Norbit ReviewPLOT: A gentle nerd marries a huge, terrifying woman because he doesn't know how to get out of the relationship. Then his true love comes back into his life. This is all about Eddie Murphy playing dress-up, and we've seen it before. You wouldn't call this a recommendation, exactly, but the new Eddie Murphy movie is not nearly as horrible as it looks. Norbit is a typical multiple-Murphy comedy, with the actor playing several roles courtesy of makeup and prosthetics. He's the meek orphan, Norbit. He's Rasputia, Norbit's obese and terrifying wife. And he's the elderly, racist Chinese man who runs the orphanage. For all we know, he's also the dog next door, a potted plant and the entire gospel choir. Who can tell? Anyway, you can watch Norbit and not turn into a pillar of salt or anything. It even has a few laughs. Norbit begins with a long intro bit about a baby boy left at an orphanage, the child's gentle nature, the little girl orphan he grows up with and the weird Asian guy (Murphy) running the orphanage. Pretty lame. The orphans, Norbit and Kate, grow up to be Murphy and Thandie Newton. They go their separate ways. Murphy winds up marrying Rasputia, a bullying giant of a woman he meets in grade school. After she walks all over him, Norbit's one true love, Kate, comes back into his life. What's a meek guy to do? While Norbit is mostly blubber jokes about how fat Rasputia really is (sight gag: The marital bed collapsing under her weight, again and again; Rasputia in a bikini; Rasputia cramming her girth into a tiny car), the movie is not without genuine laughs. Most of those laughs are generated by the other actors. Murphy had the good sense to find small roles for Marlon Wayans, Terry Crews, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clifton Powell. And as former pimps running a restaurant, Eddie Griffin and Kat Williams are the scene-stealing best thing in the movie. Norbit isn't really a movie so much as it's a collection of sight gags and comedy bits that show off what Murphy can do. And as he proved in Dreamgirls, what Murphy can do is probably a lot more than channelling Buckwheat and Madea. Anyway, Norbit tends to confirm one's worst suspicions about Murphy and what appears to be his general fear and loathing of women. The Rasputia gag gets a little freaky if you think about it too much. And you wouldn't want to dwell on how much Thandie Newton looks like a slender boy in her role as Norbit's true love, either. So don't. BOTTOM LINE: Not much new here, but there are a few decent laughs and plenty of sight gags to amuse. Most Popular |
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