
User Reviews
7.4
User score
Generally Favorable
positive
131(79%)
mixed
24(15%)
negative
10(6%)
Showing 42 User Reviews
Sep 29, 2024
6
Eddie Murphy digs up a cult classic, reviving Rudy Ray Moore's bombastic, smooth-talking '70s street hero in this tongue-in-cheek backstage fauxposé. Struggling to find a foothold in his mid-forties, Moore resuscitated his stand-up comedy act as Dolemite, the envelope-pushing pimp with a distinguished wardrobe, harsh vocabulary and volumes of off-color anecdotes. Murphy's career hasn't quite followed the same trajectory, but it's wound up in a similar place: listless and lost as father time steals meaningful glances at his wristwatch. The role is fitting, and he's good in it, if not blow-away good. It's no mail-in, but the performance isn't likely to remind anyone of his well-remembered, energetic early roles, and it had the potential to do just that. Eddie walks the walk and talks the talk, but there's a lack of sincerity in his eyes, a reluctance to really cut loose and go wild, that gives the impression this is just another role. At least, that's true when he's playing Moore as Dolemite. His less-frequent takes on the unguarded comedian himself are more subdued and vulnerable. There's an especially sweet chemistry in his platonic friendship with Lady Reed (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), a dynamite pairing on-stage and off, that brings out the best in both. That's where the good stuff lives, and though we get a fair amount of it, I still wanted more. A funny movie, but essentially a rehash. As with The Disaster Artist a few years ago, I couldn't help noting that most of Dolemite's biggest laughs are just polished re-creations of classic bits that worked better in their original low-fi form. Points for turning newer audiences on to the material, at any rate.
Apr 9, 2024
8
Eddie Murphy can usually be counted on for a good time and this movie is just that. A good time. Granted, it’s not Beverly Hills Cop or Mr. Church, but Rudy Ray Moore is a fun character brought to life by an absolute talent. And the supporting cast are all wonderful as well. This is a good movie that tells an interesting story, albeit predictable, with fun characters. My only complaint was the story felt rushed in some places. I would have liked to have seen more of Rudy developing his comedy and the duo with Rudy and Lady Reed. And I would have liked to have seen the movie crew’s dedication develop (show, don’t tell). I dig the music in the film. 50 years on and I’m still listening to funk. All and all this movie was a good time; definitely worth watching.
Aug 2, 2023
7
It took me a minute to get used to Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore after watching a bunch of his films over the last couple of days and being absolutely fascinated by this madman. But "Dolemite Is My Name" isn't just the retelling of an interesting story and the recreation of some iconic moments. This film is so joyous and heartfelt, funny and moving, over the top and sincere. It really captures the feeling of Moore's films, and I immediately want to check out more of his work and re-watch his movies I've already seen, respectively. Good stuff! Wesley Snipes is absolutely amazing!
Dec 7, 2022
9
Fantastic dramedy uses the talented cast to it's full extent. The screenplay is strong with a decent soundtrack and great pacing keeping things moving with energy. Production quality is high and it looked great in 4k dolbyvision.
Mar 8, 2022
9
Eddie Murphy's triumphant comeback in the best movie about bad movies since Ed Wood. Rudy Ray Moore's fascinating life is portrayed with fun, respect, and an inspirational spirit. If you love this, check out Rudy's films after for some extraordinarily entertaining B-movie gems.
Apr 20, 2021
8
Eddie Murphy bringing us back to Dolemite and Eddie Murphy. Genius of comedy.
Jan 14, 2021
7
I enjoyed it. Interesting, great cast, acting and tells interesting story of actual real life person. Also shows a bit insight into blaxploitation movies.
Nov 8, 2020
9
One of my favourite movies of 2019, Eddie Murphy makes a big return to acting as Rudy Ray Moore, embracing the different character traits his roles usually have and ultimately making it one of his best movies in a long time. Definitely a must watch.
