Stung by a string of showbiz failures, floundering comedian Rudy Ray Moore (Academy Award nominee Eddie Murphy) has an epiphany that turns him into a word-of-mouth sensation: step onstage as someone else. Borrowing from the street mythology of 1970s Los Angeles, Moore assumes the persona of Dolemite, a pimp with a cane and an arsenal of obscene fables. However, his ambitions exceed selling bootleg records deemed too racy for mainstream radio stations to play. Moore convinces a social justice-minded dramatist (Keegan-Michael Key) to write his alter ego a film, incorporating kung fu, car chases, and Lady Reed (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), an ex-backup singer who becomes his unexpected comedic foil. Despite clashing with his pretentious director, D'Urville Martin (Wesley Snipes), and countless production hurdles at their studio in the dilapidated Dunbar Hotel, Moore's Dolemite becomes a runaway box office smash and a defining movie of the Blaxploitation era. With Wesley Snipes, Craig Robinson, Mike Epps.

"What a breath of fresh air to see a film in a genre that’s way too dominated by whiteness, revealing, in funny and stylish fashion, how black artists make a way out of no way." (The Undefeated)

"Can you dig it? Consider it dug." (Toronto Star)

"'Dolemite Is My Name' kicks off the Eddie Murphy comeback that's been a very long time coming. And this comic biopic is a blast from start to finish." (New York Post)

Sunday, October 13
Doors 6:15 pm | Movie 6:45 pm *Showtime subject to change.
Advance tickets $10.50 | $12.50 at the door

*Minors welcome in the balcony. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
**Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK. Please redeem at the door.

DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Craig Brewer, 2019 / 118 mins / 18A) When Hollywood shuts him out, multi-talented Rudy Ray Moore strikes out on his own to make the 1975 blaxploitation film DOLEMITE.