Rating of
0.5/4
Norbit should be sent into orbit
goodfellamike - wrote on 10/26/08
Norbit (Eddie Murphy) is a mild-mannered, bespectacled geek, raised in an orphanage by elderly Mr. Wong (also Murphy) after he was thrown out of a moving vehicle onto its doorstep). Later in life, Norbit finds himself trapped in a marriage with the irredeemable Rasputia (again Eddie Murphy, in a 400 lb. Fat suit) and working as an accountant for her three hulking brothers, The Latimers, who exist only to intimidate the local businesses with threats and violence. One day, Kate Thomas (Thandie Newton) arrives to awaken Norbit’s childhood passion for her; they were best friends in the orphanage together, and as the movie makes clear, they even pooped together. Unfortunately, she is about to marry the greedy, obviously dubious Deion (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who has joined the Latimer brothers in a scheme to turn the orphanage into a strip club.
This is a mean-spirited, dreadfully unfunny comedy with Murphy shamelessly parading around in multiple roles, each less funny than the others. Norbit is a nice guy, but he’s spineless and hard to sympathize with; Mr. Wong is a foul, bigoted old man, but we’re supposed to find him lovable because he’s just grouchy and jokes around a lot at the expense of everyone else; Rasputia is ironically the film’s biggest selling point, though the most annoying. She is larger than life, both physically and psychologically and the filmmakers think that just because Eddie Murphy is in a fat suit, we will laugh despite the lack of wit or enjoyment involved with this character; it may have worked for The Nutty Professor, but here, the character is oppressive, overused, cruel and psychotic. Rasputia says the line, “how ya doing?” at least twenty times, and it becomes exceedingly irritating and predictable and the jokes about her weight problem are recycled not only from other unfunny comedies about fat people, but from itself as well--it’s not funny to see Norbit and Rasputia breaking their bed before making love once let alone three or four times more.
With such plot elements as turning an orphanage into a “titty bar“, as the Latimer Brothers like to refer to it as, Rasputia being caught having sex with her dance instructor, a racist Asian who also likes to throw harpoons at children, and constant profanity, it’s a wonder this debacle was billed as family entertainment, though it should offend all ages equally. It’s actually a wonder it was made at all. It’s components consist solely of the stale, profane, racist, sexist and completely unfunny gags that didn’t make it into The Nutty Professor. After The Haunted Mansion, I Spy, and the Adventures of Pluto Nash, I never want to see another Eddie Murphy comedy again. After Norbit, I never want to see another Eddie Murphy horror film. Norbit should be sent into Orbit! Final Grade: D-
