AceShowbiz - Angus Wall's documentary, Being Eddie, offers an overwhelmingly adulatory and largely uncritical portrait of comedy icon Eddie Murphy. Far from a probing exploration, the film functions more as an extended promotional piece, celebrating Murphy's undeniable contributions to comedy while conveniently sidestepping any aspects that might challenge his enigmatic star status. Given that Being Eddie marks Murphy's fifth project with Netflix since 2019's Dolemite Is My Name, and follows his reported $70 million deal for new stand-up specials—his first since the notorious 1987 special Raw—it's difficult to view the film as anything but a prolonged public relations exercise.

While not entirely devoid of merit, the documentary suffers from a frustrating lack of complexity. Its title deceptively promises an intimate look into the man, yet delivers little beyond Murphy's own reflections and a chorus of flattery from his closest friends and colleagues. High-profile figures like Dave Chappelle, one of Netflix's other major stars, even goes so far as to label himself the LeBron James to Eddie Murphy's Michael Jordan, underscoring the film's reverential tone. Indeed, Murphy's career is unparalleled; as critic Elvis Mitchell rightly points out, he "changed the world" alongside cultural titans like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Whitney Houston. The film highlights his meteoric rise, joining Saturday Night Live at 19, achieving film stardom with 48 Hrs. at 21, releasing his first comedy special at 22, and becoming arguably the most recognizable Black star of the 1980s. It correctly asserts that the careers of comedians such as Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Kenan Thompson would likely be impossible without his groundbreaking influence.

Despite these acknowledgments of his profound impact, Being Eddie consistently shies away from offering an unvarnished glimpse into Murphy's inner life or the more complex facets of his career. With Mitchell potentially being the sole unbiased voice among the interviewees, the documentary never transcends its self-imposed limitations. It notably glosses over the full cultural impact of Raw, which, for all its charismatic and unprecedented humor, has also been widely criticized for its unbridled homophobia and sexism. Similarly, Murphy's lengthy period of commercial failures throughout the 1990s and 2010s are either barely examined or, in the case of Tracee Ellis Ross's commentary, recontextualized as reflections of Murphy's commitment to his role as a family man, rather than professional missteps.

Ultimately, Being Eddie is hagiographic by omission. It's not that its analyses are necessarily incorrect, but rather that director Angus Wall—or, more plausibly, Murphy himself—refuses to present the comprehensive, nuanced picture that a title like Being Eddie implicitly promises. The film remains within a comfort zone of praise, failing to delve into the depths required for a truly compelling or insightful documentary.