Dolomite Is My Name, written by Scott Alexander - 9 out of 10

Dolomite Is My Name, written by Scott Alexander
9 out of 10


This comedy seems to be making a sensation, perhaps a comeback for the star performer, Eddie Murphy, who plays Rudy Ray Moore, the actor that in his turn went on the big screen to utter the line that would become famous:

'Dolomite Is My Name'


Variety calls this ' a total motherf-kin' blast...(with) pleasurable funky verve'

They are probably right, although at times, some may find it hard to follow and understand the many slang words, curses and perhaps get into the flow of the movie, carried away indeed by an Eddie Murphy that is evidently in his element, complex in the change of tune, singing and dancing, doing even Kung fu, combining in his character an ingenuity, an ignorance that is overcome with zest, talent, drive and determination.
In some ways, this is an educational feature, the life story of a man with little, if any serious education, that rises through his skills and grit, from poverty, using a low paid job in a shop to sell his own label and then, without knowing anything about motion pictures, deciding to make one and enduring all the vicissitudes, selling all his record rights, present and future, to see the work accomplished.

A real hero in that he does not abandon his team - well, he tells his friends that they have to pay for their motherfucking breakfast, strawberries and all that shit, when he is angry that he is broke, the film they make has depleted all his resources and the loans he has taken on - and he is dedicated to his work, the plan they had made and the completion of the movie.

In one scene, the public is so eager to see his work that they come in big numbers and many are left outside and Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolomite decides to forget the glamour, the acclaim and offers his audience a spectacle...outside the premises, loyal in manner unknown to most celebrities, keen as they are on the triumph, the money and the fame, but not too fond of the regular man or woman who adore them.
The are echoes from the Disaster Artist, at least for this cinephile, in the sense that the critics destroy the film, rating it as worthless or worse, and on some level, they are right...there was charm, enthusiasm and energy, but we could look at the original productions and think that we would never enjoy something like that, except under certain circumstances.

Dolomite and his exploits became very popular, but in an unsophisticated, should we say brutal way, without any pretense of intellectual ambitions, with lines like...

'Are you for real and I give you twenty four hours to leave town and twenty three is already gone man' words to that effect...

As it is, some Golden Globe nominations might be expected for a comedy that has an incredible cast.