Why Isn’t There A Movie About Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence Being Real-Life In-Laws?

Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence clearly work very well together. They co-starred in movies like the classic 1992 comedy Boomerang, as well as 1999’s Life — which was a dramedy about two prison inmates in the early 20th century, and not an adaptation of the classic board game (nor was it associated with the popular breakfast cereal).

Recently, Murphy revealed that he would like to re-team with Lawrence for a third movie: a remake of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the star-studded 1963 film about a frenzied hunt for buried treasure (which was already unofficially remade as Rat Race in 2001). “Anybody that was funny over the last 30 years is going to be in this movie,” Murphy said of the project which hadn’t been written yet at the time. 

Then, earlier this month, Lawrence revealed that he and Murphy are currently writing a follow-up to the 1999 comedy Blue Streak, which they would both star in. Of course, Murphy wasn’t actually in the original Blue Streak, but the two stars apparently get along so well that they just decided that he should be in the sequel. Sure, why not!

But now Murphy and Lawrence are about to be family — not in a movie, in life. And by that we mean real life, not the movie Life.

It was just announced that Murphy’s son Eric is engaged to marry Lawrence’s daughter Jasmin. Apparently the couple have been dating since at least 2021, but this is obviously big news for all involved. It also begs the question: Why isn’t this the premise of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence’s next movie?

Instead of remaking a Hollywood classic, or making yet another sequel to a ‘90s movie, why don’t Murphy and Lawrence mine their real-life experiences for comedic gold? They’ve already been doing this to some extent in interviews recently. Even before their kids got engaged, the fact that they were dating led nosy interviewers to ask the comedians about which parent would foot the bill for a potential wedding. Lawrence claimed that Murphy would pay, but Murphy stressed that it’s the father of the bride who is traditionally the financier. 

There’s your first plot point right there! This movie writes itself. Murphy and Lawrence could even go the meta route and play fictional versions of themselves, comedic collaborators and Hollywood stars who are suddenly thrust into a familial relationship for the first time. Just don’t forget to credit us as an executive producer.