Norbit (DVD)

Norbit (Eddie Muphy) had never had it easy. As a baby, he was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage and raised by Mr. Wong. Things get worse when he's forced into marriage by the mean, junk food-chugging queen, Rasputia (also Eddie Murphy). Just when Norbit's hanging by his last thread, his childhood sweetheart, Kate. Moves back to town, but can Norbit finally free himself from his nightmare life and get the girl of his dreams.

Please tell me Murphy was talked into this. Yes, he has followed a certain comedic formula in the last few years that has worked for him. But with Norbit, it seems like they came up with the fat suit first and said, "Oh, who cares about a story, Eddie will be hilarious in this." Um, not quite. There are a few moments in which Rasputia's antics make you chuckle, but Murphy's interpretation of a big, proud—and mean--black woman gets very tiresome, very quickly. And as Norbit, Murphy doesn't necessarily elicit the same kind of empathy he did in, say, The Nutty Professor. Actually, it's as the Chinese guy, Mr. Wong, that Murphy shines—but he isn't on screen much. Then there are the rest of the actors who got roped into Norbit. There's a laundry list of black comedic actors, including Eddie Griffin, Marlon Wayans, Katt Williams—even Cuba Gooding Jr. shows up as Kate's sleazy fiancé. Surprised? The real surprise is why Newton--who was so heartbreaking in Crash--would do Norbit. To show she has a cute, slightly ditzy, sugary sweet side? It isn't necessary.

MOVIE INFO
For all of Murphy's silly, latex-laden, heavily made-up comedies, there has always been a somewhat sweet story at its center, such as in The Nutty Professor and Coming to America. Not so in Norbit. It's really only about being mean-spirited--and, well, fat. The story centers on a geek, Norbit (Murphy), raised in an orphanage by a Chinese restaurant owner (also Murphy) who ends up marrying a rather obese bully named Rasputia (Murphy again). When his childhood sweetheart Kate (Thandie Newton) comes back to town, however, Norbit sees a light at the end of the tunnel to his miserable existence. Now if he could only move his wife's enormous derriere out of the way to reach the end of that tunnel...

MY OPINION
Eddie Murphy's Norbit rolls out and repeats all the tried-and-true fat jokes and other stereotypes; one character can't fit behind the wheel of her car and blames her husband for mal-adjusting the seat. A cursory look at the film might lead one to dismiss it, or even forget about it entirely. Fresh off "Dreamgirls" and the first Oscar nomination of his up-and-down career comes "Norbit," a strange, toneless collection of fat jokes, fart jokes and foul sex gags.

First, Martin Lawrence as Big Momma, then Tyler Perry as Madea, and now this? Enough already.

But in all a very funny movie.