Harlem Nights (1989)

Where it all went wrong for Eddie

Harlem Nights is a vanity project and vanity projects usually stink. Now I wont go as far as to say that Harlem Nights stinks because it doesnt but when you think about all the talent that was involved it is disappointing.

Plot: Sugar Ray(Richard Pryor) and Quick(Eddie Murphy)run a nightclub in Harlem and have to end up dealing with a crooked cop called Phil Cantone(Danny Aiello) and jealous night club owner called Bugsy Calhoun(Michael Lerner).

Opinion: Harlem Nights is funny in the first 30 minutes and somewhere in the middle of the movie. The problem is that humor misses more than hits most of the time. When it becomes conscious that it was supposed to be a comedy it tries too hard and ends up falling flat. Two examples: the scene where Arsenio Hall and his goons square off with Quick is just painfully unfunny. The scene where Vera(Della Reese) fights Quick is not only weak but it is the most overrated scene in the whole movie(everybody who talks about Harlem Nights always brings up that scene). The only scene that was slightly funny was watching Quick's face when he gets hit(he looks like Gumby getting beat up) but the exchange of words before and during the fight was weak("Oh now you wanna hit me with garbage", Oh now you wanna shoot me in my pinky toe"). Oh come on! You mean to tell me that the guy who came up with Delirious and Raw cant do better than this? Incredible. The film has other problems. Danny Aiello is just awful as Phil Cantone. Every time he is on screen you just dread each moment. While Micheal Lerner is great as Bugsy Calhoun, Danny Aiello is just hammy as Phil Cantone and you almost forget that the guy can actually act(See Jacob's Ladder for proof of this). Richard Pryor plays the most likeable character in the whole movie, Sugar Ray. Quick is too arrogant and hotheaded to root for. Two complaints that most critics bring up when discussing Harlem Nights: racism and misogyny. Racism: Harlem Nights is set during the 1930s and racism was rampant back then so what kind of a complaint is that? Misogyny: The critics do have a point here. Every woman in Harlem Nights is either a hooker or a madame. Dominique Loreaux(Jasmine Guy) is used to set up Quick. Sunshine(Lela Rochon)is used to set up Richie(this is genuinely the funniest part of the movie). Vera is called out of her name all throughout this movie(they must have called her a b***** like 100 times). Now I know you will say that this is a comedy but is that really an excuse? Positives: Harlem Nights is funny albeit sporadically. The all-star cast and the time period is a plus. The way they set up Phil Cantone and Bugsy Calhoun was pretty clever. I like Harlem Nights' stick-it-to-the-man mentality. Both Richard Pryor and Michael Lerner's characters were cool. But the negatives outweigh the positives.

Closing comments: Harlem Nights had two options that might have saved it. The all-star comedy cast could have chipped in to write the script or they could have went for a drama instead of a comedy. Since neither was done Harlem Nights ends up being an average movie that is sporadically funny and sometimes bland. Harlem Nights is where it all went north for Eddie because afterwards every good movie he starred in was followed by a couple of bad ones. Another 48 Hours, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, The Haunted Mansion, Beverly Hills Cop III, I-Spy, Norbit are all proof of this statement. Harlem Nights is not the worst vanity project ever made(hello, Hudson Hawk, anyone?) but it could have been much better than this. 3 stars and nothing higher. November 3, 2008

Eddie,Richard & Redd at their best

Harlem Nights is a great that stars the funniest three black comics to ever grace a comdey stage. Eddie Murphy knew what he was doing when he decided to cast Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in the other two male leads. The film has great one-liners and a amusing fight scene between Eddie and Della Reese. If you've never seen this film, you're in for a treat September 14, 2008

Classic Eddie Murphy

For some strange reason Harlem Nights has always been panned by critics (the same critics that panned other classics like Fight Club). It wasn't a box office smash either. Yet, from the very first viewing, I've been in love with this film. It's fall-on-the-floor funny. Pryor, Eddie, Red Fox, and Arsenio Hall make a fantastically funny cast.

I believe this was Eddie Murphy's directorial debut. If so, he did a splendid job. The film holds up superbly today and is fun-filled adventure. Don't miss out! May 8, 2008

Wonderful "old" movie.

My husband loves this movie. We did not have it in our collection, so I found it on Amazon and ordered it for him. He was so thankful.

The cast line-up is outstanding and the acting is great. April 16, 2008

Murphy and Pryor are an incredible pair!

Saturday Night Live alum and stand-up comic Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor,also a stand-up comic,deliver an incredible performance set in the 1940's,when guys wore suits and hats when out in public. This film is one of a multitude of Paramount films Murphy did. Pryor did buddy films with Gene Wilder previously(and one subsequently),but no one can imagine Wilder doing a film like this,set in a New York town that was mostly populated by blacks. Della Reese,late of CBS's Touched By An Angel,even has audiences cracking up over her schtick. Pryor influenced Murphy's brand of humor,neither's is 100% clean like those of some other comedians I could name. Pryor's film career didn't last too much longer after this film because the multiple sclerosis victim became confined to a wheelchair in the early 90's. Despite the paralysis,Pryor occasionally still did comedy concerts. Sadly,the good Lord took away 65-year-old Peoria,Illinois-born Pryor on December 10,2005. Murphy continues his film career to this day,but in mostly non-profane,family-oriented films. December 9, 2007

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