December 1st Will Be a Terrible Day to Be an Eddie Murphy Fan

Eddie Murphy’s comedy style is instantly recognizable and iconic: a string of rapid-fire speech, often delivered alongside an ever-suffering straight man. You’ve heard it in the Shrek films or in Murphy’s performance as the dragon Mushu in Mulan, but two film franchises made perfect use of Murphy’s distinct energy: the first three Beverly Hills Cop films and both films in The Nutty Professor series. All five films depart Netflix on December 1st, meaning that comedy fans only have until the end of Thanksgiving weekend to watch them.

Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor are two distinctly different movie franchises, as the former plays out more like the typical action-packed cop movies of the ’80s, while the latter is a remake of a 1960s Jerry Lewis movie. Both helped cement Murphy as a box office draw, as they topped the box office while also showing off his versatile comedic chops. Murphy had seen success in his career thanks to his work on Saturday Night Live, but both of these films took things to a whole other level.

‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and ‘The Nutty Professor’ Are Essential Eddie Murphy Movies

Part of the appeal of Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor is how they fold their comedic premises into straightforward genre fare. As previously mentioned, Beverly Hills Cop sounds like your standard action thriller, with Murphy’s Axel Foley as a loose-cannon detective swept into a mystery regarding the death of his best friend. The Nutty Professor’s plot sounds like it was ripped right out of The Twilight Zone, as overweight scientist Sherman Klump discovers that the weight loss serum he’s cooked up gives him a slim and handsome alter ego in “Buddy Love” — quite literally, as Buddy schemes to take over Sherman’s life.

Murphy is the secret sauce that makes both of these comedies pop. His performance as Axel Foley takes the standard rogue cop and infuses it with plenty of personality, making for a wildly different movie than if Sylvester Stallone had originally boarded Beverly Hills Cop. The Nutty Professor takes things one step further: in addition to his portrayal of the shy, intelligent Sherman and the egotistic Buddy, Murphy plays a total of seven characters, including the majority of Sherman’s extended family. While he wears different prosthetics for each member, Murphy also gives each character a distinct personality, leading to somewhat comedic results.

Both Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor would spawn sequels, with mixed results. Beverly Hills Cop II received mixed reviews but was still a success, while Beverly Hills Cop III was a flop on every conceivable level; so was The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, which somehow thought an entire movie about Sherman Klump’s family would be a box office draw. Murphy’s career took a turn as well, as he began appearing in more family-friendly fare, such as Shrek and Dr. Doolittle. Yet he never left behind the mile-a-minute speech that defined his greatest hits.

Netflix Reignited the ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Franchise with ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’

While the Beverly Hills Cop movies might be leaving Netflix, the streamer helped reinvigorate the franchise with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It was a massive success when it first premiered, dominating Netflix’s streaming charts for nearly two weeks and earning praise for Murphy returning to play an older Axel Foley who still possessed the sharp tongue that made the original Beverly Hills Cop a hit. Murphy also recently appeared in the Netflix documentary Being Eddie, which chronicles his career. In an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Murphy said that his next role will take “a hard left” from what his fans have come to expect.

If you’ve loved any of Eddie Murphy’s roles, no matter what the context, you owe it to yourself to check out Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor. Both feature Murphy in his prime and still hold up despite the launch of lackluster sequels.