The MTV Networks' inaugural Comedy Awards will honor comedians, funny TV and film actors, and even Eddie Murphy, who's set to receive the ceremony's first Comedy Icon Award, which goes to "an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to comedy and whose impact and innovations have changed the landscape and inspired future generations of entertainers." We all know Murphy's legendary stand-up specials like Delirious and Raw, his unforgettable SNL characters such as Mr. Robinson and Velvet Jones, and his great comedies like Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places. But Mr. Murphy also has an illustrious career of unintentionally funny moments, and we'd like to present a quintet of these quazier times.
5. Vampire in Brooklyn
Wes Craven directed this accidental companion piece to 1995's other satirical vampire comedy (Dracula: Dead and Loving It), and it costars Angela Bassett and the sorely underused Kadeem Hardison. It wouldn't be a Murphy vehicle if he only played the titular nightstalker though; he also plays an Italian gangster and an alcoholic preacher. The trailer gives you all the qualifications you need to declare the film entirely misguided.
4. Norbit
Here's unintentional humor of the meta variety: Norbit, Murphy's infamously terrible fatsuit comedy (from 2007), was both an astounding critical snafu and a box office goldmine. It stands at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet it grossed $160 million in theaters. This joke's on us! Congratulations on the despair, America.
3. "Party All the Time"
The catchy and painful "Party All the Time" marked a turn for Mr. Murphy, who'd been an established comic presence for four years by 1985. His debut musical album How Could It Be gave us other singles (including the title track), but "Party All the Time" cemented the comic as a fun-loving, but slightly self-serious recording artist. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staved off by Lionel Richie's Oscar-winning "Say You, Say Me."
2. The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Nothing tickles the funny bone quite like one of the greatest flops in the history of cinema.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash boomed into the cineplex boasting a $100 million budget and ended up grossing a mere $7 million. No wonder costar Randy Quaid went a little nuts. Pick a supporting player you feel most sorry for: Is it Rosario Dawson, who took over the role that Jennifer Lopez abandoned? What about John Cleese? What about Pam Grier?
1. "Whatzupwitu?" featuring Michael Jackson
Strange that "Party All the Time" is remembered as Eddie Murphy's definitively funny foray into music, because this? Is unbelievable. The 1993 collaboration with Michael Jackson yielded a video featuring animated music notes, a sky backdrop, and enough computerized gurgles of "Whatzupwitu?" to taint both stars' legacies more than it actually did. MTV crowned "Whatzupwitu?" one of the worst music videos ever in its 25 Lame special -- the same one where guest Vanilla Ice destroyed the set with a baseball bat.
Eddie Murphy to Receive Comedy Icon Honor at Comedy Awards [Deadline]