By the time "Boomerang" was made, Murphy was completely out of his mind with fame and fortune. He thought he could do it all. He had written the story of "Coming to America", "Another 48 hours" and "Harlem Nights" (which he also directed), and even though these last two ones tanked miserably he probably thought he was Welles or Chaplin and continued writing, directing and producing his own stuff. On the side he was recording albums, acting in Michael Jackson' videos and whatnot.
"Boomerang" was officially directed by Reginald Hudlin but we know Eddie was obviously pulling the artistic strings. In his first major attempt at the romantic comedy genre, he wrote the screenplay, called his buddies, the best looking actresses in the business and starred in the movie.
The end result is exactly the same as "Harlem Nights": great production, wonderful cast, beautiful wardrobe, cool songs, OK direction, screenplay and dialogues... terrible.
The jokes - keep in mind at that time we had just gone through the 80's, a golden time for Eddie and his movies - go from mildly amusing to dumb, just bad and simply awful. Some of them are disgusting. Others are weird and wrong. There's a scene where it looks like Eddie is trying to be Spike Lee and shows him and his buddies ridiculing a snobbish white clerk.
The sex scenes are ghastly and the romance part is particularly embarrassing because we know Eddie wrote it. How insanely cocky and conceited do you have to be to write dialogues where women will talk about your charm, your beauty and your sexual prowess? Also, his dialogues with (the absolutely stunning and perfect) Halle Berry are beyond pathetic.
Eddie nearly destroyed his career trying to be an actor, writer and director. He was saved, four years later, by Jerry Lewis' "Nutty Professor". He never directed again. Years later he wrote "Norbit". Another flop. Eddie is a comedic genius. I've been his fan for 35 years. But he should know by now he can't write or direct.
On the positive side: best performance by Robin Givens ever. It's a shame she was never given a proper chance to act. She's excellent.
"Boomerang" was officially directed by Reginald Hudlin but we know Eddie was obviously pulling the artistic strings. In his first major attempt at the romantic comedy genre, he wrote the screenplay, called his buddies, the best looking actresses in the business and starred in the movie.
The end result is exactly the same as "Harlem Nights": great production, wonderful cast, beautiful wardrobe, cool songs, OK direction, screenplay and dialogues... terrible.
The jokes - keep in mind at that time we had just gone through the 80's, a golden time for Eddie and his movies - go from mildly amusing to dumb, just bad and simply awful. Some of them are disgusting. Others are weird and wrong. There's a scene where it looks like Eddie is trying to be Spike Lee and shows him and his buddies ridiculing a snobbish white clerk.
The sex scenes are ghastly and the romance part is particularly embarrassing because we know Eddie wrote it. How insanely cocky and conceited do you have to be to write dialogues where women will talk about your charm, your beauty and your sexual prowess? Also, his dialogues with (the absolutely stunning and perfect) Halle Berry are beyond pathetic.
Eddie nearly destroyed his career trying to be an actor, writer and director. He was saved, four years later, by Jerry Lewis' "Nutty Professor". He never directed again. Years later he wrote "Norbit". Another flop. Eddie is a comedic genius. I've been his fan for 35 years. But he should know by now he can't write or direct.
On the positive side: best performance by Robin Givens ever. It's a shame she was never given a proper chance to act. She's excellent.