Movies That Came Out 27 Years Ago: Eddie Murphy’s Delirious – A Running Diary

I have a confession to make: I’m not really a movie buff. I haven’t seen Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, the Last Picture Show, The Bicycle Thief, or even Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch. When I made this list of all of the great films I’ve never seen, I have to add what has been called one of the greatest stand-up concert films of all time: Eddie Murphy’s Delirious.

Over the years, I’d read about the classic concert film, so I had a passing familiarity with the tight red leather suit, the famous catch phrases, and the controversy surrounding the homophobic material. I also remember at the time, Murphy was far more vilified for the amount of profanity he used than his subject matter which, depending on who you ask, is now seen as either offensive, still hilarious, or no longer funny due to the events of the past 27 years.

So with a nod to ESPN columnist Bill Simmons, I threw in Eddie Murphy’s Delirious into the DVD player and kept a running diary. Here are the impressions of a guy in 2010 watching, what in 1983, was a watershed performance from one of the most successful comedians of all time, performing at the top of his game.  

0:00 - (Title Screen) I haven’t even started watching it and I am really distracted by Eddie’s red leather  suit. It’s just on the title screen, but I know it’s going to take getting used to.

0:24 - Warm up band featuring a dude that looks like Leroy from Fame and cut away footage of Eddie arriving by plane. A nod to the Beatles on Sullivan perhaps?

0:34 – As Murphy shadow boxes backstage, the all-black band starts playing what sounds like a Bachman Turner Overdrive song. Forgive my obvious prejudice but I was expecting something funkier. Now I feel ashamed.

0:36 - Life on the road montage.

0:56 - You won’t believe this, but Eddie Murphy in 1983 had a big-ass entourage.

1:50 - Close up on Murphy in his underwear with a lingering shot of his significant bulge. Not the first time in this montage we’ve seen Eddie in his skivvies and I’m pretty sure this isn’t by accident. I had forgotten that he was a pretty big sex symbol and wasn’t afraid to market himself as one. Not many comedians before or since have done that successfully. 

3:59 - Apparently the BTO-sounding band are called the Busboys. 

4:43- Eddies first joke is homophobic; in the truest sense of the word. Going into this experiment, I was interested to see to what extent this material would affect my enjoyment of the show. Yes, it definitely needs to be understood in the context of the time, and yes I’m all about material that’s challenging and plays close to the edge. But the reality is that I equate homophobia with being a giant prick and I struggle to enjoy any comedian who I think is a giant prick. Sometimes they win me over, but it’s going to be an uphill battle.

7:45- Now on to AIDS. It’s 1983 and AIDS is pretty new. In fact, the disease had only been given its name in 1982 despite having caused over 850 deaths in the United States alone by the end of that year.  I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but it’s hard to hear material about gay men spreading AIDS through kissing and not think about the incredible amount of discrimination AIDS sufferers faced in the 1980’s and beyond.  Or picture the tragic images of sufferers in their final days. Or think about the first time I read Angels in America. Or reflect on the staggering effect it is currently having in the developing world. It’s fascinating in a time capsule sort-of-way to watch, but pretty cringe-worthy to listen to people howl with delight at jokes at the expense of people dying of AIDS. 

9:46 - Eddies talking about his sexual prowess and bragging about the number of women who want to have sex with him. Somehow this isn’t as obnoxious as it should be, probably due to the fact that it is completely honest. 

13:01 - Michael Jackson bit. I’m now realizing that there hasn’t been anyone who has integrated impressions as seamlessly into his act since Eddie. It seems completely second nature to him.

15:45 – Murphy uses the entire stage. Note to self: use the entire stage.

21:44- Finally I see the famous ice cream bit. It’s anti-climatic and not worthy of the hype I’ve been hearing for 27 years, but still very good. This is the first bit that’s mostly anecdotal and it’s amazing to watch Eddie work as a storyteller. His timing and use of dynamics are impeccable.  

30:38 – Fart jokes. Generally, I hate fart jokes. However, I have to admit that these are the best fart jokes I’ve ever heard. 

