'48 Hrs.': When Eddie Murphy was the coolest comic on the planet

Has any other '80s comedy legend had a steeper decline than Eddie Murphy? Some have gone more highbrow (Steve Martin, Bill Murray), others have largely faded into obscurity (Dan Aykroyd) and a few have redeemed themselves with late career work (Chevy Chase, largely thanks to his work on Community).

But Murphy -- whose star arguably burned brightest during the Reagan era, has seemed content to coast on audience goodwill, which he eroded considerably in the last 20 years.

What's so heartbreaking about his slide into mediocrity is that fact that I still believe Murphy could be be hilarious if he just picked better roles and frankly, if he cared more.

Around the time Tower Heist came out (which was pitched as a return to his 'street' persona) Murphy did a rare interview with Rolling Stone in which he openly admitted that many of his recent family-friendly films were terrible and that he took more than a few of them for the money.

While I respect his honestly, I am appalled by his mindset. Murphy ceased needing take roles for the money decades ago -- unless he bought himself an island Nicolas Cage-style that I don't know about. He was the biggest star of the 1980s and for a good reason -- he was the coolest guy on the planet.

My girlfriend, to my shock and chagrin, had never seen Murphy's debut role in 1982's 48 Hrs. (Coming to America has sort of been 'our' film). What's amazing about his performance (at the tender age of 20 I might add) is how much he just pops of the screen as an actor, not just as a comedian. This movie is often mischaracterized as a comedy when it's really pretty much a straight, hard-edged action film. I mean this movie is brutal.

Nick Nolte plays a bruising, racist cop who forms a tenuous bond with a fast-talking hustler he's sprung from jail (Murphy) to help track down a fugitive he used to rob with. The film's racial slurs and relentless violence would be shocking by today's standards -- but I love it. I wish movies were this rude sometimes. I don't like blaming political correctness for action films getting too soft but I do think they've lost some of their sting since their '80s heyday. 48 Hrs. started it all -- if this movie hadn't been a runaway hit there would be no Lethal Weapon and then no Rush Hour, etc.

The film also began one of the greatest runs in Hollywood history. Film buffs often site Pacino's run of '70s dramas (The Godfather I and II, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon) as one of the greatest. And Murphy could make a similar claim when it comes to comedy from 1982-1989. After 48 Hrs., he scored hits with Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Raw, Coming to America and the underrated Harlem Nights. There were some duds in there to be sure -- but Murphy never lost his cool.

Eddie Murphy in Rolling Stone

Unlike Richard Pryor, who was often neutered opposite his white co-star, Murphy gave as good as he got. That's why the famous "redneck bar" scene from 48 Hrs. is still a classic over 30 years later. Black audiences got off on seeing this handsome, funny young black guy tell off a lot of white folks and white audiences enjoyed it too because they couldn't help but be bowled over by the brashness of it.

With the notable exceptions of The Nutty Professor and Bowfinger, Murphy started to temper his persona over the course of the '90s. There's nothing wrong with expanding your persona of course but he didn't have to get quite so cuddly.

Watching 48 Hrs. reminds us that Murphy had a lot of range so it's utterly bizarre that he would accept cheesy products like A Thousand Words and Imagine That. For instance, Dreamgirls showed he could show real pain and depth if given something real to play but for whatever reason he rarely accepts roles like that.

Every once and a while he shows a glimmer of his old ambition and die hard fans like me get our hopes up. He was supposed to host the Academy Awards, but canceled. He was supposed to play Marion Barry in a HBO biopic to be directed by Spike Lee, the project appears to have been shelved. There is supposed to be some kind of reboot of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise but he's starting to get a little long in the tooth for that.

Despite all this I remain hopeful that Murphy can deliver laughs -- and not in drag, which sadly, became something of a crutch for him in the last decade.

I miss the Eddie Murphy of my childhood and I still am holding out hope that he'll be back one day. But maybe I am just kidding myself.