to begin when talking about how fascinating Murphy is to me. He went through most of the 1980s blowing everyone off the screen that stood next to him. Perhaps the greatest indication of his rise was the change in billing between “48 Hours” and “Another 48 Hours,” when he leapfrogged Nick Nolte and got to the top. And it’s not like Eddie was stealing scenes with a pejorative connotation. There was just no way anyone could be in proximity of his talent and not look lesser.
Then, Eddie stopped doing standup and became a movie star. He reached his peak with “Coming to America,” every bit as creative and insightful as it is funny…and he hasn’t been the same since.
I really don’t have an explanation for why. Sure, he took some awful scripts — too many to waste time naming — but I’ve always felt as if leaving standup took a part of him away, too. It’s the dilemma I face while trying to figure out what to do with radio in my future endeavors. There’s something about being on live, in total control of the show, that keeps you sharp. It’s always about you when you’re on the mic. Even if you want to turn into something for mainstream success, who you are will probably win out. You can’t fake it when there’s no script to lean on or no director to tell you what to do. You are you, and that’s the reason why people are listening. So you almost have no choice but to be yourself, good or bad, and ride out the energy and edge that comes from that.
Either you trust yourself or you lose. It’s that simple.
And you wonder why I’m excited to see Eddie Murphy host the Oscars?
When’s the last time you saw Eddie Murphy on a stage as the star of the show? Has it been since “Raw?” And have you truly cared about him since he was in that purple suit?
I don’t expect this to resuscitate his career. He decided to go for the cash with the movies — that kid money, man — and that’s that. But I imagine there’s a generation that has no clue why Eddie’s name is so big, totally unaware that this was the biggest star on screen for quite a long time. He was the rare black star that was allowed to be everything at once. He could be smooth as easily as he could be funny. He could do action without seeming like a comedian forced into something foreign. And he did “black” comedy without blackness being his hook, something I don’t even think Richard Pryor could say. He had it, and in a way particularly necessary for a black person to become a mainstream star.
And now, over 20 years since the world belonged to him, he’ll have the microphone on the biggest night of his industry. It’s a chance to be reminded of what Eddie left behind when he chose to get paid over being the best (note: most of us would make the same call). And, because of the spectacular gifts bestowed upon him, it could be the greatest night of his career.
Yeah, I’ll watch that…even if I turn away for the awards themselves. Unlike Eddie Murphy, I really don’t care what those folks do on stage.
