The Golden Child (1986)

Tagline: Eddie Murphy Is The Chosen One

Summary (taken from IMDb): A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child that dark forces want to eliminate.

I have only watched a handful of Eddie Murphy movies and have enjoyed them all. Yet this one reminded me what a legitimate comedian he is. Let me rephrase: he’s a great comedian—not a great actor.

GOLDEN CHILD CLIPS

The reason I watched this film all the way through was because of Eddie Murphy’s superb way of delivering hilarious lines. For example: “I know this is a dream, so I can say anything I want and get away with it. So I think I will say, from my heart, kiss my ass. Kiss my ass!” I thought his costuming was ridiculous, with his black leather jacket and black leather hat thingy (?), not sure what to call his hat. There was one scene where Eddie Murphy used the accent from Coming to America, which is humorous in itself.

I thought the exotic storyline was all right, at times a little random. Eddie Murphy + Tibetan monks was a bit of a stretch, but then again, the entire movie was built on sand. I thought Murphy’s beautiful sidekick was made better because of her crazy-good fighting skills. Eddie Murphy’s character keeps telling her to stay in the car, but she keeps disobeying and saving his life, which is not only funny, but empowering for women characters.

I thought the Golden Child was the most adorable Tibetan child I have ever seen.

When the demon that kidnapped the Golden Child finally transforms into his true form, I nearly laughed. The effects on this demon were atrocious. I kept telling myself that it was the 80s and CGI technology was primitive. But then I think of Alien and Predator – all of these special effects heavy alien-type movies – and I know it must have been a low budget. Oh well…

So if you like Eddie Murphy and you are depressed that this awesome class is coming to a close, you should watch this comedic movie: Murphy during his own golden age.

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