The Golden Child

The Golden Child

Way in the mid-80s, Star Trek producers had Eddie Murphy in mind to play a role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Instead, Murphy chose The Golden Child. It was a move he later regretted. While Murphy didn’t like the end product, I still find the movie very funny and fun.

The Golden Child is a simple movie. Some bad guys kidnap a magical child and only Eddie Murphy can save the child. There is some business with the devil, a bad guy that is really a demon, and a naked woman who is half dragon and human. You mix all that up and you get an entertaining and funny movie with poor production values.

Sure the movie doesn’t stand up to Murphy’s other flicks during this period, but it isn’t his worst movie either. With a paper-thin plot, most of the focus is on Eddie Murphy. He does a great job making fun of the ridiculous plot. It’s like his character is fully aware of the goofiness around him. Eddie Murphy is simply funny in this movie and elevates the movie to another level. Everyone else in the movie plays the story straight and take it seriously, which is a contrast to Murphy’s behavior.

Besides the funny Eddie Murphy, I still fondly remember having a huge crush on Charlotte Lewis. She plays his attractive partner in the movie. Lewis was a sexy woman and even kicks butt in her underwear in one scene. By the way, I loved her scene when she’s fighting the biker gang all by herself in a wet shirt (see-through). It’s is a shame they deleted a sex scene between her and Eddie. Sadly, Lewis has pretty much disappeared from movies and TV now.

The music ranges from cheesy 80s bad to cheesy 80s good. It should be noted that two composers worked on the film.

If you can ignore the embarrassing FX and strange concepts, you might find yourself laughing at the movie. It is certainly ten times better than most of his recent movies.

Grade: C+

Note: In the movie, The Golden Child was a boy. However, a girl played the role: J.L. Reate.

Best Line in the movie: Chandler Jarrell: I dont know, maybe he cut himself shaving and bled to death looking for a kleenex.

Eddie: “You better be a fan of Norbit, or I’ll cut ya.”
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Sardo Numspa: “I could turn you into a wisecracking Donkey or a wisecracking little dragon.”

Murphy: “Being sent back to SNL would be a curse to me…”