HMM '13: The Golden Child

It's October!  The doorway to not only the start of the greatest food season (early October to Christmas), but also to sexy nurses, zombies, and grown men dressing up like ponies.  That also means it is time once again for Halloween Movie Madness!  This year, I'll be taking a look back at the movies of my youth.  Every movie this year was released before I turned eighteen.  These are the Halloween movies that shaped me into the man I am today.  Some of them are scary.  Some are funny.  Some are fantastical.  Some are just weird.  And not all of them are good.  But to me, they are all Halloween movies.  Now, stand back, for your own safety!   


The Golden Child
1986

When you are a little kid, you probably shouldn't watch Eddie Murphy movies/comedy specials.  Naturally, I watched Coming to America, The Golden Child, Trading Places, the Beverly Hills Cop series, and Raw all the time.  Of those, my favorites were Coming to America and The Golden Child.  Since I can't do Coming to America for Halloween, today we are taking a look at The Golden Child.

I am ashamed to say it, but even though I own the DVD, the last time I watched this movie was back five years ago, right after I got it back from a co-worker who wanted to borrow it.  I didn't have any real desire to dig the movie out to watch it until I didn't have it in my possession.  Once I gave it to the guy, I started thinking about how long it had been since I watched it last and how much I like the movie, and I started wanting to watch it.  The day I got it back, I went home from work and popped it in.

The Golden Child features Eddie Murphy as Chandler, a social worker.  While working on a case involving a missing girl, he is met by Kee Nang, who informs him that he is the Chosen One, and he must find and rescue the Golden Child.   There are some dark forces at work, and they have taken the Golden Child to try and kill him.  If they do so, Hell will come to Earth, and you know that is not a good thing.

There are a few specific things I remember about this movie from watching it when I was a kid, but the part that I always seem to remember first is the "I want the knife" scene.  The heroes are talking to some monks, and requesting they give them the sacred cross dagger of Ajanti.  To get the monks to respond to their talking, they have to spon an engraving on a pillar.  Of course, the Chosen One uses his like a turntable.  "I, I, I, I, I, want the knife!"

I also remember then trying to get the Golden Child to eat blood-filled oatmeal, the woman who is half dragon, the Chosen One's messed up dream, and Numsie turning in to a demon for the big fight at the end.

The Golden Child has a good mix of action and humor, and if you have never seen it, you are missing out on seeing Eddie Murphy in his prime.  I mean, you don't want to remember him just as Donkey or Norbit, do you?

While you mull that over, here are today's Gifs Without Context.