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Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson flex comedy muscles in The Pickup

The Pickup starts streaming on Prime Video on 6 August
The Pickup starts streaming on Prime Video on 6 August

Actor-comedians Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson team up for The Pickup, a heist movie that sees them sparring as a pair of incompatible armoured truck drivers.

Starring opposite Murphy, 64, was "a bucket list thing" for Davidson, 31, who had admired Murphy's work since he was seven.

Unlike their characters, the two had much in common.

(L-R) Pete Davidson and Eddie Murphy attend the world premiere of The Pickup at Regal LA Live on 27 July, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
Starring opposite Eddie Murphy was "a bucket list thing" for Pete Davidson, who had admired Murphy's work since he was seven

"Pete comes from SNL (Saturday Night Live). He's a standup comic. We're both from the East Coast," said Murphy.

"I love to get into a scene with somebody else that's funny, improvise with them, and start playing. I love it."

On a routine round of cash pickups, Murphy's Russell and Davidson's Travis are targeted by criminals.

Things get personal when Travis discovers that the thieves are led by his one-night-stand from the night before, played by Keke Palmer, and the life of Russell's hot-headed wife, played by Eva Longoria, comes under threat.

The duo must pull together to save the day.

(L-R) Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, Eddie Murphy, and Tim Story attend the world premiere of The Pickup at Regal LA Live on 27 July 2025 in Los Angeles, California

The script, by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, served as their blueprint, and director Tim Story encouraged them to go off it, the two said.

"We would do one as written, and then Tim and everyone was, (sic) like, 'Just go nuts', and we would end up just trying to one-up each other. We were just trying to make each other laugh," said Davidson.

"They were improvising constantly, and it was really sweet to see. It's so cool because you see two different generations," added Palmer.

"Usually in these types of movies or my early movies like the Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hrs, I was the young maverick, and now I'm the older guy," said Murphy.

(L-R) Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, and Eddie Murphy attend the world premiere of The Pickup at Regal LA Live on 27 July, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
Eddie Murphy - "Usually in these types of movies or my early movies like the Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hrs, I was the young maverick, and now I'm the older guy"

Murphy has been making movies for 43 years and said new challenges were few and far between.

"I've played different ethnicities and different genders. I've been inanimate. I've played spaceships. I've played every type of role you could possibly imagine," he said, but added he was working on "something fresh and new".

"We're doing George Clinton (musician), Parliament Funkadelic, we're doing his life. And there's no one like George. So I'll be in uncharted waters."

The Pickup starts streaming on Prime Video on 6 August.

Source: Reuters

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