Dolemite is My Name

While I am somewhat familiar with Rudy Ray Moore/Dolemite and have seen at least one of his movies, I am by no means an expert on the man or his life. Eddie Murphy's characterization of Moore in this film rings reasonably true and it probably doesn't matter if some of it is not real, as it is all part of the Dolemite legend.

Taking the Dolemite persona from the rhyming tales of a local homeless man, Moore built upon the mythology, put his own spin on it all, and made his career on it. Mixing music with his pre-rap boasting, he became a well-known stand up comedian, released best-selling records (according to the legend, he self-released first) and then went into (ultra low-budget, but popular) films.

Murphy and the star-studded cast does a great job portraying the story and only occasionally gets a little sappy. Again, I'm not sure how true-to-life this is, but it is a fun romp through early blaxploitation.