Film

Dolemite Is My Name

Name: Dolemite Is My Name
Genre: Drama, Comedy, History
Released: 2019
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps

Biopic

Eddie Murphy inhabits Rudy Ray Moore, the comedian who invented Dolemite and refused to wait for Hollywood's permission. It's a love letter to DIY showmanship, Black entertainment history, and the audacity required to create something when gatekeepers say no. Funny, warm, and genuinely moving.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love backstage stories about scrappy underdogs making something ridiculous with total conviction, where the laughs come from people who take their own nonsense seriously and the film never sneers at them.

Skip it if you want a tight, fast comedy; this ambles through a long making-of arc with plenty of loose, repetitive set-pieces and a pace that lets the jokes breathe a little too long.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just under two hours of easygoing, shaggy momentum, with a warm mix of broad humor and quieter moments about ambition and friendship that rewards patience more than attention to plot twists.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Coming to America1988

Murphy at peak charisma, playing a character who fakes his way into a world that wasn't built for him. It shares Dolemite's joy in performance and reinvention, with costumes and comedy you can't look away from.

But The humour dates in places, and the gender politics belong firmly to 1988. It's also gentler than Dolemite—less edge, more fairy tale.

The Harder They Come1972

Jimmy Cliff as a reggae singer fighting Kingston's music industry is the spiritual ancestor of this story. Raw, beautifully shot, and about someone refusing to let the system define his art or his worth.

But It moves at a deliberate pace and the politics are explicit. No one cracks jokes. It's serious in a way Dolemite isn't.

Hustle & Flow2005

A pimp-turned-rapper making music from nothing in Memphis. Like Dolemite, it's about a man using entertainment to transcend his circumstances and demand respect from people who'd dismiss him.

But Darker and grittier than Dolemite. The tone is survival, not celebration. It won't make you laugh.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Dolemite Is My Name

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dolemite1975

It's the actual artifact Dolemite Is My Name celebrates. Watching the original after the film is like meeting someone's hero. The 2019 film honors the chaos without replicating it.

The original. Rudy Ray Moore himself as Dolemite in the film that made the character real. It's chaotic, cheaply made, unhinged, and absolutely alive. You'll understand the audacity better after seeing where it came from.

But The production values are rough, the story is thin, and Moore's acting is unschooled. It's a performance rather than a film, sometimes incomprehensibly so. This is feature-length proof of concept.

The Comedian2016

Robert De Niro as an aging stand-up refusing relevance or retirement. It's about the comedian's need to perform, the ego that requires it, and the loneliness underneath. Oddly tender.

But It's slower and sadder than Dolemite, and De Niro's character isn't particularly likeable. Some stretches feel like watching someone's bad night.

Dreamgirls2006

Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson in a story about showmanship, ambition, and the music industry's machinery. It's operatic where Dolemite is comedic, but the DNA is the same.

But It's a musical, and not everyone loves that. The narrative can feel like a greatest-hits package rather than a story.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom2020

Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in a play-to-film about a blues legend in a studio. It's about Black performance, dignity, and the economics of art. Released the same year as Dolemite; worth pairing them.

But Confined, theatrical, and the tension builds slowly. It's chamber drama, not spectacle. Boseman's character is difficult in ways that don't resolve.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco2019

A meditation on ownership, legacy, and what we inherit. Visually gorgeous, shot through with love and loss. Different register entirely, but the same devotion to a place and its history.

But Slow, poetic, almost dreamlike. It has no plot in the conventional sense, and some will find that frustrating. It asks you to sit with mood rather than momentum.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco poster

Respect2021

Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin. A portrait of a genius claiming her power and her worth. Like Dolemite, it's about an artist's refusal to be diminished.

But Covers a lot of ground and the pacing suffers for it. Some scenes feel dutiful rather than lived. Hudson is excellent, but the film occasionally works around her rather than through her.

Jimi: All Is by My Side2013

Andre Benjamin as Jimi Hendrix in London, before stardom took hold. It's interested in the artist finding his voice, not the icon he became. Stylish and intimate.

But It's more concerned with mood and aesthetic than narrative drive. Some will find it aimless. The ending doesn't arrive with the weight some expect.