The Best Of Eddie Murphy

The following material is comprised of sketches and films featured on the official Best Of special released by NBC. All reviews featured in this post were originally written by the creator of the OneSNLADay Project, Stooge. Some reviews may be modified from their original version.

JAMES BROWN’S CELEBRITY HOT TUB PARTY
Godfather of Soul (EDM) gets in
(Betty Thomas / Stray Cats – S9 E4)

— Ahh, here’s an all-time classic! I always enjoy seeing this one.
— Right off the bat after he’s made his entrance, Eddie is already coming off amazing in this.
— Oh, I’m absolutely LOVING this song.
— Hilarious how he’s musically narrating his actions as he’s hesitantly dipping into the hot tub.
— And already, we’re out. This sketch was the perfect length, and the fact that this whole thing just turned out to be his drawn-out entrance into the hot tub is very funny.
— Overall, one of Eddie’s all-time best, as well as one of SNL’s all-time best.
— This was the first airing of what will be several Eddie Murphy sketches in his final season that were taped during a special “preview show” right before the start of this season so Ebersol could insert them into episodes that Eddie would miss while he’s off in Hollywood filming movies. 
STARS: *****

MISTER ROBINSON’S NEIGHBORHOOD
eviction notice from Mr. Landlord (TIK)
(George Kennedy / Miles Davis – S7 E3)

— Loved Eddie’s cheerful “I’m so glad the bitch is gone” line about his ex-wife.
— LOL at “scumbucket” being the word of the day.
— Very interesting change of pace with the “visit to the president” involving Eddie using hand puppets.
— Nice use of the “middle finger”, though I’m guessing Eddie’s secretly using one of his other fingers.
STARS: ****

BUH-WEET SINGS
Buckwheat (EDM) is back & he has a new album- Buh-Weet Sings
(Susan Saint James / The Kinks – S7 E2)

— The debut of Eddie’s Buckwheat!
— There’s the classic opening line “Hi, I’m Buh-weet, amembah me?”
— The Buckwheat-ized songs are all hilarious.
— Love how they put question marks on the bottom of the screen in place of the song title when they couldn’t figure out which song he was singing just now.
— Overall, another all-time Eddie Murphy classic.
STARS: *****

WHITE LIKE ME
by Andy Breckman- undercover as a caucasian, EDM is shocked by white life
(Eddie Murphy / The Honeydrippers – S10 E9)

— Here’s an all-time classic, well-known piece with Eddie investigating what it’s like to experience America as a white man.
— Hilarious that he’s studying how to be white by watching Dynasty and reading Hallmark cards.
— A freakin’ hilarious initial sight of White Eddie. Very good make-up job on him.
— Love the walk he’s doing.
— I always like Jim Downey’s delivery of “Go ahead, take it”, as well as Eddie hesitantly following those instructions.
— Yet another great part with the whites in the bus breaking out into party mode after the sole black passenger leaves.
— So much great social commentary here.
— I think the guy playing the white boss is the same guy who’s appeared in several Ebersol-era pieces, usually playing doctors (such as the doctor who officially announces Buckwheat’s death in the legendary Buckwheat Gets Shot sketch).
— Great line from White Eddie: “What a silly negro!”
STARS: *****

VELVET JONES SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
career help via I Wanna Be A Ho
(George Kennedy / Miles Davis – S7 E3)

— The debut of Velvet Jones!
— Oh, it’s the classic “I Wanna Be a Ho”, this character’s most famous sketch.
— Good “wooden TV pitchman” voice from Eddie.
— Hilarious concept and Eddie’s delivery of the material is great.
— Funny testimonial from Robin.
— Eddie’s ending line: “Be somebody. Be a ho!”
— Eddie has been knocking it out of the park on a weekly basis. Every episode so far this season has had at least one Eddie Murphy sketch that’s remembered today as one of his all-time classics: Little Richard Simmons, Prose and Cons, Buh-Weet Sings, Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood, and I Wanna Be a Ho. Amazing that he’s had such an impressive number of classic sketches over the span of just THREE EPISODES this season.
STARS: ****

EBONY & IVORY
Frank Sinatra (JOP) & Stevie Wonder (EDM) sing “Ebony & Ivory” variant
(Olivia Newton-John – S7 E20)

— Oh, this is a very well-known classic sketch.
— Eddie’s solo singing of “Ebony and Ivory” actually sounds genuinely nice.
— Joe’s Sinatra: “When I think of Ebony, I think of a magazine that most people do not buy.”
— I always get a kick out of Sinatra’s lyric “You are blind as a bat and I have sight”.
— Overall, a perfect and very well-done sketch, and is one of the quintessential displays of the great chemistry Eddie and Joe have always had.
STARS: *****

BLACK HISTORY MINUTE
Shabazz K. Morton (EDM) on George Washington Carver
(Eddie Murphy / The Honeydrippers – S10 E9)

