The Comedy styles of Eddie Murphy vs Martin Lawrence

Eddie Murphy more of a pioneer vs Martin



One distinction I must give Eddie Murphy over Martin Lawrence is that of 'Pioneer'.

Eddie, like Richard Pryor, and Red Foxx (and a few others) hold that distinction of being pioneers for their era or generations, in that they did things at the time that no other comedians were doing or dared to do.

They opened doors for others with they're style and body of work, made or created a market so that other comedians, like themselves, were sought out.

And Eddie Murphy's stand up performance in 'Delirious' took 'black' stand up from kind of the apologetic style of Richard Pryor, to the new coming of age 'Hey, I'm in your face and insulting your sensebilities' style of the 80's.

Where particularly black comedians just unleashed social frustrations parents and grandparents kept inside but could never say candidly, and suddenly Eddie Murphy comes along and says it, but in a way that made people laugh across the board.

He pointed out a lot of absurdity of the past, said things that were obvious and needed to be said, but in a comedic manner that didn't alienate people. (that's an art), yet was Eddies strong point in his early stand up and films.

It was him who did it, and no one else, as such he will always hold that pioneer distinction that Lawrence doesn't really have.



An example of some of Eddies early stuff, an example of the above, in that he said things that everyone already thought about anyways, but couldn't say in comedic way the way he could, and mind you most of his audience was always 'white'.

Again, it's an art to be able to do what he did and yet not offend people.

And in a way people were more 'loose' back then than they are now, less sensitive in a way.

Comedy is all about 'timing', era, age.

Certain comedy worked back then that may not be so funny today or well received simply do to different times in history and where we are as a society now verses then.

Also, Martin Lawrence is one of the few non Saturday night cast members to make it big.

Most of the other successful comedians from his era either came from Saturday night live or 'In living color'...Martin was successful independently of both late night variety shows.

Eddie Murphey stopped being funny to me decades ago.

My problem with him is seems after the movie 'Beverly Hills Cop 2', and or doing that movie, he just started acting 'gay'...

Now mind you I could care the less if someone is 'gay', but there's a difference between being gay, and 'acting gay', and well, Eddie Murphey acts gay, like the silly stereotypical type of gay.

I mean to me, if gay, just be yourself, 'gay' isn't a 'act', just like being heterosoxual isn't a 'act', not sure why people think being 'gay' is a 'act'.

Mainly guys do the whole 'acting gay' bit, Women, or Lesbians do not, you never see a Lesbian woman trying to 'act Lesbian', and if so I sure can't tell.