Done To Death: Beverly Hills Cop (and playing multiple roles in the same movie). There was a time when Eddie Murphy was the most hilarious thing in Hollywood: he was handsome, fast-talking, and above all he was a pretty good actor, killing it on Saturday Night Live for four straight years. And by the time he was cast in his first leading role in Beverly Hills Cop in 1984 he was a force to be reckoned with in the world of big-budget comedy. Then, in the mid-'90s, Murphy's roles became increasingly ridiculous. In the wake of Beverly Hills Cop III came Vampire In Brooklyn, which replicated the gimmick of Murphy's earlier film Coming To America, in which he played multiple characters at the same time, but failed laughably. His next film was The Nutty Professor, which was built entirely around that gimmick, and movies like Norbit kept right on going without any self-awareness. With Triplets upcoming, it's recently been announced that Murphy is going back to Beverly Hills Cop to reinvigorate another old comedy franchise, and it's hard not to think that Murphy isn't even the best man for his own old job. After more than a decade of no success, it would be far better to see Axel Foley rebooted, rather than him hanging on to an old success story, and it's hard to see the film working, unless someone like Shane Black is brought in. Which other actors do you think need to stop flogging a dead horse? Share your own picks below in the comments thread.