— I’m already laughing from the beginning, just from Eddie’s silent, head-thrown-back posture when the camera first shows him.
— I love the character name Shabazz K. Morton.
— I almost feel like Eddie might as well be playing his Raheem Abdul Mohammed character here. There’s not much difference in the characterization.
— Funny soul/soil line flub, which gets a laugh from the audience.
— And there’s Eddie’s legendary ad-libbed response to the audience: “So I messed up, SHUT UP!!!” An absolutely classic moment. He also adds a great “Stop clappin’ ‘fore ya’ll make me smile!” afterwards. Eddie always had a penchant for fantastic ad-libs whenever anything went wrong in a sketch.
— Another funny line flub with Eddie’s “This pastes pretty g– tastes pretty good”. When the audience laughs at that, Eddie ad-libs a callback to his earlier ad-lib by angrily saying “Yeah, keep on smilin’!”
— The line about George Washington Carver’s method to compress peanuts into phonograph needles gave me a pretty good laugh.
— Very funny reveal of the names of the two white men who stole George Washington Carver’s peanut butter recipe: Edward “Skippy” Williamson and Frederick “Jif” Armstrong.
— Overall, great sketch, elevated by Eddie’s reliable delivery and terrific ad-libbing skills.
STARS: ****

THE LITTLE RICHARD SIMMONS SHOW
Little Richard Simmons (EDM) does exercise & rock-n-roll with audience
((no host) / Rod Stewart – S7 E1)

— Very funny concept, combining Little Richard and Richard Simmons.
— The ubiquitous Yvonne Hudson sneaks into yet another season of SNL.
— Loved Eddie’s “You girls have let yourselves go!” comment to the overweight male cameramen.
— Very fun with Eddie going into SNL’s studio audience and actually physically making them stand up.
— Eddie as Simmons: “I’ve been getting MY protein; have you girls? (*suggestive eyebrow raise*)”
— Great Little Richard-esque musical number from Eddie.
— It’s no surprise, but Eddie is so damn good throughout this sketch.
— Overall, one of Eddie’s greatest sketches. Right out of the gate, he’s proving his worth as the new leader of this retooled cast.
STARS: ****½

HYMIETOWN
Jesse Jackson (EDM) tries to reconcile with Jews by singing “Hymietown”
(Edwin Newman / Kool & The Gang – S9 E14)

— Eddie’s Jesse Jackson impression seems to have improved a little from the last time he played him, even though his portrayal is a lot more low-key than we’re used to seeing Jesse being impersonated on SNL.
— Oh, I can tell this is going to turn into the famous “Hymietown” number.
— Ha, the lyrics are really funny and the song sounds great.
— I think I just heard a woman in the audience saying “Sing it, Eddie!”
STARS: ****

SPECIAL REPORT
Ted Koppel (JOP) reports- Buckwheat’s been fatally shot; Texxon sponsors
(Bruce Dern / Leon Redbone – S8 E15)

— Ah, this is it, folks…
— There’s the now-legendary “Buckwheat has been shot” announcement & subsequent footage of the incident.
— I criticized Joe’s Ted Koppel impression in some of my earlier reviews (essentially calling his impression just “Joe Piscopo in a wig”), but his Koppel voice seems to have noticeably improved tonight. Or maybe it’s just grown on me.
— Unseen Assassin: “Hey, Mr. Wheat!” (*gunshots fire*)
— Love the wide-eyed, teeth-gritting look on Buckwheat’s face when he gets shot. Good subtle acting choice from Eddie, when most performers would’ve just made a generic anguished face when “getting shot”.
— I like the “America Stunned” graphic.
— Yet another use of SNL’s fake sponsor “Texxon” from earlier episodes.
— Excellent inclusion of Mary as Alfalfa reacting to the tragedy.
— You gotta love how they’re going all out on this whole thing.
— LOL at how Joe’s Koppel is using every excuse in the book to replay the same clip of Buckwheat getting shot. That’s a dead-on spoof of typical news coverage of tragedies like this. I also like how with each repetition, the Buckwheat assassination clip is played in increasingly slower motion.
— Joe’s Koppel has now announced the official death of Buckwheat. Wow.
— A big laugh from Texxon’s addendum to their usual “Life goes on, and Texxon is there” slogan: “Because Buckwheat would have wanted it that way”.
— A funny memoriam montage of Buckwheat.
— Overall, this epic sketch was a masterpiece and flawlessly executed. Truly deserving of its reputation as one of the best pieces in SNL history.
STARS: *****

PROSE AND CONS
barred bards, like Tyrone Green (EDM); Swifty Lazar cameo
((no host) / Rod Stewart – S7 E1)

