Charlie Murphy Movies

The original MTV funnyman returns for a follow up to Pauly Shore Is Dead that finds "The Weasel" and a whole host of special guest stars playing a series of hidden-camera pranks on their unsuspecting subjects. The laughs just keep on coming as Shore, Vivica A. Fox, Steven Bauer, Charlie Murphy, and T. Pain deliver a collection of rib-tickling parodies, sidewalk interviews, and hilarious music videos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Beef IV documents a number of celebrity feuds including disagreements involving Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, comic Dave Chapelle, and rapper Jay-Z. The people interviewed for the program include Bow Wow, Damon Dash, and Chamillionaire. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Season two of Chappelle's Show brings forth such guest stars as DMX, Ludacris, Jamie Foxx, Wayne Brady, Eddie Griffin, Samuel L. Jackson (hawking his own brand of beer), and Snoop Dogg (who also appears in puppet form!). In one memorable episode, Dave Chappelle reintroduces one of his season-one characters, crackhead Tyrone Biggums, in a "lost episode" of Fear Factor. This season also introduced the recurring segment "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories," in which Chappelle would reenact supposedly true incidents between Murphy and such celebrities as Rick James and Prince (with Chappelle playing those celebrities). Other highlights include the trials and tribulations of a white family named the "Niggars"; Chappelle magnanimously taking the place of such famous black courtroom defendants as R. Kelly and Michael Jackson; what the world would be like if everyone was gay; a very close encounter with Oprah Winfrey; and the saga of "Prince NegroDamus." ~ All Movie Guide

Hip-hop mogul Damon Dash (Paper Soldiers) directs this semi-autobiographical film based on his life as the proprietor of Roc-a-Fella Records. Ebon Moss-Bachrach stars as David Katz, a reporter who, upon interviewing rap producer Damon (Capone), finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the high-class world of hip-hop. Before he knows it, Katz ignites a war within the label that could bring down the operation for good. A bevy of celebrities from all walks of life make appearances, including Riddick Bowe, Lorraine Bracco, Mariah Carey, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Carson Daly, Jay-Z, Chloe Sevigny, James Toback, and countless others. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV drama--Sammy Davis, Jr.'s last--stars Trent Cameron as a young orphan who must fight against social workers in order to remain with his adoptive father, a widowed jazzman. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Rapper/ actor Ice Cube directed this urban comedy-drama about African-American single mother Diana (Lisa Raye), who aims for a career as a broadcast journalist. To finance her education, she works as a stripper at the raucous Players Club, run by hustler Dollar Bill (Bernie Mac). When naive Ebony (Monica Calhoun), Diana's young cousin, also signs on at the club, Ronnie (Chrystale Wilson) attempts to lead Ebony into prostitution, creating conflicts, while club deejay Blue (Jamie Foxx) begins dating Diana. This film is Ice Cube's feature directorial debut; he also scripted and appears in a supporting role. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This lively and complicated romantic comedy-drama centers on four fellows. Runyon is a poet carrying a torch for Kathryn; he flies to LA to talk about scripting a movie and is accompanied by the lovely Tarzaan. Gadabout Josh is seen having a fling with a Chinese hat-check girl and pursuing Cynthia; despite his womanizing, he also still cares for his ex-wife Gina, the sister of Phil, a plumber and owner of a hardware store who is married with two children. Phil is in a quandary because he finds himself lusting for a sophisticated English coquette who just might be interested in him. Meanwhile, therapist Mark is utterly wrecked over a difficult relationship with Tasha. The title of the film comes from a line in rocker Steve Miller's song, "The Joker". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Spike Lee defines "jungle fever" as sexual attraction between members of two races. In his film Jungle Fever, he examines the repercussions of an interracial affair upon two very distinct communities. Wesley Snipes is Flipper, a happily married and successful architect, and Annabella Sciorra is Angie, an office temp. When she starts working in Flipper's Manhattan office, one day they look at each other and are soon having sex over a blueprint-strewn desk. Their liaison causes an explosion on both homefronts. Flipper's family consists of his father Doctor Purify (Ossie Davis), a former preacher; his mother Lucinda (Ruby Dee); his violent, crackhead brother Gator (Samuel L. Jackson); and his wife Drew (Lonette McKee), whom he loves, despite his sexual attraction to Angie. Angie's family is a typical Italian-American household from Bensonhurst. She's engaged to Paulie Carbonne (John Turturro), who works in a deli owned by his father Lou (Anthony Quinn). When the two families find out about Flipper and Angie's affair, their shock leads to recriminations and racial animosity. