Eddie Murphy's 'Dolemite Is My Name' Tops Lists as His Best Netflix Movie

When it comes to comedy movies, Eddie Murphy is the king. From Beverly Hills Cop to Dr. Doolittle to, of course, the Shrek series, the SNLalum has been a staple on the silver screen for four decades.

Of course, there were a few misfires along the way, like the bemoaned 2007 flick Norbit, in which Murphy channeled Martin Lawrence and Tyler Perry, playing both a nerdy guy and his plus-sized female love interest.

He sort of faded from movies through the 2010s until making his comeback in 2019 with the Netflix original biopic Dolemite Is My Name. In it, Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, an eccentric comedian who plays a larger-than-life character named Dolemite.

When asked to name a Murphy movie, Dolemite is probably not the first one you'd think of. But according to multiple lists, it's the best film work he's ever done.

'Dolemite' Lands on Multiple Lists of Top Eddie Murphy Movies

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the unofficial authority on movie ratings, Dolemite is Murphy's highest-rated movie, with a 97 percent score among critics and a 91 percent score among audiences. "Eddie Murphy makes Dolemite Is My Name just as bold, brash, and ultimately hard to resist as its subject," reads the site's critics consensus.

On an IMDb list, Dolemite ranks at No. 3, with a 7.2 score on the platform. And on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 30 best Netflix original movies, Dolemite is No. 5. The site's review called the '70s period piece "a period biopic that perfectly balances jokes and heart."

Murphy's journey to playing Moore had been in the works for quite some time. In fact, the writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski wanted no one but the Nutty Professor star to play the role.

"When we were writing this script, we broke the cardinal rule, which is never write for a star. We said, ‘This script is only for Eddie,'" Alexander told The Wrap. "We want Eddie to love it. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. If Eddie loves it, we get to make a movie. If Eddie doesn't love it, then there is no movie."

Obviously, Murphy loved it.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 10:53 AM.