Empire Australasia – July 2019

Nick: He was 17, 18. A lot of the other

guys were in the right place at the right

time. Eddie Murphy made it happen.

He was going around town telling

everyone he was going to be a movie

star when he was a nobody. He just kept

going until he was the biggest star in the

world. Beverly Hills Cop was bigger than

Ghostbusters in 1984. It was the biggest

film of the year. That’s insane. It’s got

no effects, a banana in a tailpipe, and

a guy talking fast.

Chris: He’s that guy you drop into the

middle of a scene... everyone else around

him is bewildered and trying to keep up.

Let’s move on to Steve Martin.

David: Five of his films are in my top

10. Some of them quite close to the top.
    I love The Lonely Guy. I literally wouldn’t
    dine alone in restaurants for 20 years
    because of what happens to him in that.
    Nick: He was the biggest out of all those
    guys to start with his stand-up tours.
    Out of them all, he’s the most restless in
    terms of thinking about what he does
    and plotting it and trying new things and
    being quite daring and experimental. The
    Man With Two Brains is probably my
    favourite of his. The gag rate is incredible.
    David: He has the intellect and the
    absurdity. But to also have the physical,
    to be able to play Lily Tomlin in one half
    of your body and Steve Martin trying to
    resist the other half of his body that is
    Lily Tomlin, while you just walk down
    the street, is unbelievable.
    Chris: Bill Murray is probably the most
    enduring out of all the people on this list.
    Ian: What is the iconic Bill Murray role?
    It’s Venkman, isn’t it? That’s his appeal,
    that kind of cool, cynical...
    Chris: Vaguely problematic, especially
    looking back with modern glasses on.
    Nick once maintained Ghostbusters II
    is better than Ghostbusters.
    Nick: I’ve softened on the Ghostbusters II
    thing. I still think it’s vastly underrated.
    But Ghostbusters, that’s the biggest Bill
    Murray moment, isn’t it?
    David: Is it, though? Ghostbusters is
    a film I have a very strange relationship
    with. I don’t love the film. I love the music,
    I love the car, I love the actors, I love some
    of the dialogue, I love the story, I love the
    logo, I love the premise...
    Nick: But you hate the production design.
    David: I don’t think it hangs together as a
    movie in the way Ghostbusters II does.
    Which is why I would choose to watch
    Ghostbusters II over Ghostbusters.
    Ian: This is fucking madness.
    Chris: Right, enough squabbling.
    Let’s vote!

WILD AND CRAZY GUYS BY NICK DE SEMLYEN IS

OUT NOW IN HARDBACK AND DOWNLOAD

ROXANNE (1987)

Chris: “Steve Martin updates Cyrano de

Bergerac, and this warm and witty romcom

is the gorgeous result.”

10

48 HRS. (1982)

Nick: “Thanks to Eddie Murphy this

hardboiled cop-and-con caper fizzes with

energy, peaking in the legendary bar scene.”

THREE AMIGOS (1986)

Nick: “Chockful of great jokes, both visual

(RIP Invisible Swordsman) and verbal (“Do

you have anything beyond Mexican food?”).

NATIONAL LAMPOON’S

CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989)

David: “Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold is

finally likeable enough to be sympathetic.”

THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980)

Ian: “The SNL trailblazer. It’s got sharp

suits, killer songs, nuns, Nazis and the

biggest demolition derby in movie history.”

THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS (1983)

Nick: “When the hero is a scientist named

Dr Hfuhruhurr, you know you’re in for an

injection of 10cc of pure silliness.”

TRADING PLACES (1983)

Chris: “Murphy and Dan Aykroyd display

comedic chemistry so potent it’s a wonder

they never reteamed.”

BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984)

Ian: “A fish-out-of-water comedy powered

by Eddie Murphy’s mile-a-minute patter.

Pure cut Murphy. Get the fuck outta here.”

PLANES, TRAIN AND AUTOMOBILES (1987)

David: “Steve Martin’s uptight ad executive

and John Candy’s oafish salesman are one

of comedy’s great mismatched double acts.”

GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)

Ian: “It came. It saw. It kicked your

ass. Murray at his most charmingly

sleazy, Aykroyd spouting supernatural

gobbledegook at high speed and

Moranis as an ultra dweeb. The ultimate

wild and crazy guys confection.”

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THE TOP TEN

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