DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (B) - Eddie Murphy is still a movie star.
That's mostly all you need to know about his heartfelt portrayal of the anachronistic entertainer, Rudy Ray Moore, who by sheer will parlayed underground success with party records in the early '70s into a Hollywood B-movie career. Director Craig Brewer (who apparently has been doing mostly TV work since his attempted breakthroughs "Hustle & Flow" and "Black Snake Moan") helms this flat but charming production. The writing team of Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski ("The People vs. Larry Flynt") inject some snap into the dialogue and move the story along in fits and starts.
But it's Murphy having a blast in a period piece surrounded by an energetic cast including Mike Epps, Tituss Burgess, Craig Robinson, Wesley Snipes and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, with fun DJ cameos by Snoop Dogg and Chris Rock. The flashback to the '70s comes through not only in the fashions and decor, but also in the made-for-TV production values (this comes from Netflix). There is also an old-fashioned "Let's put on a show" enthusiasm that permeates the proceedings.
It's got the right mix of laughs, nostalgia, bawdiness and reverence, which it helps it chug along to a nearly two-hour length.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER (B) - Do Italian adult males have mommy issues? Is the pope socialist? Beniamino Barrese takes up his camera and stalks his mother -- the model-feminist-academic Benedetta Barzini -- to document her desire to, at 75, fade from our collective consciousness.
Benedetta does not have so much a death wish as a disgusted urge to purge her images and herself from an image-obsessed society. The first half of the film can be a challenge, because it seems to be mostly about Barrese hounding his mother relentlessly, and her cursing him out for doing so. Lauren Hutton comes by for a visit, and both former models repeatedly try to shoo his camera away.
You wonder how sincere Benedetta is about evaporating. She still does cameos during runway shoots. She still cares about being rail thin (chain smoking seems to help with that), though maybe that's another way she tries to disappear. Benedetta also doesn't mind striking a pose, present day, or dashing off a girlish flip as she prances through a courtyard. She also has a lot of stuff and doesn't seem to be diligent about shipping it off so that she can take this dreamed-of final trip to some isolated island.
She is an ardent Marxist, and she fulminates often about our culture and the "petit bourgeousie." In the end, this comes together as a deep character study and not just an egotistic personal diary for either character. The power builds and the mystery deepens.
BONUS TRACK
From the "Dolemite" soundtrack, which is packed with dusties, Booker T and the MG's with "Hip Hug-Her":
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