I remember when I was younger and I saw “Beverly Hills
Cop” for the first time. I remember thinking that there was
nobody that I wanted to be more than a smart-assed, fast-talking,
gun-toting, foul-mouthed Axel Foley. I tried to “¦ hell, I
still try to, laugh like Eddie Murphy.
Then came “Beverly Hills Cop: 2.” Great movie, again
reaffirming Murphy’s cool factor, and showing that he could
still dominate the box office.
Shoot, I even watched “Vice Versa,” with Judge
Reinhold and Fred Savage, and, you know “¦ just from hanging
around Murphy in the “Beverly Hills Cop” series,
Reinhold had to be cool too (but I was wrong about that).
I remember all the great Eddie Murphy movies ““
“Trading Places,” “Coming to America.” They
start getting a bit mediocre after that, but his stand-up videos
(“Raw,” “Delirious”) are great.
But a little after that, namely beginning with “Beverly
Hills Cop: 3,” things started to get bad. Since then, Murphy
has had some decent films, but sequels, remakes and sequels of
remakes (“Nutty Professor,” “Dr.
Doolittle”) get really old. It’s great that he has a
family and wants to make family-oriented movies but … eh.
So this week when I saw the advertisement for “I
Spy,” I was puzzled. I had no idea what to think. I
remembered the Eddie Murphy of my childhood years: a smiling,
cursing prankster who made the funny voices and added a colorful
vulgarity to his films. Then I remembered the Eddie Murphy of
recent years.
Mr.-I-have-a-family-now-so-I’m-going-to-make-wholesome-movies.
I remembered the movies “Holy Man,” “Nutty
Professor 2,” “Dr. Doolittle 2.” I remembered the
Eddie Murphy of just last month. “The Adventures of Pluto
Nash” came to mind. I shuddered, turned up my collar and got
on my way (I was wearing a t-shirt, mind you). But hark, out of the
corner of my eye, I saw the name: Owen Wilson.
Could this be Owen Wilson of the Wilson brothers? The notorious
co-writer of “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,”
and “The Royal Tenenbaums?” America’s new golden
boy? Indeed, the one and only. So maybe “I Spy” will be
decent, I thought.
As I continued walking, I saw a poster for the other big movie
coming out this weekend (I was walking in a place where there were
lots of movie posters up). “The Santa Clause 2.” I
almost laughed out loud. Yea, I never really liked Tim Allen much,
but he was big-time when he was on “Home
Improvement.”
The same guy who was always growling and making ape noises was
going to be in another “Santa Clause” movie. Great. I
think I’d rather eat bricks than watch that flick. (Oh, and
though it may be a little off-topic, Judge Reinhold is also going
to be in “Santa Clause 2,” and he was also in
“Santa Clause” ““ score! Or maybe that’s
just another reason not to see “Santa Clause 2.” You
decide.)
But so yea, Tim Allen, yuck. Seeing as there are no other major
films that are to be released in the theaters this week, I was
trying to decide whether or not I want to see these two.
I have decided not to, so I think I’m going to call this
weekend “The Weekend of the Falling Stars.” If Tim
Allen and Eddie Murphy don’t pick up their slack this
weekend, I’m afraid it may be the end for them. Not that
I’m threatening them or anything. These are just my personal
opinions. If you don’t feel the same way, more power to you,
but you’re wrong!
Chang’s film column runs Wednesdays.