The Scorecard Review news
News: Actor/comedian Eddie Murphy has agreed to host this year's Oscar ceremony. Brett Ratner, whom directs Murphy in the upcoming Ben Stiller comedy Tower Heist, is producing the awards ceremony.
Source: People
Thoughts by TSR: Something tells me if Brett Ratner could move the release date of Tower Heist from its November time to the day after this ceremony, he'd be even happier. While I've been a supporter of the infamous director (especially with his mega-entertaining Rush Hour movies), this is one of Ratner's weaker moves in all of his Hollywood shenanigans. Really? Casting Eddie Murphy to host the Oscars? Who cares? I'm sure he can still tell a joke, but how long has it been since he's even done stand-up?
Talk about an ambitious comeback for Murphy. What if Tower Heist is a giant mess, and he's an integral part to it? Then we'll just have more jokes about Murphy, (a la when his Dreamgirls respectability was somehow tarnished by Norbit). Our skepticism will far overpower our interest in hearing jokes from him. We'll just want to watch him crash, burn, and make snide Oscar pokes at being rejected a "Best Supporting Actor" award for Dreamgirls.
And if Tower Heist is somehow good, then Murphy will have a single night to reclaim our appreciation for his "genius" comedy (as Ratner calls it), something we can argue that he lost with his many recent movies.
Hopefully he won't have to resort to wearing a fat suit.