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Ok, I know, the director is not Eddie Murphy but Robert Townsend, but it matters little. Raw is actually nothing less than the pinnacle of Eddie Murphy's 80s frenzy. Released in '87, Raw is indeed a delirious, politically incorrect, vulgar, and visionary monologue by Eddie, the show with which he swept across the United States. A dimension, that of the one-man show, quite new for Eddie, at least for us Italians, used to seeing him only as a comedic actor.
There's little to say about this film/show, but there's so much to laugh about. A lot. Never really distributed on DVD or VHS, Raw has remained a cult classic, broadcasted for years at improbable hours on the most disparate local TVs, it literally corrupted a generation of teenagers who memorized it after thousands of communal viewings, thanks to precious VHS recordings. In short, a small niche phenomenon that today, thanks to the internet, has become visible again (the entire film has been uploaded on YouTube). I would point out a couple of highlights: the outfit Eddie wears on stage (something literally unwatchable), the series of jokes about relationships (some are nothing short of sensational, tear-jerking) and the imitation of the Italian-American coming out of the cinema after watching Rocky 3. Incredible!
Let's end with a small final reflection: when you are a young goofball, you laugh hysterically at Eddie's nonsense, especially those about the relationship between men and women. Then, when you've gained quite a bit of experience, you continue to laugh like crazy, but deep down you're left with a bit of a bitter aftertaste, realizing all the times you've been the protagonist of those jokes. Naturally, in an absolutely involuntary way, but how many of us have never uttered the terribly infamous "okeeeeey..."?
P.S. If this masterpiece of comedy managed to reach Italy, the credit goes mostly to Tonino Accolla, the protagonist of a crazy dubbing. Years ago, he said that he never had as much fun as that time he dubbed Raw, and you can feel it!
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