Eddie Murphy raw is good. Some might even say that it is very good. Unfortunately, the bar was set so unbelievably high with his previous offering (Eddie Murphy Delirous) that it only comes off as mildly dissapointing. If you haven't seen either, you should consider watching Raw first, even though it was chronolgically second in the series. Raw is funny at times, but the pacing was off. Eddie seems tired in his delivery, and the camera work was a bit shoddy. The camera is zoomed in too far for most of the show and plays catch-up with Eddie for the duration of the set. Part of Eddie's genius is how he uses his whole body to convey his comedy, and the camera robs us of this performance by only showing him from his chest and up.
You can also tell that Eddie has grown up a bit from watching this. He is talking more about relationships and life instead of reliving memories from his childhood (which was the really, really funny stuff from Delirious).
I don't want to discourage anyone from watching this, as it is still one of the best stand up routines of all time. I would put it at number 7 or 8 of all time, but only because Delirious takes up the top 6 spots (yes, it is that funny).
You can also tell that Eddie has grown up a bit from watching this. He is talking more about relationships and life instead of reliving memories from his childhood (which was the really, really funny stuff from Delirious).
I don't want to discourage anyone from watching this, as it is still one of the best stand up routines of all time. I would put it at number 7 or 8 of all time, but only because Delirious takes up the top 6 spots (yes, it is that funny).