Jul 21, 2020
6
"Rudy Continued **** Up **** Until The Day He Died." A real fun time, not a masterpiece by any chance but definantly one of the better Netflix originals. Really great to see Eddie Murphy back after such a long absence and bring his a-game for Rudy Ray Moore aka Dolemite. It's on Netflix right now guys I mean come on, check it out! 6/10 Jay x
Jun 1, 2020
8
Dolemite Is My Name is an entertaining biopic about the life od Rudy Ray Moore, a comedian who engages in a constant battle to beat his odds. Eddie Murphy's performance carries the movie. It's hilarious at times, and boring at others. If you want a good Eddie Murphy move, then this film is a good watch.
Apr 28, 2020
8
Need a lesson in 70s black standup? DOLEMITE will fill your cup. Craving an honest take on blaxsploitation? DOLEMITE will bring you elation. How bout a love letter to grass roots film making? DOLEMITE is time worth your taking. Eddie Murphy melts right into this exciting portrayal of a lesser known piece of comedy, cinema, and even rap history in a performance and script worth making this comeback for. I am astounded just to what degree by the end of the film how little I saw Eddie Murphy and how much I saw DOLEMITE. This performance should be celebrated and it was a joy to watch. This film really does have something for everyone and I came out of it having learned quite a bit about 70s black stand-up, the blaxsploitation genre, and the feeling of producing a feature with next to no money behind it. It is a dramatization of course, but I left with a drive to dig into Wikipedia pages and YouTube videos I never would have before to learn more (not to mention a plan to watch 1975's Dolemite on Amazon Prime). 'Dolemite Is My Name' is on Netflix right now. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly encourage you to watch it so we get more Netflix original films of this caliber and less of the Tall Girl' variety... This is a triumph and I sincerely hope it gets nominated with the big names this year.
Apr 14, 2020
8
Dolemite Is My Name é para mim uma das melhores performances de Eddie Murphy (Rudy), representando numa zona um pouco menos confortável que o habitual. Conta a vida de uma lenda da comédia e pai do rap nos EUA, passa-se na década de 1970, é portanto mais um período da História difícil para a comunidade Afro-americana que tem de se expor e batalhar umas quantas vezes mais do que seria normal. É, por isso, uma bonita história sobre sacrifício e muita dedicação por aquilo que mais se gosta.
Um filme para ver o quanto antes.
Feb 18, 2020
7
A funny and uplifting biopic about a down and out entertainer who finds a second wind in his career and becomes a star. I found this movie to be charming with a bunch of laughs, it felt very positive throughout thanks to Eddy Murphy's upbeat demeanor of Rudy Ray Moore. A great light-hearted movie with a happy finish.
Jan 23, 2020
8
Dolemite is My Name is a very good, and very funny recreation of the life of an actor more people should know about. Eddie Murphy did great as the lead.
Jan 19, 2020
9
Eddie Murphy is back from the ashes as a popular afroamerican, smartmouth stand-up comedian in the 70s, and his claim to fame through senseless action movies much more camp than the Batman of 60s. Effective scapism, Murphy never was so funny since Trading places.
Jan 10, 2020
7
This is a very fun and enjoyable movie about an interesting person. This is a biopic about Rudy Ray Moore, a black comedian from the 70s best known for playing the profane, rhyming pimp character, Dolemite. Now, I went into this movie not knowing much about it. I watched the original movie of Dolemite before watching the biopic so from that I was expecting something along the lines of Black Dynamite or Grindhouse. What I actually got was more similar to Ed Wood or The Disaster Artist, a movie about making a movie, which I really liked! It was cool to see all the recreations of actual scenes from the movie Dolemite and all the trouble they had to go through to get it made. It gives me a new appreciation for the original film, even if it’s technically not very good. The filmmaking on display here isn’t really anything special, but the lead performance from Eddie Murphy is pretty great! I totally believed he was the real Rudy Ray Moore, he totally looked and sounded the part. The supporting cast all did a great job too! Overall, if you just want a solid, fun, feel-good, easy-to-watch movie that also has some history behind it, this is definitely worth a watch! It’s a Netflix original, but I’d actually recommend watching the original Dolemite first like I did. It is available on TubiTV, a free ad-supported streaming platform. It will give you a little more context for what this movie is about and what it’s going for. It makes for a great double-feature. Stay home and learn all about the man named Dolemite!
