Harlem Nights Review

Harlem Nights
Proprietor of an illegal casino in 1920s harlem, 'Sugar' Ray (murphy) contends with corruption from all angles (the police force and local gangsters) who pull every dastardly trick to try to put him out of business.

by William Thomas |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 1989

Running Time:

116 minutes

Certificate:

18

Original Title:

Harlem Nights

Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor run a nightclub in the New York of the late 30s and find themselves at odds with both the Mob and the cops. If endlessly repeating the phrase "motherfucker" was intrinsically amusing then Harlem Nights would be the funniest film ever made.

Unfortunately, a real comedy needs a decent plot, interesting characters and some kind of creative context to work out of. This has none of these and it's all Eddie Murphy's fault because as well as being the star he also wrote and directed it.

Self-serving, storyless tripe
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