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Is The Golden Child not as well received as Eddie Murphy's other '80s movies because he didn't have a great foil?

posted 7 years ago by TMC-4 (20277)
9 replies | jump to latest

What I mean is that in 48 HRs., he had Nick Nolte, in Trading Places, he had Dan Aykroyd, in Beverly Hills Cop, he had John Ashton and Judge Reinhold, and in Coming to America, he had Arsenio Hall to play off of.

In The Golden Child, Eddie Murphy doesn't seem to have a partner that could immediately bring the best out of him as well as hold their own. I guess here, it's supposed to be Charlotte Lewis, but she despite her gentle yet exotic beauty, is hopelessly wooden and lacking in charisma and chemistry with Murphy. And I'm hesitant to suggest that Charles Dance's villain character is that needed foil/"partner in crime" that I alluded to.

This is also likely why Best Defense in part didn't work, because Eddie Murphy shouldn't be forced to due all of the heavy lifting so to speak by himself.

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 7 years ago

No, it just wasn't that good. Actually it was kind of a stinker.

😎

[–] TMC-4 (20277) 7 years ago

https://www.quora.com/Is-The-Golden-Child-not-as-well-received-as-Eddie-Murphys-other-80s-movies-because-he-didnt-have-a-great-foil/answer/Rob-Taylor-66

[–] Otter (24464) 7 years ago

It wasn't well received because the commercials made it look like a comedy, and it's wasn't a funny movie. ALL the amusing moments were in the trailer.

And it wasn't good as a drama or adventure, either.

[–] Threadkiller (3086) 6 years ago

I loved Eddie Murphy growing up in the 90s and I loved the Golden Child and still enjoy it as an adult. Honestly I feel this film is an underrated gem that unfairly gets a bad rap. Apart from Eddie Murphy (And to some extent Charles Dance) it's just an average quirky 80s comedy/fantasy/adventure in a modern setting.

That being said you take that and add Eddie Murphy in his prime then you have something worth seeing. He's sharp, funny and owns every scene he's in. You can tell a lot of his lines were improvised and he does as good a job of it here if not better than he did in Beverly Hills Cop. Eddie Murphy's funny, engaging and charismatic performance really shines through and made this my favorite Murphy film to this day.

[–] Cognoscente (2716) 3 years ago

I think this would have been beneficial for both men's careers if Jackie Chan was in it. It would have been the '80s equivalent to Rush Hour, and Jackie wouldn't have wasted his time directing his worst '80s movie: Armour of God.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 3 years ago

I just mentioned this in another thread, but I think the problem here was tone.

This was a movie about a sinister plot to end the world involving kidnapping and murdering innocent children just to feed them to the Golden Child.

It was intended to be a modern Indiana Jones type of adventure, with comic moments but primarily a drama.

When it didn't test well, they went back and added back almost every bit of comedy you see in the final film. ALL of the funniest parts were inserted in well after primary production had ceased.

Best Defense was even worse from what I've heard (I have to admit never having seen it). My understanding was that it was primarily a Dudley Moore comedy with Eddie Murphy thrown in to draw crowds. As I understand it, Moore and Murphy never interact with each other, and the Murphy bits can be deleted without changing the plot at all.

Both films are products of corporate Hollywood mentality, thinking you can fix something, that maybe ain't even broke, by painting it blue.

[–] Interlepos (1811) 3 years ago

>> When it didn't test well, they went back and added back almost every bit of comedy you see in the final film. ALL of the funniest parts were inserted in well after primary production had ceased.

Really? Didn't know that. The glass of water scene was filmed afterwards?

I mean this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvQSRdtAgXo

If so, not a dumb move.

I know they rejected John Barry's original score.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 3 years ago

Not likely the whole scene was filmed afterwards, since it fits into the plot, but what WAS likely filmed afterwards is the comedy.

Meaning, Eddie Murphy's interplay with Victor Wong's "Monty," and, most importantly, his reaction to "None!"

"NONE?!? .... NONE?!? ... I'm gonna break yer ass when I get outta here" - hilarious enough to make all the trailers, and likely not in the original version of the scene.

[–] Interlepos (1811) 3 years ago

Hah, perhaps you're right, but the whole scene is riddeled with comedy. Just saw a longer version of the scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE_3MoV2M5E

They most have reshot A LOT. We can only imagine what the original version would have been like. With less comedy and with John Barry's original score. Can't believe they rejected a score by THE John Barry.