Jan 3, 2020
8
Good film, nice to see Eddie Murphy star in a good movie again. It's kind of a disaster artist but about black explotation movies. It's got funny moments, nice photography, and a good message.
Dec 31, 2019
7
Imagine 'The Disaster Artist', but a little more personality. 'Dolemite Is My Name' is an entertaining and raw story of Rudy Ray Moore/Dolemite. It's in the same vein as 'ED Wood'. It's so great seeing Eddie Murphy back again and it's been awhile that I've seen him actually care for a project. This is finest performance in recent memory. He brings so much energy and charm to the role. While not a transformative performance since Eddie Murphy is basically playing himself, but it's clear to see that Murphy is paying a beautiful tribute Rudy Ray Moore than anything else, because he was a man who's lack of understanding and experience in movies still made him loved by many. The rest of the cast were all fantastic and equally entertaining in their own roles. Particularly Wesley Snipes who's just as good as Murphy. He plays D'Urville Martin, an actor turned director to make Moore's passion project. Little dose he know the disaster awaits and he knows it through out the entire shoot. He's miserable and drinks heavily during filming until post production - with one takes being enough for him to stomach. Just like Murphy, it's great to see Snipes actually care for a project. Even the soundtrack was great and fitted perfectly with the time period it's set in. It honestly made watching the movie more witty and encouraging. My only complaint are some of the humor didn't quite land with me. Maybe it's how it was delivered, edited, or written, but not all of it landed with me. In terms of quality and look, it feels more like a TV movie or miniseries than an actual movie. I know it shouldn’t bug me, but it sadly dose. Overall rating: “And here's to the fools who dream
Crazy as they may seem
Here's to the hearts that break
Here's to the mess we make.”
Dec 25, 2019
8
A great comeback for Eddie,cinematic showcasing of the resourceful Rudy Ray Moore,an insight to how he willed himself into **** a while for Murphy to get me to stop seeing him as Eddie Murphy however, the script eventually prevailed and the dialogue is what i am most intrigued by.
It also could be said that there is not necessarily any real adversity overcome by the character,that is however portrayed in the slight disappointments he faces in every four scenes,life does not have to always hit with a knock-out punch it could be a series of jabs as well and that is what the movie sets out to deliver.I like Dolomite.
And Wesley Snipes is great in it too.
Dec 14, 2019
1
Disgustingly foul mouthed and poorly acted piece of trash—unwatchable. The joke is on the audience for actually watching this film. How many times per minute can you use **** “mother****er”, or “****” before it becomes the signature component of the film? Perhaps being incredibly offensive was Murphy’s point—meanwhile the critics fawn over god awful acting.
“Dolemite’s my name and **** up **** is my ****, I want to bring my family to see this trash.
Dec 12, 2019
8
It’s a comedy but it’s also a pretty good fcking movie. Positive. Uplifting. Dolemite is his name and good fcking movies are his game.
Dec 7, 2019
9
This is one of the better comedies that I have have seen in recent **** is one of those movies that is just so much fun to watch.
