Comedy is a tricky business, but dozens upon dozens of performers have chosen it and made it work for them. In fact, many fan favorite stand up comedians have found success by turning to their own relatable stories of failure and setbacks for laughs. Now, Jamie Foxx has funnily opened up about telling Eddie Murphy not to return to the stage as a comic.
What Did Jamie Foxx Say About Telling Eddie Murphy Not To Do Stand Up Comedy Anymore?
Obviously, former Saturday Night Live cast member/comedy icon Eddie Murphy and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx are two of the biggest names in comedy, and have been for several decades each. The Ray lead recently joined a group of other stand up stars for one of The Hollywood Reporter’s roundtable discussions, and when the group was asked if they’d ever felt the need to tell more personal stories in their comedy, Foxx responded:
I had a special deal for a long time, but I had nothing to talk about. What was I going to talk about? I was rich. I was behind my gates. I remember seeing Eddie Murphy at his house, this was around Coming 2 America, and he says he’s going to try to go do stand-up. I say to him, ‘You can’t.’ He says, ‘Why?’ I say, ‘This ain’t funny. Your house is too nice. Whatever that scent is …’ He had a scent. You know, the shit that pumps through the house.
Ah, yes. Something that audiences don’t really see is comedians hitting the stage to joke about how good life is, because…you know, it’s hard to make that funny. A lot of comedy is about processing trauma and dealing with the many negatives of life, whether the comedian talks about personal issues or the world at large. Laughing at the bad (eventually) is what helps many people keep going, even when they know more shitty things will definitely come at some point. If life is good and easy…what are you laughing about?
Foxx recently returned to stand up, after many years of starring in a wide variety of movies like Django Unchained, the Horrible Bosses franchise, Baby Driver, White House Down, Just Mercy, Spider-Man: No Way Home, They Cloned Tyrone, and voicing the lead in Soul. But, he did that after suffering a brain bleed that led to a stroke, which was at first only reported as a mysterious medical condition and caused a lot of fan speculation around his health for a while.
Thus, he had something terrible and scary happen which meant he needed not only serious medical attention, but to find a way through the pain and uncertainty mentally. That gave him something to talk about on stage, which eventually turned into his hit comedy special What Had Happened Was… (which you can watch with your Netflix subscription). Foxx continued:
I said, ‘What is that smell?’ He said, ‘It’s pomegranate.’ I said, ‘The fact that you know that shit lets me know that you ain’t funny, bro.’ It was too perfect.
While I’m certain that Foxx and others don’t wish anything negative on the Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F star just to see him return to stand up, his point about Murphy’s life seeming “too perfect” still stands. At the very least, if he’d like to return to the days of his R-rated stage routines, he’s going to have to dig deep and find something uncomfortable to talk about. And, I bet that the notably funny man will be able to do that whenever he wants.
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