[REVIEW] Being Eddie

By Will Dawson

If joy had a documentary form, Being Eddie would be it — shimmering with nostalgia, reverence, and the kind of laughter that sneaks up on you from your childhood memories. As I settled in to watch Netflix’s latest ode to a legend, I felt like I was stepping into a time capsule lined with leather red suits, soulful crooners, and jokes sharp enough to slice through decades.

At its core, Being Eddie gives viewers an overview of Eddie Murphy’s rise from a kid in Brooklyn who worshipped Richard Pryor to a comedic comet blazing across America. From the moment Eddie hit the stage on Saturday Night Live — at 20 years old — you could tell this wasn’t just another funny guy. This was someone destined to sit at the same cultural table as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Whitney Houston. And during the 80s? Please. Eddie didn’t just join the table — he flipped the whole thing over and rebuilt it in his own image.

The documentary does a lovely job capturing Eddie the artist: the comedian who studied Pryor like scripture, the performer who pulled rock-star energy from the likes of Elvis, blending swagger with silliness in a way that only he could. It reminds us that long before we debated cinematic universes, Eddie was the universe. Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, and Trading Places were cultural events. Shared experiences. Rites of passage.

What the doc captures beautifully — but perhaps too briefly — is Eddie’s gentleness. His generosity. The fact that, unlike so many megawatt stars of his era, he didn’t tumble into drugs, scandals, or a desperate hunger for fame. Eddie was (and still is) an introvert disguised as an icon — a man who wanted the work, not the whirlwind. The film touches on this, painting him as someone who seemed to find stardom as a means to an end, and handled it like a seasoned philosopher.

Even the interviews were well-done, showing the reverence and respect Eddie has garnered by his peers and those who came after him. The story about how he got the role in Trading Places, and how those in charge were skeptical of him starring in 48 Hours, were things that could’ve served as roadblocks, but instead are the things of legend.

And then, of course, there was the shift. America’s premier fast-talking action-comedy superstar suddenly became Dad. Literally. The man who once wielded guns and one-liners with equal precision started conquering family films — The Nutty Professor, Shrek, Doctor Dolittle. Eddie didn’t just reinvent himself — he opened up a whole new lane.

We also need to talk about what he accomplished with films like The Nutty Professor, Coming to America, and yes, even Norbit, which the doc did nicely. There has never been an actor on any level that committed to playing different characters in film. The fact that the characters were buried under hours of makeup and still had their own distinctive personalities literally makes the man one-of-one. Goodness.

But if there’s one moment the documentary treats like a footnote when it should’ve been a headline, it’s Eddie’s Oscar snub for Dreamgirls. The man won the Golden Globe. He delivered one of the most electric performances of his career. Yet the Academy shrugged. The doc mentions it, but I was sitting there like, Y’all gonna move on that fast? Really?

Still, where Being Eddie fumbles a bit is in the areas it tiptoes around. There are places where the film could have dug deeper — his family life (although the section that highlighted his relationship with his brother Charlie and the glimpse of his father figures and interview footage with his mom were so good), his evolution as a father, his music career, the less-than-shiny chapters of his personal story. These are part of what make Eddie human, and by avoiding them, the documentary plays things a little too safe, a little too glossy.

But even with its blind spots, Being Eddie succeeds in reminding us that Eddie Murphy is not merely a star. He’s a constellation. A once-in-a-generation talent who is still working, still creating, still showing up with the effortless charm of a man born to entertain. And when he returned to Saturday Night Live after three decades? That was a seismic cultural moment, a reunion between a king and his kingdom. Whew.

In the end, Being Eddie is as engaging as the man it celebrates. It might leave you wanting a bit more depth, a bit more grit, but perhaps that’s fitting. Eddie Murphy has always kept a piece of himself tucked away from the limelight — and maybe that’s part of his magic.

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