![]() Robinson, who once sang stilted children’s songs about living in a bad neighborhood, stealing groceries, and dodging slumlords, now mocked the gentrification going on around him and antagonized his cloying yuppie neighbors. ![]() ![]() One could argue that almost all of Murphy’s recurring SNL favorites are somewhat out of date, but the show found cheeky and clever ways to acknowledge that each time. Robinson’s Neighborhood,” his classic parody of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, was the first of several venerable Murphy acts to come back for a victory lap, and it’s clear how much fun Murphy and the writers had in finding new ways to fit his old favorites into the modern world. The first sketch after the monologue assuaged any lingering doubts that Murphy wouldn’t be 100 percent committed to the material. Read: Woody Harrelson is a surprisingly effective Joe Biden for ‘SNL’ “Right now you’re looking at half of Netflix’s budget, right here onstage,” Chappelle cracked. But his mood was offset by the guest appearances of Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Tracy Morgan, who gathered with Murphy onstage to soak in the excitement of his return and to acknowledge his influence on their careers. Murphy fired off a couple of solid jokes last night (“I have 10 kids now-11 if you count Kevin Hart”), though he still projected the low-key serenity he had at SNL 40. But it also suggested, perhaps unfairly, that his sketch days were behind him, that he could no longer harness the intense energy that had made him such a unique comedy star decades before. It was a strange moment of introspection in an evening of goofy laughs. Murphy’s only other appearance at Studio 8H since his official departure was for the show’s special 40th-anniversary celebration four years ago, where he delivered an awkward, rather serious monologue after declining to perform a sketch about Bill Cosby that had been written for him. That history didn’t matter last night-Murphy barely missed a step, throwing himself into every sketch with unguarded delight. For four years, Murphy was a sensation on the show, even hosting once and notoriously proclaiming, “Live from New York, it’s the Eddie Murphy show!” He left SNL in April 1984 and hosted once more the following December, but after that he never returned to host, with his public persona growing more prickly over the years. Hired at the age of 19, Murphy was an instant phenomenon during SNL’s rocky early ’80s seasons, after Lorne Michaels departed along with the program’s original stars. SNL is often guilty of too much nostalgia, but last night’s episode was a special one, deserving as much retrospective joy as possible. After starting with a cucumber-cool monologue, Murphy dialed his vigor right back up to his heyday as a sketch performer. The excitement in Studio 8H was palpable, and the crowd’s reaction to each laugh line crackled with joy. This week, with Eddie Murphy’s first appearance in 35 years on the show that launched the comedian to fame, it was easy to tell. This may sound like a trite observation, but Saturday Night Live works best when you can tell it’s playing to a live audience.
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