Dolemite is My Name (now available for streaming on Netflix) is a marvelous movie, inspired by the life and creative pursuits of Rudy Ray Moore.
Moore, for those unaware, hit stardom in the early '70s with his Redd Foxx-styled, rhythm-and-rhyme comedy albums, and a series of movies followed, sprung from his centerpiece character, the pimp-ish martial artist, Dolemite.
The bio headlines Eddie Murphy, who also co-produced with John Fox and John Davis. Murphy's portrayal of Moore/Dolemite is spot on (worthy of awards), but then the whole, irreverent package deserves high, courtly praise.
Directed by Craig Brewer and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Moore's path to fame entails his early years, which are filled with struggles and accidental humor, as well as the eccentric but talented folks he enlists to steer him into the prime public eye.
These amiable individuals are given depth by such quality performers as D'Vine Joy Randolph, as Moore's spunky, hardworking partner, Lady Reed/Queen Bee; Keegan-Michael Key, as socially conscious writer Jerry Jones; Bob Odenkirk as shrewd, Dimension Pictures producer Lawrence Woolner; and Wesley Snipes as legendary, cult-film actor/director D'Urville Martin. Chris Rock, Snoop Dogg, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burges, TI, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Elliot Epps, Ron Cyphus Jones and Barry Shabaker Henley form the cool, supporting cast.
Emphasis on Moore's relegation as an underdog/outsider hits its emblematic peak after he views a Christmas screening of Billy Wilder's the Front Page. This gives the comedian the incentive to finance a Dolemite action/comedy film. Getting his blaxploitation vision made, however, becomes a daunting yet uplifting venture, ultimately placing Moore's story on the same creative-misfit par as James Franco's the Disaster Artist, Tim Burton's Ed Wood and Frank Oz's Bowfinger, which also stars Murphy.
Snipes' interpretation of D'Urville Martin is a major delight for this particular stretch, for he deftly combines snootiness with enthusiastic tolerance, thus adding to the bio's interchanging, one-day-loser/one-day-winner ups and downs.
For Moore, Murphy delivers heartfelt persistence and credible frustration, which becomes evermore evident when Moore begins to peddle his profanity-laced film for distribution, only then to face rejection by those who misunderstand its intent. However, to counter this arduous period, there's a lovely scene where Lady Reed expresses her gratitude to Moore for making a difference in her life. This injects a compassionate punctuation to the story's events that many real-life movies miss, thanks in large part to its two polished players.
As history has confirmed, Moore did make his cinematic mark, along with heaps of profits. His rocky journey is what makes his story so fascinating, for in it lies a valuable, against-the-odds lesson to keep fighting the good fight, no matter how many people put one down along the high-falutin way.
Because of its message, performances and palpable devotion, I enjoyed Dolemite is My Name from beginning to end. It's heart is in the sincere right place and because of it, this nostalgic homage resonates with great, Everyman class. (I'm now curious to see what Murphy and Brewer pull off for Coming 2 America. If Dolemite is any indication of their collaborative inventiveness, we're in for a real treat.)
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