Shortly before the end of Eddie Murphy - Delirious the irrepressible Murphy points out the irony of his appearing before an SRO audience at Washington DC's Constitution Hall, the same establishment which refused to allow black opera star Marian Anderson to give a concert in 1939. Murphy may not be in the same style of performance as Anderson, but no one can deny that back in 1983 he galvanized an audience as few other comedians could. Occasionally there's a PG bit involving Eddie's family, but for the most part the humor is raunchy -- as evidenced by Murphy's routine about Ralph Kramden being "serviced" by Ed Norton. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Not to be confused with the 1991 John Candy vehicle Delirious, Eddie Murphy - Delirious is the first of Murphy's two riotous concert films, which many thought he departed from at his peril when his career took a downturn in the early '90s. Vulgar almost from beginning to end, the film at least has a vitality that's missing from his later, albeit successful, attempts to round out into more of a family themed humorist. Forcing the audience to examine (and laugh at) scathing truths about a variety of topics -- chief among them race and sex -- in the vein of his comic hero Richard Pryor, Murphy struts across the stage with dead-on impersonations and deadly observations. The individual gags -- at least, what makes them so uncomfortably funny -- don't bear repeating here, but they make it easy to see why a generation of young viewers grew up singing the "I got my ice cream" song, well aware of the virtues of McDonald's versus "welfare burgers." Among his other merits, the young and vigorous Murphy has a great time interacting with the audience, who gladly (and understandably) eat out of his palm. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
