The Bottom Line: Is Murphy Living the Oscar ‘Dream’?

The trademark grin that stretches from New York to Beverly Hills remains as bright and cheeky as it was when he first declared he wanted to party all the time. But Eddie Murphy has more reason to smile today than he has in recent memory.

“I’ve just been happy, nonstop happy,” Murphy said after collecting his Screen Actors Guild award for his flashy portrayal of fading soul singer James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls.

Thanks to his Golden Globe and SAG wins, Murphy‘s a lock to nab the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. That would make him the first Saturday Night Live cast member to win an Oscar. Not Bill Murray, who abandoned ghostbusting to collaborate with art-house darlings Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch and Sofia Coppola. But Eddie Murphy, the fast-talking, quick-on-the-draw Beverly Hills Cop.

No one can blame the usually press-shy Murphy for basking in the adulation that’s accompanied his surprising bid for Oscar gold. He’s endured a turbulent 15 years, going from the Raw-mouthed king of comedy to the David Spade-derided “falling star” to the unlikely purveyor of family-friendly fare. Dreamgirls represents Murphy’s first dramatic role in his 25-year movie career, and the gamble’s already paid off to the tune of $86.7 million. And by the time the Oscars are doled out Feb. 24, Murphy may have scored another smash by donning a dress and a fat suit for Norbit (Feb 9).

As much as he’s enjoying awards season, Murphy doesn’t seem to taking advantage of his Oscar nomination—at least not by employing Dreamgirls as a springboard to tackle equally challenging and prestigious roles. His upcoming projects seem strikingly familiar: the Fantastic Voyage-ish Starship Dave, the fantasy-tinged NowhereLand, a heist comedy reuniting him with Boomerang’s Chris Rock, and—groan—Beverly Hills Cop IV.

It’s no surprise that Murphy‘s not changing course. Even at the peak of his popularity, Murphy never got serious about getting serious. He apparently lacked the same desire to prove he can do more than make us laugh that Murray, Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks possessed. If Murphy wanted to star in a drama—such as the film version of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences—surely he could have used his clout to make it happen. How else to explain his disastrous directorial debut, Harlem Nights?

And let’s not forget there “was a lot of cajoling” to get Murphy to sing for his first Oscar nomination, Dreamgirls director Richard Condon told Entertainment Weekly.

So it’s not hard to imagine Murphy viewing Norbit—which again finds him playing multiple roles, this time a nerd and the overbearing woman he’s bullied into marrying—as an insurance policy. If Dreamgirls turned out to be a nightmare, or Murphy‘s performance was panned, the PG-13 comedy would immediately give audiences more of what they have come to expect since his 1996 comeback vehicle, The Nutty Professor.

Murphy also seems more concerned about reconnecting with adult audiences who preferred him when he was more like his idol Richard Pryor than Bill Cosby. What else can be behind his disappointing decision to exhume Axel Foley? Beverly Hills Cop III confirmed that Murphy‘s fish-out-of-water act had worn thin after Another 48 Hours and The Distinguished Gentleman. Beverly Hills Cop IV would be nothing more than a paycheck. And if it fails—as did I Spy, Metro and Showtime—Murphy‘s days as an action-comedy hero are probably over.

It’s a shame Murphy appears unwilling to take more risks. Maybe he fears enduring another career slump. But Murphy needs to look at Dreamgirls co-star Jamie Foxx to see how a former TV sitcom staple can reinvigorate his movie career by putting on a straight face. If Foxx can do, so can Murphy.

The Bottom Line:
That we are talking about Beverly Hills Cop IV during the Oscar race is indicative of Eddie Murphy’s unwillingness to test his limits. Whether Murphy deserves an Oscar for Dreamgirls is debatable, but there’s no denying that Dreamgirls reveals a side to Murphy we had never seen before. But we may never see again this side of Murphy again if he’s more interested reliving past glories with the likes of Beverly Hills Cop IV.