Being Eddie has a lot of jump scares which I may or may not write about, but for now, let’s humour Angus Wall’s version of Eddie Murphy, movie star of the 80s. The documentary shows his name lighting up trade papers as well as critics discussing his career’s impact. It lets him talk about himself. He reveals how he survived in a predatory and racist entertainment industry. Interviews show his desire for him to both top himself and occasionally return to his roots.

Fine, let’s talk about the other interview subjects in Being Eddie, some of them being good. File critic Elvis Mitchell on the good pile, and he makes Murphy’s cinematic impact make some sense. And to put some context, Murphy and other Black artists thrived despite working during Reagan’s administration. Same goes with Jamie Foxx, a comedian turned actor who benefited because of Murphy’s ambition. And it’s par the course that Murphy’s interviews are responding to what Foxx and Mitchell are saying.

Documentaries like this exist to chip away at the collective amnesia that somehow affects perceptions of Blackness. I love Coogler and Michael B. Jordan but those artists had other people go before them. As I write this, I don’t understand why Dave Chappelle needs to be a talking head here. To Being Eddie‘s credit, Chappelle makes for a competent, intelligent man while he’s on camera. I can’t say the same for Jerry Seinfeld who contributes nothing to the documentary I’m reluctantly tolerating.

That said, as a documentary, Being Eddie imparts lessons about life that many viewers should hear. Usually, in documentaries like this, the other interviews praise the subject while the latter behaves modestly. Murphy doesn’t sound like he’s bragging, but he’s acknowledging his survival strategy. A Black comedian broke barriers for Black dramatic actors, and he survived because he loves himself. Most of the documentary looks back at the 80s but he discusses not wallowing in the past and one believes him.

Being Eddie shuttles back between the past and the present, between Beverly Hills and New York. A Long Island native, he started on SNL, beefed with them, eventually discarding those old grudges. The documentary’s denouement shows him returning to SNL, receiving applause from white creatives working for SNL. Again, I am not doubting the impact of a man who never had a true flop era. But what the documentary includes and excludes makes it an incomplete picture of a complex man.

Being Eddie is only available to stream on Netflix.