Harlem Nights

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Harlem Nights

R

1989

1h 55m

Comedy

Crime

Drama

Romance

Adventure

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

28%

Tomatometer

36 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In the waning days of Prohibition, Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor) and his adopted son, Quick (Eddie Murphy), run a speakeasy called Club Sugar Ray. When gangster Bugsy Calhoun (Michael Lerner) learns that Sugar Ray's place is pulling in more money than his own establishment, the Petty Pat Club, he pays corrupt cop Phil Canton (Danny Aiello) to close Club Sugar Ray down. Quick doesn't exactly help the situation when he falls for Calhoun's gun moll, Miss Dominique La Rue (Jasmine Guy).

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Critics Consensus

An all-star comedy lineup is wasted on a paper-thin plot and painfully clunky dialogue.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

03/26/2019

1/4

''Harlem Nights,'' it's worth remembering, is a comedy, though as the body count piles up and entire reels go by without a joke in sight, it's also easy to forget.

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Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

03/26/2019

If he's going to confine himself to bad movies like "Harlem Nights," it's probably better that he writes and directs them himself.

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Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

03/26/2019

Harlem Nights offers a depressing answer to that not entirely pressing question, "Will success spoil Eddie Murphy?" It looks as if it has.

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Terry Francis

Southern Voice (Atlanta)

05/09/2023

0.5/4

The degree of ineptness with which this film is made must finally amount to some form of contempt for the audience.

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Common Sense Media Editors

Common Sense Media

12/14/2022

3/5

Instead here lies the rare relish of seeing bonafide comedy legends Murphy, in his first directing jaunt -- he also wrote it -- and Prior play father and son.

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Cory Woodroof

615 Film

07/17/2022

Look, this is a better film than Dick Tracy, and almost as interesting aesthetically. This also has Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Redd freaking Foxx on the same screen.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jun 20

Funny in 1 hour and 55 minutes.

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Jerry T

@JerryTee Feb 5

Excellent!!! If the critics give a terrible review then it's usually an excellent movie. If they give an excellent review then it's usually garbage. It's like they have no taste or common sense. No idea of what people consider a good movie. I found it historical with characters I want to see interact played by actors I love. " You shot my pinky toe" I laughed my arse off. Just watch it, you will like it if you are a normal human being.

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Preston L.

@Sloth82 Jan 28

Everything in this movie fell perfectly into place for the plot structure, from Vera getting her pinky toe shot off to the boxing match. It was hard for me to watch this movie without having a tear coming from my eyes from laughing so hard. Despite the Rotten Tomatoes score, this is a movie you'll watch numerous times in your life.

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Jonathan L

@DexterWolf77 Dec 4

I really don’t understand the low rating by critics; I mean ‘Were we watching the same movie???’ This film was amazing! Great talent, great story, great line up….i mean Richard Pryor, Red Fox, Charlie and Eddie!! And they all worked well together. Great chemistry! They don’t make movies like this anymore.

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shannon c

@RT29176537 Oct 12

The audience it needs to reach it definitely reached that demographic, very funny and definitely a classic!

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Jason H

@RT50328122 07/01/2025

I was under the impression comedies were funny. Considering the talent involved, this should have been great. Far from it. Murphy was quoted as saying "It wasn't a pleasurable experience. I just wanted to direct—just to see if I can do it. And I found out that I can't, and I won't do it anymore. And the biggest thing is I didn't enjoy doing it. The problem with Harlem Nights was I threw it together real quick. And then it was disappointing because Richard wasn't the way I thought Richard was gonna be. I thought it would be like a collaborative thing where I would get to work with my idol. But Richard would come to the set, say his line and leave, it wasn't like a collaborative thing."

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Eddie Murphy

Director

Eddie Murphy

Quick

Richard Pryor

Sugar Ray

Redd Foxx

Bennie Wilson

Danny Aiello

Phil Cantone

Michael Lerner

Bugsy Calhoune

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - This is Personal

2:13

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - Bad Luck With Kids

2:12

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - She's a Sweet Old Woman

2:12

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - I Aint Ever Comin Home

1:58

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - Come on Sucka, Let's Get It On

2:11

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - Bennie "Snake Eyes" Wilson

2:11

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - Shooting Up Quick

2:12

Harlem Nights: Official Clip - Are You Sayin' I'm Stealin'?

2:07

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Synopsis

In the waning days of Prohibition, Sugar Ray (Richard Pryor) and his adopted son, Quick (Eddie Murphy), run a speakeasy called Club Sugar Ray. When gangster Bugsy Calhoun (Michael Lerner) learns that Sugar Ray's place is pulling in more money than his own establishment, the Petty Pat Club, he pays corrupt cop Phil Canton (Danny Aiello) to close Club Sugar Ray down. Quick doesn't exactly help the situation when he falls for Calhoun's gun moll, Miss Dominique La Rue (Jasmine Guy).

Director: Eddie Murphy
Producer: Robert D. Wachs, Mark Lipsky
Screenwriter: Eddie Murphy
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Eddie Murphy Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Adventure, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 17, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $58.5M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Surround