I motherfucking enjoyed it! Everything works so well: the soundtrack which weaves in and out of every scene effectively (original music by Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys too), the costumes (Ruth Carter returns to her seemingly favorite decade once again!), the use of Los Angeles landmarks (the Dunbar and Orpheum but no Total Experience?) and, of course, Eddie Murphy who did this with obvious enthusiasm and as a loving tribute. I don't think it could have been played by, or green lighted involving, any another actor.
The aforementioned writing duo who appeared post screening; veterans of the outsider-legend biopic (Ed Wood, Larry Flynt, Andy Kaufman, the Keanes and, soon, John McAfee), had this one in the making for 16 years before enough interest was generated and Netflix jumped on board. They've come a long way from "Problem Child", that's for sure.
Observations, some of which can be spoilers...
Mike Epps is great as Jimmy Lynch and Wesley Snipes is real fun as a name-dropping, somewhat haughty D'urville Martin who is occasionally and humorously taken down a notch ("I worked with Roman Polanski!", "that's right, you were in 'Rosemary's Baby'!", "yeah, as the elevator guy!"). Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Lady Reed / Queen Bee was one of the best. I've never seen her in anything listed on IMDB as I am out of the loop with what's on TV these days. Hope she goes far. Snoop and Chris Rock play DJs. Ron Cephas Jones and Bob Odenkirk have uncredited appearances as the rhyming, story-telling drunk who inspires Moore's Dolemite persona and a shady record exec, respectively.
So yeah, this is recommended. I thought this is more entertaining than, say, the equally detailed, nostalgic, similarly themed but ultimately purposeless "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood", despite Tarantino's film having more hype and star power behind it. This one made better use of film footage, posters, reenactments and other visual cues.It's worth mentioning this doesn't cover an entire lifetime as, for example, the James Brown or Ray Charles ones do. It opens with his day job working at Dolphins Of Hollywood (represented by the interior of Pasadena record shop Poo-Bah. I knew it looked familiar!), after he's had a few 45s and LPs under his belt but before he hit the big time with his raunchy material. In real life, this was 1970 (making the vinyl porny intro scene slightly anachronistic. You'll see.). It goes no further than the premier of the first Dolemite film. To answer Spidey, the film does not mention his supposed homosexuality (if the claims from his manager several years back are to be believed), although his reluctance to talk about his personal life is touched on. Putting his poor, abusive rural upbringing behind him plays a significant part in the character development, though.
