Recently, I had the opportunity to see both of Eddie Murphy’s concert films, Eddie Murphy: Delirious (1982) and Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987), for the first time since I was waaay too young to be watching them in the first place.

(My theory is that, as children of the fifties raising children of the eighties, my friends’ parents were still used to living in a world where absolute filth was not broadcast over public airwaves. Or were negligent drunks or something. Looking back raises more questions than it answers. Anyway.)

The two films are very different snapshots of the comedian: the first was filmed just as he was reaching the pinnacle of his superstardom, and the second was filmed at the cusp of his inevitable decline, at that slow, awful cranking peak of the roller coaster where you’re as high as you’re going to get before your gut drops out and everyone starts screaming. Delirious was right after 48 Hours, the film that made him a household name despite being a lot more awful than you remember it being. Raw came right as he started cashing those sequel checks and got jaded about everyone around him. In both cases, you can hear his life bulging at the corners of his material.

Despite their differences, there was one similarity between the two movies that struck me in 2006: in both, Eddie needs to lead off strong and therefore decides to kick off the night with his f@gg*t material. In Delirious, the first words out of his mouth are a warning to the f@gg*ts not to check out his rump while he’s pacing the stage. Then for a good five minutes, it’s Hollywood f@gg*ts, f@gg*ts giving you AIDS by kissing you, f@gg*ts, f@gg*ts, f@gg*ts.

But as I listened, I couldn’t escape making note of the fact that, while Eddie Murphy is on stage stereotyping homosexuality within an inch of its life, he is dressed like this:

Looking through the prism of history, I think that might be the funniest thing about the movies.

(In these photos, Eddie’s microphones obscure the fact that he is bare-chested under his skintight leather suits, wearing only a spectacular golden medallion. Both movies are on YouTube.)