First off, let the record show that I love(d) Eddie Murphy. He was the best part of the second coming of Saturday Night Live and lucky for us he transitioned into the biggest movie star in the world with 48 Hours (1982), Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), The Golden Child (1986), Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987) and Coming to America (1988). Not to mention his pièce de résistance stand-up Delirious (1983) and to a lesser extent Raw (1987). When I was a kid it was Eddie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson and John Candy running things and so I was excited to dive deep into nostalgia with the new Netflix biography (or I suspect autobiography) Being Eddie. And while it’s perfectly watchable, it’s about as deep as Eddie’s original laugh. It’s a puff piece. I said it. The only controversy it addresses is the infamous David Spade joke made on the recurring SNL segment Hollywood Minute. If you’re unaware, Spade had the audacity to refer to Eddie as a “falling star” on the sketch comedy show, and Eddie’s alma mater. I mean, how dare he? I get it, a dig like that smarts, but come on Eddie, you’re a comedian. Of course, Eddie bounced back from the professional pit Spade was referring to with more than a few hits including The Nutty Professor (1996) and the Shrek franchise (2001-present). Still, Eddie’s decades long irk is quickly leavened with a lot of attention given to his triumphant return to SNL… 24 years later! It’s all good. Fade to black. Not so. The film fails to touch on a lot of happenings in between these two events. His skipping of the show’s 25th anniversary special in 1999. His 1997 kerfuffle with police after being pulled over in West Hollywood, California at 4:45 a.m, and the subsequent arrest of his passenger, a transgender sex worker. The doc does however shine some loving light on Eddie, being that he is a proud family-man. He boasts a beautiful family, yet there is no mention of the complexities of having ten children by five different women, including one he publicly denied for years. There are allusions to harder times for Eddie, with films not doing so well but not once are the words The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) even whispered. In fact Dave Chapelle gives us one of the greatest spins of all time by praising Eddie for doing so many kid-friendly films. Not a crime, but am I the only one to say that the last thing I ever wanted from Eddie Murphy was more G-rated movies (though, Donkey in the Shrek movies is one of his best characters, I’ll give him that). But the hardest and weirdest tidbit to wrap my head around is how he ditched his trademark laugh. What the hell? This life rewrite is mentioned in passing and the documentary quickly moves on. I mean, a comedian who changed his laugh? Am I, again, alone in thinking…what the hell? Is this really an honest review of Eddie’s life if the interviewers don’t take a minute to find out why a comedian, a man dedicated and gifted in the art of making people double over with laughter, would change his laugh? I realize it was a source of insecurity, but at least ask how he did this. Can a person really do this? What triggered it? Is he okay? I mean, is it really a laugh anymore if it’s not involuntary? I found it sad that Eddie, once a bright light in my life, a man who brought me so much spontaneous joy, has not authentically chuckled in years? And while we’re at it, it disappointed me to learn that not winning an Oscar was such a disappointed to him. I get that it was a bit of a let down, but his disposition speaks to annoyance instead seeing his nomination as an honour. Eddie, you’ve made so many people happy and we thank you, but an Oscar? Towards the end Eddie teases the possibility of a new stand up special, but honestly what I learned from this chronicle is that the Eddie from the 80s is gone. Not a crime of course. I mean it would be weird if he were exactly the same. He has a gorgeous house and grandchildren and looks to be content, if a little controlling with his life’s narrative. That’s great and I’m happy for him as he heads into old age. I mean, I would watch his new stand-up, but my takeaway from Being Eddie is he’s too precious to see the truth about himself, which, in my opinion is where a lot of the best comedy and real laughs are born.