You’ve got to hand it to Eddie Murphy; in movies where he plays multiple roles, he is brilliant in getting so much into character that he almost disappears completely. You don’t think of Eddie playing himself in these roles at all. You see him being the characters. With the help of makeup artist Rick Baker, he has managed to pull off this feat in movies like “Coming To America” and “The Nutty Professor.” Last year, they got to work together again in “Norbit,” and Baker has again received an Oscar nomination for his work which is simply designed to add to Eddie’s characters. This is further proof that your movie doesn’t have to be any good to get an Oscar nomination.
I have heard nothing but crap about this movie, and yet it was still a big hit at the box office. Even “Pluto Nash” had to better than this! “Norbit” is one of the most uncomfortably awful experiences that I have ever had watching a movie. It’s right up there with “Mommie Dearest” in extremely unpleasant experiences. It is racist, endlessly cruel, and watching it made me sick and nauseous. Now, it takes a lot to offend me, and I feel like I can take anything in after awhile. The fact that I managed to sit through this whole movie and not turn it off is what I would consider a testament to my endurance. I thought running Cross Country in high school was tough enough, but this movie takes the cake for grueling challenges.
Watching it, you have to wonder what was going through Eddie and his brother Charlie’s minds. Did they really think any of this would be funny? Did they realize how cruel they were being to different people? Can you believe that this shit got a PG-13 rating instead of an R? This is one of the last movies you should ever take your kids to! It is a waste of time and talent, and I can’t believe that Eddie chose this movie to be the follow up to his Oscar winning performance in “Dreamgirls.”
The movie starts with Norbit introducing himself and tells of how he came to be. This leads to the first scene where we see a speeding car driving by an orphanage that’s out in the middle of nowhere, and the driver opens the door and simply tosses baby Norbit out. That is not funny, that is stupid. Then we meet the owner of the orphanage, Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy, again), who discovers baby Norbit outside his orphanage and takes him while saying that he is an “ugly baby.” That is also not funny. Norbit spends much of his young life in the orphanage, and is later befriended by a cute girl named Kate. They are as close as kids can be until she is adopted and taken out of Norbit’s life.
We see Norbit again a few years later where he is being beaten up by twins on a playground, and then saved by a heavyset girl named Rasputia who makes it clear that she is now his girlfriend no matter what. Norbit keeps saying in his voiceover how close they are, but we the audience know better. They end up getting married, and it is a loveless marriage that Norbit would love to escape from if he had the courage. But then he meets up again with his friend Kate from the orphanage (Thandie Newton) who is engaged to a man (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who we quickly see is up to no good. Will Norbit and Kate come together and rise above all that is holding them back? What do you think?
The plot of “Norbit” is as predictable and old as they come. We all know how it’s going to end, and we have to wade through a lot hideous crap to get there. Norbit himself is a sweet little nerd as portrayed by Eddie, but the characters in the movie are nothing but cruel to him. You have to wonder how Norbit could have stayed so sweet in a world that is so utterly hateful to him. The fact that he didn’t go crazy in high school is amazing. While Eddie is charming as Norbit, he also plays two other characters that are the polar opposite.
Mr. Wong is a triumph of makeup design in that you cannot at all recognize Eddie as he fashions an Asian accent that adds to his latex exterior. But the character of Mr. Wong is so blatantly racist and cruel to Norbit, that it’s a hopeless wonder to figure out how and why Norbit would stay in touch with him over the years. Wong even makes it clear late in the movie that he is a racist, but why bother saying so when that is so blatantly clear? Is this supposed to excuse the filmmakers for creating him in the first place? I always get annoyed when groups of people protest or boycott a movie because they feel the characterizations are demeaning to them; as if one person in a movie should be the representative of an entire race of people. I usually don’t see that being the case in many of the movies I have seen, but a very strong case can be made here. You can’t help but come out of this movie feeling that Eddie has serious issues with Asians.
But that is nothing compared to the most infamous character that Eddie brings to the movie. Rasputia, a 400 or so pound woman with disgusting flaps of cellulite hanging out from everywhere, is one of the most repulsive characters to come out of any movie I have ever seen. From the trailer, I was under the mistaken assumption that Eddie Murphy would give a brilliant comic performance. But there are absolutely no redeeming qualities in this character because Eddie doesn’t even bother to bring any to her. She is a hateful bitch who abuses everyone around her and who has absolutely no sympathy for her long suffering husband who she treats like absolute crap. Why is she even with him anyway? Does treating Norbit like shit and running over dogs with her car give her the only joy she can ever have? Do people like this actually exist? After watching this train wreck of a comedy, I shudder to think so.
In addition, you have Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams playing a bunch of pimps looking to make money on just about everything in sight. There is no real point to having these characters in the movie, none that I can see anyway. There is an especially insulting scene halfway through the movie where they are strolling around a county fair and decide to take over a kissing booth. They make the woman doing the kissing their new “ho.” The next thing you, this white woman who is the ticket taker for the booth decides she wants to be a “ho” too. Yeah, right! Nobody can be that stupid. Naïve maybe, but never that stupid.
And then we have Cuba Gooding Jr. in a role that is another tired reminder of just how far his career has fallen since he got the Oscar for “Jerry Maguire.” He plays the devious fiancé to Thandie Newton’s character who joins in with Rasputia’s brothers, who are neighborhood thugs taking money from store owners, in a scheme that will involve taking Kate’s money. In all fairness, he was very good in Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” but it doesn’t change the fact that after he did “Norbit,” he went on to star in the Eddie Murphy-less “Daddy Day Camp” which met with empty audiences and chirping crickets. Watching Cuba these days makes me sad. What happened to that great actor we first saw in “Boyz N The Hood?”
