14. Eddie Murphy As A Lot Of People In Coming to America
To say that Eddy Murphy is a comedic genius is an understatement. Some may disagree with that, but in particular he was nothing short of a legend in portraying all of the characters he lent his comedic talents to in Coming to America. Both Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall give one of their best performances in this movie, but Eddie really stands out as Clarence, Randy Watson, and Saul. The scenes with Clarence and Saul in the barbershop seem like they are played by other actors, but it is evident that the years Eddie spent on Saturday Night Live perfecting his impressions of celebrities really paid off. The make-up created to transform Eddie as an aging barber named Clarence and an elderly white patron of the shop named Saul were done so by Rick Baker. Rick not only succeeded in making Eddie a different age but also a different race without restricting Eddies performance which allowed him to really find his range for these two characters. The flamboyant stage presence of Randy Watson also achieved in showing off how funny Eddie is without being recognizable as himself. Both Eddie and Rick really complement each other so well that they eventually work together again in The Nutty Professor and Norbit. They make this movie worth watching over and over while becoming funnier and funnier every time. 13. David Naughton As The Werewolf And Griffin Dunne As Jack Goodman In An American Werewolf in London
Usually when an audience laughs at a horror movie, it means that the movie failed to meet its expectations. But in this case, the laughs in An American Werewolf in London were intentional and blended seamlessly with the horrific storyline of a werewolf terrorizing the streets of London. The movie stars David Naughton and Griffin Dunne as David Kessler and Jack Goodman respectively who are vacationing in the countryside of London. During a full moon, both David and Jack are attacked by a werewolf, leaving Jack dead and David bleeding and infected with the same curse as the werewolf that will eventually consume him. The werewolf design and special effects in this movie hasnt been topped since and may never be, but with good reason. Rick Baker is once again the make-up artist in charge of bringing the werewolf to life and does so with a transformation scene that ultimately has a life of its own in make-up history. Even though some animatronics were used in the transformation scene, it wasnt enough to take away from the performance David gives as a man in agonizing pain. Rick set the new standard for all werewolf movies to come on how transformation scenes are done. Before this movie, scenes were done with make-up applied little by little to the actor for each shot and frames were then dissolved together so that the scene ran seamlessly. In this movie, the sections of David being transformed were done so in front of the camera without much editing. Rick also accomplished in making Griffins character of Jacks decomposing corpse the levity that lightens the movie just a little while still being disgusting to look at. Jack starts off as a bloody corpse ripped to pieces after their werewolf encounter that has pieces of himself hanging by a thread that jiggles as he warns David of the curse. As the movie goes on, he is slowly transformed in to a decaying cadaver with pale green skin that looks as gross as you can imagine it smells. Rick deservingly received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame recently for his many years of being a masterful make-up artist in all of the movies he has worked on including this one.