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Eddie Murphy, in addition to starring as Quick, the son of 1930s Harlem gambling-house proprietor Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor), also wrote and directed the film. The plotline details the combined efforts of Quick and Sugar Ray to prevent white gangster Bugsy Calhoune (Michael Lerner) from muscling in on their operation. The supporting players include Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello and Jasmine Guy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the glamorous world where the ability to get past the velvet rope separates the losers from the winners, one newly single guy is about to get a shot at becoming the latest inductee into the coolest club around. Barry Shlotzak is a nice guy with a psychotic girlfriend. After emancipating himself from the relationship in order to get a fresh new start in life, Barry is convinced by his best friend, Douglas, to enter into a contest designed to select an intern for the local club crew known as the "Bar Starz" -- a trendsetting group that personifies cool, and whose members can effortlessly gain access to any nightclub at any time. Now, in order to prove that they have what it takes to become an official member of the Bar Starz crew, Barry and the other aspiring Bar Starz will endure a rigorous series of tests designed specifically by lead star Donnie Pintron to assess their nightclub aptitude. Of course, you have to dress like a superstar to be a part of this crew, but that's only the beginning. A true member of the Bar Starz can stroll effortlessly past the ropes of even the most exclusive nightclub, and pick up even the hottest of babes with the least amount of effort. Does Barry have what it takes to become the toast of the town, or was he simply better off being a plain old nice guy? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A handful of inner-city kids move up to the big time in this teen-centric musical. Xavier Smith (Bow Wow), known to his friends as X, is a teenager growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the late '70s. X and his buddies are the hotshot skaters at the Palisades Gardens, a neighborhood roller rink where local kids roll to the latest disco sounds, but X loses his status as king of the hill when the Palisades closes down. With no skating action close by, X and his friends head uptown to the Sweetwater Roller Rink, where they feel like country mice in the big city among the expert skate dancers and beautiful women. But skating means a lot to X -- with his widower father, Curtis (Chi McBride) going through a bad patch, skating gives him a sense of accomplishment and a belief in his own talent. So X and company keep heading uptown to Sweetwater, where they prepare to take on Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan) and his crew of the rink's best dancers for the upcoming Roller Jam Skate-Off. X befriends a young local girl named Tori (Jurnee Smolett) and finds a good reason to go uptown when he meets a pretty skater girl, Naomi (Meagan Good). Meanwhile, Tori's mother, Vivian (Kellita Smith) takes an interest in Curtis. Featuring a score of classic '70s R&B and disco, Roll Bounce was directed by Malcolm D. Lee, who enjoyed a breakthrough hit with 2002's Undercover Brother. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The new night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History finds that the job comes with more responsibility than he ever dreamed in this wild fantasy comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke. Larry Daley (Stiller) is a kind-hearted dreamer who always knew that he was destined for greatness, he just never quite knew how. None of his ideas or inventions has panned out, so with a heavy heart, he takes a regular job as a lowly graveyard-shift security guard at the Museum of Natural History in order to provide a more stable life for himself and his ten-year-old son. His first night on the job, however, he finds that guardianship of the museum is far from stable -- at nightfall, an Egyptian spell brings the artifacts and wax figures to life! With Attila the Hun charging to war through the hallways, the diorama miniatures embroiled in a deadly feud, and a two-ton Tyrannosaurus Rex nagging to play fetch, Larry has half a mind to turn tail and run. On top of cleaning up after two million years of historical chaos every night, he also has to make sure that not a single museum piece leaves the building -- from the bratty Capuchin monkey in the African exhibit, to the life-sized Neanderthal in the prehistoric display -- because if morning light falls on an escaped artifact, it will turn to dust. Larry turns to a wax replica of President Roosevelt (Williams) for a little advice on keeping things in tact, but Teddy seems to think that a man of Larry's greatness needs little help. Larry isn't sure if the former commander in chief is right; this is hardly what he signed up for, but he can't pass up the chance to care for a museum where history really does come to life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide