Eddie Murphy in “Being Eddie.” Courtesy of Netflix<\/span><\/p>\n This article includes material from celebrity.land\u2019s weekly culture and entertainment newsletter, The Culture Catchall. <\/span>Click here to subscribe<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Rarely does Eddie Murphy sit down for in-depth interviews these days, much less invite the general public into his mansion home to peel back the curtain on his life. That\u2019s why many were delighted to hear that the reclusive \u201cRaw\u201d comedian is finally the subject of a long-overdue documentary that does just that in Netflix\u2019s \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Culture: \u2018AKA Charlie Sheen\u2019 And The Problem With Salacious Celebrity Documentaries<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n For the first time, the film, which arrived Nov. 12, shows Murphy looking back on his unprecedented career in entertainment, recalling his meteoric rise from a \u201c<\/span>Saturday Night Live<\/span><\/a>\u201d breakout to a stand-up superstar to a box-office sensation that delivered all-time classics across several decades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although the doc is as intimate as a 103-minute runtime allows to recap a nearly 50-year journey, \u201cBeing Eddie\u201d is still a gratifying look at how one man \u2014 a Black man in Hollywood at that \u2014 reached the upper echelons of fame and success and lived long enough to tell his own story, even if it\u2019s a truncated version.<\/span><\/p>\n The documentary begins by recalling Murphy\u2019s childhood and start in comedy before turning into a highlight reel of his iconic filmography. In between, friends and peers like Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Tracy Morgan and more all appear as talking heads to fill in their own stories of the comedic legend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But \u201cBeing Eddie\u201d works best when it allows Murphy just to be his raw, honest, funny self on his own (I still can\u2019t get over him saying \u201cRidiculousness\u201d is \u201cthe best show on TV\u201d), even better when he\u2019s not.<\/span><\/p>\n Also Read: A Guy I Once Dated Is Now Famous, And It’s As Weird As You’d Imagine<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In one touching scene, he addresses the passing of his big brother, Charlie Murphy, and talks about his views on death and grief \u2014 \u201cI just touch little memories. I don\u2019t be going and wallowing in it.\u201d In another, he explains why he rejects labels like \u201cstand-up comedian,\u201d \u201cactor\u201d and \u201cmusician\u201d \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m an artist who can express hisself a bunch of different ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n At one point, Murphy unearths a <\/span>now-viral revelation<\/span><\/a> about the time he once called out the academy for failing to recognize Black actors during the 1988 Oscars ceremony. And to his shock, as he recalled, \u201cThe next day, it was like I didn\u2019t say anything \u2026 There was no coverage of me. There was no mention that I said that. It was like I wasn\u2019t at the Oscars.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n These are the moments I tuned in for; too bad there are only a few like them in \u201cBeing Eddie.\u201d A lot of what the documentary offers is already public knowledge, so it doesn\u2019t feel like we\u2019re learning a lot of new information about Murphy. Even the insight about some of his classic films sounds regurgitated from other sources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But, thankfully, the film still feels like somewhat of a decent portrait of Murphy\u2019s life, or at least his professional life. Many viewers seem to agree as well:<\/span><\/p>\n In less than two hours, \u201cBeing Eddie\u201d proves how and why Murphy became a star in a league of his own. <\/span><\/p>\n Still, I\u2019d like to think a multipart docuseries might\u2019ve done his complete story a bit more justice. The documentary only left me wanting to know more, but I guess that\u2019s also a testament to Murphy\u2019s career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Buzz: Eddie Murphy Says Robin Williams Tried To Talk Him Out Of Oscar Racism Speech<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Even after all he\u2019s given us over the years, we just can\u2019t get enough.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeing Eddie\u201d is streaming on Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n