Dec 4, 2019
5
I realise that a 27-year-old Welshman potentially isn’t the target audience for a comedy about a 1970s comedy legend famous for his blaxploitation era contributions, but the laughs were too few and far between for me to consider it a bonafide comedy. Rudy’s stand-up routines were funny but that was because they were all his original stuff. The film had an opportunity to explore who exactly Rudy was behind the scenes and showcase just how funny he was in his own life; Murphy gives it his all in a very good performance, but he never got a chance to showcase his genuinely hilarious capabilities often enough. This is where I struggled to connect with the film overall; I could recognise how good the performances were, but aside from a few moments, it never made me laugh out loud consistently enough. It has a very nice feel-good sentiment to it and the film is never better than when it’s just Eddie Murphy entertaining a crowd with his classic “Dolemite is my name! And **** up **** is my game!” routine, but it felt like a missed opportunity to explore the character further as opposed to focusing solely on the larger-than-life rise to **** for Rudy Ray Moore. Still, the closing line of the film is a beauty, something that I’m sure will be seen on motivational posters for years to come:
Nov 23, 2019
6
I'm happy to say that Dolemite Is My Name is a return to form for Eddie Murphy. It's been a while since I last was excited to see a film from him, and I'm super glad that I wasn't let down. Dolemite is probably the funniest movie I've seen this year. Eddie Murphy is great and shows he still has the comedic chops; I hope he can take this momentum and bring it with him to his return to stand-up. The supporting cast is also terrific, in particular, Wesley Snipes; his character was the funniest besides Eddie Murphy's. In terms of the story, it's your paint by the numbers movie about making movies, ala Ed Wood and The Disaster Artist, except with more humour and profanity, the early 80's Eddie Murphy version of those movies. Netflix is on a roll as of late with their original titles, and Dolemite Is My Name is on my recommended Netflix Original's list.
Nov 20, 2019
10
I would watch it over and over again. I really laughed at it, I was watching it when I came home from university and it stars all of my fave actors and actresses in the movie. It’s touching for the stars to make a comeback and for those who gets to debut their career with this. It shows to never give up your passion for your goals and be yourself.
Nov 12, 2019
9
Dolemite is my name, based on Charlie Murphy, is played by Eddie Murphy and describes Charlie's ambition to become someone that's famous. The movie is pretty darn entertaining, with likable characters that go through their own development. Some personalities are so extravagant that it will crack you up for minutes. In summary, it is an incredibly good movie that will make you smile from ear to ear. I give it a 9/10.
Nov 9, 2019
2
Obviously I don't "get it." I found nothing whatsoever funny in this movie. Not a chuckle, nothing. One of the single most boring films I've watched in a while. After 45 minutes my wife said she'll watch it by herself. She didn't laugh either, but I guess she thought she should like it.
Nov 6, 2019
9
Dolemite Is My Name is a Man Vs. Society/Environment/Adversity story and features almost NO other conflict. There is something amazing about that in 2019. Rudy Ray Moore is a man possessed by an almost preternatural desire to overcome adversity and the audience is asked to join he and his friends as he battles his way to success. It's INCREDIBLY FUN to watch. It's not, however, particularly funny. It's also no very dramatic. I can understand how this would disappoint or stymie many reviewers and critics, but it's just what I wanted and a great film. Well done Eddy Murphy and Company.
Nov 1, 2019
8
This film was just recently given a limited release in theatres and dropped on Netflix last week. I got around to watching it the other night right after watching the 1975 film 'Dolemite' that this film was based off of. For those who don't know much about 'Dolemite', it's a blaxploitation film from 1975 that starred a comedian-turned-amateur actor by the name of Rudy Ray Moore as the titular 'Dolemite', a pimp and nightclub owner who's busted out of prison, and with his many Kung Fu ladies by his side, sets out for revenge and to beat up all of the cops who stand in his way in the cheesiest fashion possible. He also has a knack for coming up with clever and catchy rhymes. In this biopic, Eddie Murphy portrays Moore and depicts how he went from a struggling music artist and comedian to an overnight sensation after attempting to break out as a movie star through making his film 'Dolemite'. Much like the film 'The Disaster Artist' from two years ago, which chronicled the making of 'The Room', which is considered by many to be one of the best "so bad it's good" films ever made, this film shows just how cheesy and ridiculous of a film 'Dolemite' is, and how word of mouth from fans who found it hilarious helped it become an overnight cult hit. So overall, even though it feels like this film borrows some pages from the same formula 'The Disaster Artist' employed not too long ago, this film's fun, carefree, and breezy nature, along with Murphy's undeniably charming and entertaining performance make this a definitely enjoyable and worthwhile watch!
Oct 31, 2019
8
This film is very good but the first part may be a little bit boring but after that everything is superb. If you think that this film is just comedy and you don't like it then don't worry because it's more of a biographical drama about a guy who tries to make his own film.