32:59 – Question: Why is so much of Eddie’s material about his childhood? Answer: He’s only 22! He was on SNL by the time he was 19. Basically he went from being a kid in Brooklyn to undressing centerfolds with Joe Piscipo and Rick James in the grotto at Hef’s place.  At this point he has no life experience beyond his childhood that is relatable to any normal person.

36:12 - Eddie takes a picture of his crotch using a camera from an audience member. More proof to the “Eddie’s-enormous-ego/confidence-is-tied-to-his-sexuality” theory. On the comedian sexual posturing scale, with Woody Allen being and 1 and Richard Pryor 6, Eddie is a 13. I also forgot that cameras were shaped like that, (i.e. long and narrow).  

39:18 – Eddie skewers his extended family. Is there really an Aunt Bunny and Uncle Gus? If I wonder how this famous bit went over at Thanksgiving. Or Did Eddie buy them both a Bentley, introduce them to Prince and everything was OK? What would it take for me to be OK with being publicly humiliated in a concert seen by millions? Probably a new Ford Focus and an introduction to Prince’s bass player, so maybe I shouldn’t judge the theoretical Aunt Bunny and Uncle Gus for hypothetically being OK with this piece.

53:09 – Crowd boos enthusiastically at the mention of Ronald Reagan. Yet another time capsule moment from a time when Reagan was incredibly popular. Today we’re told time and time again that the United States has become a culturally and politically divided nation. The reaction to Reagan’s name is a little evidence that perhaps this phenomenon isn’t all that new.

55:50 - Jessie Jackson as possibly the first black president is my favourite piece thus far. All of Eddie’s bits have a strong physicality that plays especially well in a theatre. 

57:06 – A woman yells something from the audience to which a male audience member retorts “shut up bitch!” This is actually really funny despite its obvious sexism. It’s a spontaneous moment that injects life into the performance just as Murphy is starting to wind down. He plays this perfectly. 

1:05:22 – Murphy’s poltergeist bit. Is Murphy the Neil Armstrong of the “white people need to get out of the house in a horror movie” routine? I’ve heard this joke a billion times but have no idea if Eddie was the originator. If so, people have been biting Eddie Murphy for 27 years even more than I thought they were biting him. 

1:06:45 – Eddie leaves on a poignant, if crass, comment that alludes to refusal of African American opera Singer Marian Anderson’s request to sing at the same Constitution Hall that Murphy has sold out. It’s a fitting way to end the show.

For one, it comes off as an important triumph of the underdog moment. Before Murphy drops the mic to the ground and accepts the thunderous applause, this “how do you like me now?” posturing justifies the arrogance and swagger that would be hard to tolerate from a comedian of any ethnicity today. In 1983, Eddie Murphy defied the odds and had become a huge star who built on the fearlessness of Richard Pryor and endearing storytelling of Bill Cosby. While Murphy was beloved by both white and black audiences, he exhibited a cockiness that neither Pryor nor Cosby had ever attempted. 

As a white Canadian guy, I might not be the ideal candidate to be writing on the topic of comedy and the African American experience. But I think it’s important to keep in mind the cultural landscape of 1983 and the role that race did and did not play in Eddie Murphy’s popularity. White audiences seemed instinctively to want to root for Murphy in a way that they hadn’t before for young, funny black guys. While this has more to do with Eddie’s charisma and talent than any other consideration, it should be stated that he was very much the right guy at the right time. Murphy’s rock-star inspired comedic persona was unique to the early 80’s when comedy audiences were thrilled to see a hip, brash African American flaunt his talent and success. Not long after Delirious dropped, the brashness of other black entertainers working in Hip Hop would enjoy similar mainstream popularity. In short, the culture was ready for Eddie Murphy.

It’s unfortunate, but the homophobic material off the top of the show has aged as well as 27 year old mayonnaise. Articles about the DVD release of Delirious reference a retraction of sorts from Murphy about this material, which is tough to listen to despite any effort to “lighten up” or “not take it too seriously”.  While I didn’t laugh as much as I thought I would during Delirious, I did frequently catch myself shaking my head and saying, “Damn, he’s good.”

By Geoff Hendry

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