Ahead of the film’s debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Dolemite Is My Name.
At face value, Netflix seemingly has very high confidence in the film, debuting it at TIFF. There is a lot of buzz that the film could garner an acting nomination for Murphy, mounting a sizeable comeback for the actor. It comes over a decade after his acclaimed turn in Dreamgirls and a year before Coming to America 2 hits theaters.
Directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Coming to America 2), the film also stars Keegan-Michael Key, Wesley Snipes, Da’Vine Joy Randolph Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Snoop Dogg, Ron Cephas Jones, Barry Shabaka Henley, Tip ‘TI’ Harris, Luenell and Tasha Smith.
Here’s the description of Dolemite Is My Name: Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play. Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D’Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore’s Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era. Comics and rappers have praised Moore as a pioneering influence over the past few decades, and Dolemite Is My Name is a hilarious celebration of a singular talent who made his own legend.
Watch the trailer below:
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Photo: Netflix
