RANT - Best Defense (1984) Movie Review by ramboraph4life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yWIasPnm6w

Best Defense is a 1984 American comedy film starring Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy.

As originally filmed, the film did not feature Eddie Murphy's character, and was solely a Dudley Moore film.

The film's preview screenings were received poorly, and the studio suggested filming a role for Eddie Murphy, who was at the peak of his popularity.

Murphy's part was almost unconnected with the rest of the film and his character never even came into contact with the main cast. There had been a scene filmed during the reshoots which featured Moore and Murphy's characters meeting, but it was cut from the film.

https://lebeauleblog.com/2012/01/31/what-the-hell-happened-to-eddie-murphy/2/

In 1984, Murphy made his first misstep. He appeared in the notorious turkey, Best Defense.
Test screenings for the Dudley Moore comedy were so horrible that the studio created Murphy’s part after the fact. The movie was then marketed as an Eddie Murphy movie despite the fact his role is a glorified cameo. He’s even credited as a “strategic guest star”.

When he hosted SNL later that year, Murphy joked about the failure of Best Defense and how he thought it might have killed his movie career. He jokingly admitted to making Best Defense for the money.