Eddie Murphy on the red carpet for Being EddieImage via Dave Starbuck/Future Image/Cover Images
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Collier Jennings
Published 18 minutes ago
Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.
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Eddie Murphy's comedy style is instantly recognizable and iconic: a string of rapid-fire speech, often delivered alongside an ever-suffering straight man. You've heard it in the Shrek films or in Murphy's performance as the dragon Mushu in Mulan, but two film franchises made perfect use of Murphy's distinct energy: the first three Beverly Hills Cop films and both films in The Nutty Professor series. All five films depart Netflix on December 1st, meaning that comedy fans only have until the end of Thanksgiving weekend to watch them.
Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor are two distinctly different movie franchises, as the former plays out more like the typical action-packed cop movies of the '80s, while the latter is a remake of a 1960s Jerry Lewis movie. Both helped cement Murphy as a box office draw, as they topped the box office while also showing off his versatile comedic chops. Murphy had seen success in his career thanks to his work on Saturday Night Live, but both of these films took things to a whole other level.
'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'The Nutty Professor' Are Essential Eddie Murphy Movies
Part of the appeal of Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor is how they fold their comedic premises into straightforward genre fare. As previously mentioned, Beverly Hills Cop sounds like your standard action thriller, with Murphy's Axel Foley as a loose-cannon detective swept into a mystery regarding the death of his best friend. The Nutty Professor's plot sounds like it was ripped right out of The Twilight Zone, as overweight scientist Sherman Klump discovers that the weight loss serum he's cooked up gives him a slim and handsome alter ego in "Buddy Love" — quite literally, as Buddy schemes to take over Sherman's life.
Murphy is the secret sauce that makes both of these comedies pop. His performance as Axel Foley takes the standard rogue cop and infuses it with plenty of personality, making for a wildly different movie than if Sylvester Stallone had originally boarded Beverly Hills Cop. The Nutty Professor takes things one step further: in addition to his portrayal of the shy, intelligent Sherman and the egotistic Buddy, Murphy plays a total of seven characters, including the majority of Sherman's extended family. While he wears different prosthetics for each member, Murphy also gives each character a distinct personality, leading to somewhat comedic results.
Both Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor would spawn sequels, with mixed results. Beverly Hills Cop II received mixed reviews but was still a success, while Beverly Hills Cop III was a flop on every conceivable level; so was The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, which somehow thought an entire movie about Sherman Klump's family would be a box office draw. Murphy's career took a turn as well, as he began appearing in more family-friendly fare, such as Shrek and Dr. Doolittle. Yet he never left behind the mile-a-minute speech that defined his greatest hits.
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Murphy also reveals his comedy "cornerstone" and the thing he'll never do for a movie.
Posts By Hannah Hunt Aug 9, 2025Netflix Reignited the 'Beverly Hills Cop' Franchise with 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F'
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley wearing sunglasses and leaning through a car window in Beverly Hills Cop 4.Image via Netflix
While the Beverly Hills Cop movies might be leaving Netflix, the streamer helped reinvigorate the franchise with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It was a massive success when it first premiered, dominating Netflix's streaming charts for nearly two weeks and earning praise for Murphy returning to play an older Axel Foley who still possessed the sharp tongue that made the original Beverly Hills Cop a hit. Murphy also recently appeared in the Netflix documentary Being Eddie, which chronicles his career. In an interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub, Murphy said that his next role will take "a hard left" from what his fans have come to expect.
If you've loved any of Eddie Murphy's roles, no matter what the context, you owe it to yourself to check out Beverly Hills Cop and The Nutty Professor. Both feature Murphy in his prime and still hold up despite the launch of lackluster sequels.
Beverly Hills Cop
Like Follow Followed R Comedy Crime Action Release Date December 5, 1984 Runtime 105 minutes Director Martin Brest Writers Daniel Petrie Jr., Danilo Bach Producers Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer Sequel(s) Beverly Hills Cop 2, Beverly Hills Cop 3Cast
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Eddie Murphy
Axel Foley
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Judge Reinhold
Det. Billy Rosewood
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The Nutty Professor
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