Watch Eddie Murphy: Raw on Fancast

Eddie Murphy has recently said he’s considering returning to the stand-up stage for the first time since 1987’s stand-up comedy concert film Raw. If this turns out to be true, he’s got a lot to live up to, because Eddie Murphy: Raw is a showcase of the man in his charismatic prime.

Some of his humor belongs back in 1987, but there’s still enough great comedy here to make it worth seeing. Yes, he’s wearing a purple plastic jumpsuit - the same kind Axel Foley laughed at people for wearing in the first Beverly Hills Cop - and he’s even got a flimsy little scarf on, which should make some of the gay jokes a little easier to swallow in retrospect. Yet his material is undeniably testosterone-fueled when giving his decidedly male-centric view on relationships, but then switching to the female perspective on adultery and jealousy as well. He talks about his drunken father, his mama’s giant hamburgers and the politics of getting into fights at dance clubs. He shows off his inspirations by illustrating the war of words he had with Bill Cosby over how dirty his act was, and how Richard Pryor backed him up:

“Do the people laugh when you say what you say?”
“Yes.”
“Do you get paid?”
“Yes.”
“Well, tell Bill I said have a Coke and a smile and shut the f–k up!”

Watch Eddie Murphy: Raw for free in its entirety right here, right now on Fancast.