Murphy’s Law

‘Harlem Nights’ Is Comedy’s Most Overrated Cult Classic

How revisionist history saved Eddie Murphy’s 1989 all-star gangster flop

Keith Murphy
LEVEL
Published in
4 min readMay 1, 2020

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Jasmine Guy And Eddie Murphy In ‘Harlem Nights’. Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images

Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com.

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Keith Murphy
LEVEL
Writer for

Mr. Murphy’s work has appeared in such publications and online sites as VIBE, The New York Post, Billboard, ESPN’s The Undefeated, OZY, and Esquire.