— I’m liking the music being played during the opening montage of prisoners.
— An enjoyable and well-done short so far, and we haven’t even gotten to the famous part yet. I remember being very bored by most of this film when seeing it years ago (“Eddie Murphy’s the only funny part of this whole thing!” I remember complaining back then, and I’m sure there are others who have that same opinion), but I can enjoy the low-key humor in it more nowadays.
— Ah, here’s the classic part with Eddie.
— Eddie’s whole insane, intense poem-reading is absolutely fucking fantastic, especially the immortal “C-I-L-L” part. The latter got such a loud audience reaction that you couldn’t hear the end of Eddie’s poem (which appeared to just be the word “death”).
STARS: ****

THE BUCKWHEAT STORY
a TV movie starring Byron Allen
(Bruce Dern / Leon Redbone – S8 E15)

— A decent quick promo, keeping up the Buckwheat running premise by showing NBC cashing in on his death by doing a biopic about him.
STARS: ***

CAREER CORNER
Tooth Fairy (EDM) wishes to change his profession
(Daniel J. Travanti / John Cougar – S7 E16)

— Promising concept with Eddie playing a very Eddie Murphy-esque Tooth Fairy.
— Overall, while there was nothing much to say about this, it was a pretty solid sketch and featured the usual good amount of funny Eddie Murphy lines.
STARS: ***½

LISHMAN’S DELI
Gumby reunites with (CHG), Irving Cohen & Lew Goldman at a deli
(Eddie Murphy / The Honeydrippers – S10 E9)

— Boy, this sketch doesn’t seem to be going anywhere interesting so far.
— Amusing seeing a young Larry David so prominent in the background throughout this.
— The return of Gumby.
— Another funny fictional character name tonight, with the moniker Adolf K. Musselman.
— At first glance, Rich in that wig and glasses strongly resembled Joe Piscopo in character.
— Rich’s sarcastic “Oh, I guess that was some OTHER green jew” to Gumby made me laugh.
— Man, this sketch has mostly been going NOWHERE.
— Not sure what made Billy lose his composure and start cracking up (fourth screencap above), but that was pretty funny.
— This overall sketch did not work for me. To paraphrase a comment I remember once reading about this sketch on Reddit: “How do you have comedy greats Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Rich Hall, and Larry David all in one sketch, and not a single funny moment be produced?”
STARS: *½

ROCK & ROLL AND THEN SOME
Clarence Walker (EDM) proves he was 5th Beatle
(Robin Williams / Adam Ant – S9 E12)

— I have great memories of first seeing this sketch in Eddie’s “Best Of” compilation special, which was my very first exposure to this era of SNL. This was one of the first sketches I caught in the special, and immediately, I could see how strong of a cast member he was. It will be great to revisit this sketch.
— I’m loving Eddie’s hostility and fast-talking demeanor here.
— The medley of “original” Beatles songs being played on a tape is great, especially the one song with Eddie just speak-singing for a long time over the music.
— Here’s the part of the sketch that I’ve always remembered the most, where they play a Beatles song in reverse and you can hear John Lennon hilariously saying “Let’s get rid of Clarence and steal all his good ideas”.
— This overall sketch held up very well and was just as strong as I remembered it.
STARS: ****½

COLD OPENING
Buckwheat killer John David Stutts (EDM) is profiled, shot Oswald-style
(Robert Guillaume / Duran Duran – S8 E16)

— I love how they’re keeping the epic “Buckwheat gets shot” saga going.
— Ha, continuing a repeated gag of Joe’s Koppel still keeps overplaying the Buckwheat assassination clip at every opportunity.
— I like how even the moment of silence is “sponsored” by Mutual Life.
— Love the fictional assassin name John David Stutts.
— Great characterization from Eddie as Stutts, and I like the little detail of him having no eyebrows.
— Wow, this is quite long for a cold opening in this era.
— Great biography video on Stutts, especially the various yearbook pictures of him.
— I saw the Lee Harvey Oswald-esque shooting of Stutts coming, but it was still perfect, especially Eddie’s monotone “Oh, I’m shot”.
— Heh, now it’s the Stutts assassination clip that Joe’s Koppel is constantly overplaying.
— An overall excellent cold opening & companion piece to the previous week’s Buckwheat sketch.
STARS: *****

PUDGE & SOLOMON
recently-unemployed Solomon refuses to accept charity from Pudge
(Smothers Brothers / Laura Branigan – S8 E8)

— Nice to see these characters now receiving recognition applause from the audience.
— Lots of funny back-and-forths between Eddie and Joe here, even moreso than usual.
— Very touching, sweet ending with Joe helping out a newly-unemployed Eddie by sneaking him money while he’s not looking.
STARS: ****

STEVIE EXPERIENCE
Stevie Wonder impersonator (host) applies for a job, (EDM) gives him tips
(Stevie Wonder – S8 E19)

— Stevie’s nerdy voice is funny as hell.
— I’m enjoying the premise of Stevie badly singing his own songs.
— Ha, Eddie’s having another one of his famous corpsing moments in response to Stevie saying something to him.
— Here’s Eddie busting out his famous Stevie imitation, to show Stevie’s character how to do the impression.
— Great audience eruption in response to Stevie singing “My Cherie Amour” the right way.
STARS: ****½