Funnyman Eddie Murphy should stay out of the fat suit. Just a few weeks after his first Academy Award nomination for Dreamgirls, he stars in Norbit, a film that illustrates why he may never get a second one.
During Murphy’s career slump in the ’90s – which was at its worst somewhere between Beverly Hills Cop III (a second sequel, enough said) and The Adventures of Pluto Nash (a box office dud) – came The Nutty Professor and The Nutty Professor II. These were Murphy’s first two movies sporting a fat suit, and they were more than enough. But unfortunately, Norbit just adds to Murphy’s unpleasant penchant to star in ridiculously bad films.
Norbit begins as the story of a young boy who, after being dumped as an infant unceremoniously in front of an orphanage, goes through life unnoticed and friendless save for one companion, Kate. But when Kate is adopted, he is alone once again until he meets the hefty Rasputia, who can offer him a family in exchange for his kinship. The two marry young, but only afterward does Norbit realize how awful his bride is and how corrupt her three brothers are.
So when Norbit’s old friend, Kate (Thandie Newton, The Pursuit of Happyness), comes back into town with ambitions to buy the old orphanage, Norbit realizes that his more-than-friendly feelings for her from childhood have also returned. Despite the fact that she’s engaged, the two begin to spend a lot of time with each other.
Although Rasputia is no stranger to keeping the company of other men – as evidenced by her amusing-but-vomit-inducing “private lessons” with her dance teacher, Buster (Marlon Wayans) – she becomes extremely jealous of Kate and Norbit and begins a quest to keep the two apart. Meanwhile, her thuggish brothers strike a deal with Kate’s corrupt fiancé (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to turn the orphanage that she has purchased into a gentleman’s club called – ahem – Nipplopolis.
Both of these story lines, however, are convoluted by countless bad attempts at slapstick comedy, the majority of which lean too heavily on fart and fat jokes. Every laugh that isn’t supposed to be induced by flatulence or Norbit’s out-there personality relies instead on the fat suit. And every cliché joke about obesity is exhibited (sometimes more than once), including beds breaking, bathtubs overflowing and binge eating. Creative.
More importantly, the 5-year-old Norbit, played by Khamani Griffin (Daddy Day Care), is endearing. But his odd accent and weird demeanor as an adult, as played by Murphy, are just annoying. In fact, they provoke the thought that maybe after his parents dropped him – literally – in front of the orphanage, he may have sustained some brain damage.
Murphy almost seems to be channeling his famously funny SNL character Buckwheat, but, if you can imagine it, Norbit is even less coherent and, for the most part, not amusing. Murphy’s portrayal of Mr. Wong, the orphanage owner, is reminiscent of Murphy’s character Saul from Coming to America, except that Wong is a racist Asian as opposed to an old Jewish man.
Murphy’s third and final character, Rasputia, is not only huge, much like every character from The Nutty Professor, but also equally obnoxious. Her screeching catch phrase, “How you doin’?” is comparably annoying to Larry the Cable Guy’s line of choice, “Get er’ done!” Lovely. These three main characters occupy a lot of screen time but are only stale leftovers from some of Murphy’s better days.
And considering that the actors who compose the main cast of Norbit (Gooding, Newton and Murphy) have all appeared in Oscar-nominated films, this movie just comes off as a way for them to pay the bills.
The only saving grace of Norbit is found in the characters of the town pimps, Pope Sweet Jesus (Eddie Griffin, Date Movie) and Lord Have Mercy (Katt Williams, Epic Movie), who also run a rib shack. Their one-liners and physical comedy are far more successful at earning a chuckle than anything else in the film. And their big scene at the end, far funnier than anything else in Norbit, seems like a long-overdue laugh. Although the two don’t really do anything to further the plot, they definitely provide some comic relief.
However, the fact that this comedy needs comic relief is an indication of just how awful it is. The tagline from Norbit asks, “Have you ever made a really big mistake?” Trust me, if you go see this movie, “yes” will be your answer.
Contact reporter Courtney Pomeroy at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
