COMEDY SKETCH & STAND-UP, THE MEN: BOOMERANG, LEAP OF FAITH,
It's safe to say that the most revolutionary development in comedy in the last quarter of a century started on October 11, 1975, when Chevy Chase uttered the words, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" "Saturday Night Live" gave national exposure to two groups - one, derived from the theatrical troupe Second City, was sketch comedy, and while that was nothing new (Jackie Gleason and Monty Python had been there first), they made it their own, making it hipper, more political, and less afraid of taboos. The other group was National Lampoon, a magazine started in Harvard, and one that contained a biting sense of humor which, at times, could turn smug. As "Saturday Night Live" and its stars became wildly successful, it seemed they would usher in a new revolution in not only television, but screen comedy. As it happens, however, most of the SNL alumni have resort to making movies every bit as safe as their predecessors, and keeping just the smugness. That smugness also extended to the stand-up comedians who came out of SNL's wake, who also sometimes were on SNL. No movie demonstrates this better than the Eddie Murphy vehicle BOOMERANG.
Murphy was barely out of his teens when he first got on SNL, and even when you consider how bad the show had been when he first burst on the scene (after the original members had left), he still seemed a bright star. He seemed to be a strong African-American comedian who nonetheless lampponed not only black stereotypes (one sketch had him as a pimp selling self-help books like "Kicked in the Butt by Love") but also previous black entertainers (his Muhammed Ali was a career highlight). Being singled out, however, meant the same for him as it did for Chevy Chase - he flew the coop for greener pastures, i.e., the movies. At first, it seemed everything he touched turned to gold - 48 HOURS, TRADING PLACES, the BEVERLY HILLS COP movies. But somewhere along the way, it all went to his head, as demonstrated with his directorial effort HARLEM NIGHTS. Not only that, his misogyny and homophobia were clearly part of his smugness. If BOOMERANG was an attempt to reverse all of this, calling it a misfire is an understatement.
Murphy plays Marcus Graham, an executive at a cosmetics company. He's also a ladies man, or, as they call it in this movie, a player. But he meets his match in Jackie Broyer (Robin Givens), who becomes his partner after a corporate merger. Later, she becomes his lover, and takes him for granted just as he's taken other women for granted. So are the two meant for each other? No, because Marcus has unexpectedly developed feelings for Angela (Halle Berry), a co-worker who's dating Marcus' friend Gerard (David Alan Grier).
Latest Articles