Eddie Murphy Appreciation Month

Y’all have some giant shoes to fill.

The Golden Child (Michael Ritchie, 1986)- 3/10

THE GOLDEN CHILD (1986)




Now that both strikes are over, SnoBorderZero and Doomsday can finally begin work on Golden Child II. Don’t forget that PhantomKnight and I are available.

Did you know this is Murphy’s first PG-13 movie? For all the classic movies that Murphy made in the 1980’s, and I’ve already covered almost of ‘em, who would have thought this would be the one to pave the way for the bulk of Murphy’s career.

Following the mega-success of Beverly Hills Cop, it was 1984’s #1 movie, beating Ghostbusters and Temple of Doom, it made a lot of sense to cast Murphy in a big effects-driven fantasy-adventure film in which he has to rescue a Tibetan child from the devil himself. His role was actually intended for Mel Gibson, but Gibson took a sabbatical in between Thunderdome and Lethal Weapon to nurse his alcoholism, and so Paramount gave the role to their biggest star. Murphy was gonna have a role in Star Trek IV, the one with the whales, but did Golden Child instead. I’m gonna give SnoBorderZero a moment to wrap his head about all this.

Golden Child tested very poorly. Audiences weren’t ready to accept Murphy in a Mel Gibson role. Murphy had to wait till Metro for that to happen. So Paramount tossed out the John Barry score and reshot the movie to make it a more appropriate vehicle for Murphy. The result? You can tell.

The good news is, that after Nutty Professor, Murphy became a children’s entertainer, so Golden Child doesn’t feel that weird anymore. If someone weren’t around in the 80’s and 90’s, Golden Child is what they expect an Eddie Murphy movie to be, while 48 Hrs will feel like the jarring one. So SnoBorderZero and Doomsday, give the children what they want, Golden Child II.

And I just remembered your movie comes out on Wednesday.  I'm gonna put a 2 hour meeting on my calendar and close my door.  Yes, a meeting, that's it.

We're still working through Kubrick's filmography.  I've been having trouble explaining the bear blowjob scene from The Shining.