Being Eddie – The DVDfever Review – Netflix – Eddie Murphy documentary

Being Eddie is a documentary about the man who was the first black comedian to host Saturday Night Live, and a successful one at a time when in the early ’80s, the only other big name in showbiz at the time was Richard Pryor, also a hero of Murphy’s, and who later starred with him in 1989’s
Harlem Nights.

We get a trip through some family history, such as how his real Dad was killed in a lovers’ quarrel when he was young, so the father figure in his life was his stepfather, Vernon Lynch.

Cue plenty of chat from relatives as well as fellow comedians Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle, plus filmmakers John Landis, Jeffrey Katzenberg and others.

Since we never got SNL in the UK, I think the first time I saw Eddie Murphy was when Trading Places came out on VHS to rent. All of his films were rated AA at the time – the equivalent of a 15-certificate at the time – so way too old for me. It’s also a time that when Beverly Hills Cop came to BBC1, it had “EDITED FOR TELEVISION” splashed all over it, onscreen.

Hence, when Bronson Pinchot Serge’s gave his famous exclamation, it was badly censored, replacing the f-word with “Hell” seemingly spoken by someone else, so came across as “GET THE F..hell OUTTA HERE!”

For me, what goes up, must come down. While the first two BHC films were great, the third was abysmal, and the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F… yep, the same.

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Like a lot of comedians in the ’80s, they produced great output in that decade – here, including Coming To America, 48 Hrs, Another 48 Hrs, he went off the boil, made kids films because he had kids to entertain, and more recently with Candy Cane Lane, You People, The Pickup and eventual sequel Coming 2 America.

Still, if there’s one thing Eddie Murphy is proud of, it’s his return to Saturday Night Live for its 50th Anniversary special, although when we see clips, here, the jokes are falling flat as a pancake. Your mileage may vary.

What’s next for the man who’s Being Eddie? A fifth Shrek film and being the fourth actor to play… Inspector Clouseau, in yet another reboot of The Pink Panther. Oh, come on! I thought he was actually joking when that got a mention in this documentary, but sadly, no.

Still, as a trawl through the man’s 45+ year career, this is still a reasonably engaging 102 minutes. He’s certainly allowed to celebrate his successes, but he should acknowledge that he’s made more than his fair share of duds, too.

NOTE: There are NO mid- nor post-credits scenes.

Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.

Being Eddie is on Netflix from today, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.

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Check out the trailer below:

Being Eddie – Official Trailer – Netflix

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Detailed specs:

Cert:
Running time: 102 minutes
Release date: November 12th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
Score: 6/10

Director: Angus Wall
Producers: John Davis, John Fox, Charisse M Hewitt, Kent Kubena, Terry Leonard

Cast: (as themselves)
Eddie Murphy
Jamie Foxx
Kevin Hart
Pete Davidson
John Landis
Tracee Ellis Ross
Chris Rock
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Seinfeld
Dave Chappelle
Kenan Thompson
Tracy Morgan
Arsenio Hall
Michael Che
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Brian Grazer

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