Oct 30, 2019
7
It's not a great film, at least for me. It honestly feels quite practical and simple, but this is one of those cases where the performance of its protagonist puts it on another level and Eddie Murphy carries this film completely on his back with his splendid performance. This is his first film since the disappointing Mr. Church and although with Dolemite is My Name he re-introduced some small elements of drama, it's the full comedy where the story shines and Murphy too. I still don't know why he likes to make such bad comedies when he has the talent to do things like this. Definitely his best performance since Dreamgirls and personally I prefer that performance but still this is a fun, entertaining, informative and satisfying film. A pretty good option on Netflix that I feel is passing by unnoticed.
Oct 30, 2019
10
This movie can be summed up as a movie that shows the best side of Eddie Murphy and tells a amazing story about movie history. A absolute must watch
Oct 29, 2019
10
May be Eddies best performance ever. Oscar performance. Excellent seasoned actor and still funny.
Oct 29, 2019
8
So, finally after decades, Eddie Murphy made a decent movie. Thank goodness for Netflix originals. This was a very entertaining movie and had moving moments thanks to Eddie going back to his roots in actually acting, without going over the top. Keep it up Eddie.
Oct 29, 2019
10
Fans of comedy will love this priceless return to comedy of a comedic genius- Eddie Murphy! Welcome back! I laughed and smiled during the movie and many moments after as this film was infectious with it’s dazzling comedy!
Oct 27, 2019
10
Eddie murphy is BACK baby, tell a friend, scream it from a rooftop, a comedy legend is gracing the big screen again, Dolemite doesn't skip a beat, laughs are guaranteed from start to finish, we got the great Murphy playing the larger than life character of Dolemite. He does it like nobody else, infused with his own signature comedy this film is too good to resist, having an amazingly funny cast doesn't hurt either. This is exactly what was missing for the last couple of years in the comedy scene, A man of trade, Eddie Murphy is a comedy landmark, and this film just goes to prove it, Funny as hell.
Oct 26, 2019
10
One of the all around best movies I've seen in a while. Definitely a breath of fresh air, finally!
Oct 26, 2019
6
Murphy plays on the ground, the stage is for someone else and he is generous enough to know that and give it to others. Dolemite Is My Name Brewer's film is a groovy Marvin Gaye song. Just like the one it is played in the back by Snoop Dogg at the beginning of the film which we will come back on later. By the way, I am going to mention everyone working behind this light hearted film. From the writers like Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to the director Craig Brewer. Everyone working on one thing. And that is why this teamwork pays off in the best possible manner. It is a smooth glass of Bourbon. That's what it does the best. And mind you it is not a Bourbon that feels smooth after you've had a long hard day in your office but the one that feels easy when it is some weekend dinner party. Coming back to the first scene of the film. And we come back for it paints the "comeback" of Eddie Murphy in the best way. That is an introduction that every actor would kill for. And Murphy never takes it for granted. So the scene goes like this. He, Murphy playing Rudy Ray Moore, is convincing someone acclaimed in the music field of his own art form, something that in the film, just as it did in reality, never travels for them throughout the film. It is that arc of his character to not be able to convince but find a place for him that he has to and does create for himself. Something that cannot be touched and replaced. Murphy over the years has been criticised too. But his image has remained what it is, for his personality and not for the characters he portrays or the jokes he drops. Dolemite Is My Name is getting Oscar buzz for obvious reasons and at the helm of it, is Murphy. But I don't see any reason to even aspire or pursue it. Acknowledgement is one thing and being a "man of the people" another. I think he won.
Oct 26, 2019
10
Dole dole dilw dilw dolw dolw dole dolw dole dolw dole dolw dolw dolw dolw dole
Oct 25, 2019
10
Just a great movie... Down to earth and filled with alll the struggles of America coming to a realisation of what blacks considered entertainment.
Oct 25, 2019
8
Remarkably Hilarious & Intensely Touching Audience REACTIONS at its World PREMIERE:
Oct 20, 2019
10
Excellent movie! One of the funniest laugh out loud movies I've seen in years!