DVD Review: Eddie Murphy Delirious 25th Anniv.

Eddie Murphy's Classic Stand Up Show Revisited 25 Years Later

Jun 21, 2009

Arguably the most notorious piece of work by funnyman Eddie Murphy, Delirious is without a doubt the most quotable stand-up routine of the 1980's. It's out again on DVD.

Originally filmed as a Premium TV comedy special and filmed in the summer of 1983 at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., Delirious is an uncensored, outrageous look at various morays of the early eighties, all through the keen eye of Eddie Murphy, at that time still making his mark as a regular player on Saturday Night Live.

Though many of his topics (i.e. homophobia, scatological observations, etc...) would be very politically incorrect in this day and age, at the time Murphy still managed to keep the laughs coming, with his unique blend of clever impressions (his Elvis is pure gold) and family anecdotes.

For the handful of you who have been living in a cave for the past twenty five years, here's a brief breakdown of the topics the Beverly Hills Cop star touched on, over the course of this legendary show.

Murphy starts out by commenting on the show's opening act, an up and coming group called the Bus Boys. Once the congratulatory round of praise has come and gone, Murphy starts to comment on the general perception of gays in North America, and then proceeds to perform impressions of famous celebrities' behavior, had they been reported as gay.

Among the examples of this are impressions of a hidden love affair between The Honeymooners' Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleeson) and Edward Norton (Art Carney). Having juiced that bit, he then offers the audience a glimpse of a very raunchy Mr. T., throwing a fit over an inadequate bed partner. Though this sequence is considerably infamous, rumor has it that Eddie Murphy expressed regret in later years, as to the extreme homophobic content of that portion of his show.

Having moved on from the aforementioned sexually charged topics, Murphy moves on to more generally acceptable fare, that of musical stars, and their mannerisms. Chief among Murphy's targets of choice are Michael Jackson ("Not the most masculine fellow in the world"), Mick Jagger's unusually large lips, Elvis Presley ("They let him do movies, he couldn't act!"), and how very few people in the world can admit to understanding what James Brown is talking about, given his vocal outbursts.

Add to this some brief Luthor Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Teddy Pendergrass bits, and you find yourself with the funniest set of impressions, making the viewer wonder if Murphy wouldn't have been better off going down that path, as have Rich Little and Frank Gorshin in past decades.

The lengthiest bit of Eddie Murphy's entire show, where he focuses on explaining his bizarre and eccentric relatives, such as his no nonsense father Vernon, his mother Lillian, his Aunt Bunny ("She's got a mustaaache!"), and his Uncle Gus, who insists on making a cooking fire so large as to cook an animal the size of an elephant.

This bit is most famous for elaborating on his relationship with his brother, how they often got hit by their mother's shoe for misbehaving ("By the time I was, like, ten, my mother was like Clint Eastwood with a shoe"), and how his father would lose patience over the odd behavior of his direct family, thereby deciding to get drunk every Fourth of July.

Though some may find the story a little lengthy, praise must be given to Murphy for infusing such vivid imagery and liveliness into each of his relatives' personalities, making it one of the most enduring bits in stand-up comedy history. Try to watch this segment a few times, and not find yourself saying Goonie Goo Goo once or twice, during the course of your day.

A handful of other subjects come and go between the bigger and more obvious bits, with short topics ranging from black male behavior towards women, Eddie Murphy's love of Star Trek, and late night cable TV movies, and how white people always do the dumbest tings in horror films.

Given that most fans who buy this disc will already have had the thing memorized since making a VHS copy of it in third grade, they will instead be interested by some of the extras provided on the disc. Among them, is a comprehensive interview by former comic and current television talk show host Byron Allen, with Eddie Murphy, about memories he has of the 1983 TV special, and how it affected both his career and reputation in the 25 years which followed.

Also included is a fascinating short series of interviews and sound bytes, from some of today's generation of black comedians, and how Delirious was a driving force in their decision to go into either stand-up comedy and/or show business. Interviewees range from Chris Tucker, Chris Rock, Sinbad, Arsenio Hall, and several others. Each states how Delirious was sort of a bible to them, something to memorize word for word, in order to impress high school buddies.

The disc also boasts of never before seen footage from the original show, however as tempting as this may sound, the scenes in question are extended versions of what is already seen seen, and so no new material is offered, simpler long ones.

The profitable sale of this disc should be assured, given its existing fan base, and some of the extras may motivate others to purchase it as well. If anything, this will be a disc for those who have owned various formats of this classic live comedy film, and who need to get a fresh copy from sheer viewing abuse.

7.5 out of 10 for a fun trip back to an awesome comedic gem from yesteryear.

The copyright of the article DVD Review: Eddie Murphy Delirious 25th Anniv. in Comic Films is owned by Dominic Messier. Permission to republish DVD Review: Eddie Murphy Delirious 25th Anniv. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.