If anyone deserves to come out of this movie unscathed, it is Thandie Newton as she is an ethereal presence here. She is ever so lovely as she is in just about everything she does, but I can’t help but wonder what attracted her to this project in the first place. Was the opportunity to work with Eddie Murphy so irresistible that she didn’t even bother to look at the script? She must have so many other projects that she could have chosen from. But then again, this movie wastes the talent of everyone involved and not just her.
Seriously, I find it hard to believe that there could have been a worse movie to come out in 2007. I managed to avoid most of the crap that was inflicted on the movie going public, but this one I just had to witness for myself. A lot of comedy can be found in stereotypical characters and behaviors, but there has got to be a way to do it with intelligence and wit. There’s none of that here. When Eddie did his remake of “The Nutty Professor,” it could have easily been offensive to fat people at the least, but it had a lot of heart to it and managed to make a point that we cannot be what others want us to be. There is nothing to be gained here from “Norbit,” and there is no warmth to be found. Watching this movie is like hearing nails on a chalkboard.
The movie is also another in a long line of examples of how empty-headed the MPAA is when it comes to rating movies. This movie did originally get an R rating, but it was brought down to a PG-13 after an appeal. WHY???!!! This movie is definitely not for kids, let alone anyone else. I certainly don’t want my nieces exposed to this crap if I can help it. Meanwhile, the MPAA continues to give NC-17 to movies with intelligence and daring. Oh the hypocrisy!
Will Eddie ever live this piece of shit down? Time will only tell on that one. He has certainly bounced back from other disasters like “Pluto Nash” and “I Spy” among others. But the fact that he was so involved in the writing of this movie makes me wonder about him as a person. Does he really believe all the things his characters say and do in this movie? I sure as shit hope he doesn’t pass this same form of intelligence onto his kids.
Yes folks, there is nothing more depressing than a comedy that does not make you laugh.
ZERO out of ****
I have heard nothing but crap about this movie, and yet it was still a big hit at the box office. Even “Pluto Nash” had to better than this! “Norbit” is one of the most uncomfortably awful experiences that I have ever had watching a movie. It’s right up there with “Mommie Dearest” in extremely unpleasant experiences. It is racist, endlessly cruel, and watching it made me sick and nauseous. Now, it takes a lot to offend me, and I feel like I can take anything in after awhile. The fact that I managed to sit through this whole movie and not turn it off is what I would consider a testament to my endurance. I thought running Cross Country in high school was tough enough, but this movie takes the cake for grueling challenges.
Watching it, you have to wonder what was going through Eddie and his brother Charlie’s minds. Did they really think any of this would be funny? Did they realize how cruel they were being to different people? Can you believe that this shit got a PG-13 rating instead of an R? This is one of the last movies you should ever take your kids to! It is a waste of time and talent, and I can’t believe that Eddie chose this movie to be the follow up to his Oscar winning performance in “Dreamgirls.”
The movie starts with Norbit introducing himself and tells of how he came to be. This leads to the first scene where we see a speeding car driving by an orphanage that’s out in the middle of nowhere, and the driver opens the door and simply tosses baby Norbit out. That is not funny, that is stupid. Then we meet the owner of the orphanage, Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy, again), who discovers baby Norbit outside his orphanage and takes him while saying that he is an “ugly baby.” That is also not funny. Norbit spends much of his young life in the orphanage, and is later befriended by a cute girl named Kate. They are as close as kids can be until she is adopted and taken out of Norbit’s life.
We see Norbit again a few years later where he is being beaten up by twins on a playground, and then saved by a heavyset girl named Rasputia who makes it clear that she is now his girlfriend no matter what. Norbit keeps saying in his voiceover how close they are, but we the audience know better. They end up getting married, and it is a loveless marriage that Norbit would love to escape from if he had the courage. But then he meets up again with his friend Kate from the orphanage (Thandie Newton) who is engaged to a man (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who we quickly see is up to no good. Will Norbit and Kate come together and rise above all that is holding them back? What do you think?
The plot of “Norbit” is as predictable and old as they come. We all know how it’s going to end, and we have to wade through a lot hideous crap to get there. Norbit himself is a sweet little nerd as portrayed by Eddie, but the characters in the movie are nothing but cruel to him. You have to wonder how Norbit could have stayed so sweet in a world that is so utterly hateful to him. The fact that he didn’t go crazy in high school is amazing. While Eddie is charming as Norbit, he also plays two other characters that are the polar opposite.
Mr. Wong is a triumph of makeup design in that you cannot at all recognize Eddie as he fashions an Asian accent that adds to his latex exterior. But the character of Mr. Wong is so blatantly racist and cruel to Norbit, that it’s a hopeless wonder to figure out how and why Norbit would stay in touch with him over the years. Wong even makes it clear late in the movie that he is a racist, but why bother saying so when that is so blatantly clear? Is this supposed to excuse the filmmakers for creating him in the first place? I always get annoyed when groups of people protest or boycott a movie because they feel the characterizations are demeaning to them; as if one person in a movie should be the representative of an entire race of people. I usually don’t see that being the case in many of the movies I have seen, but a very strong case can be made here. You can’t help but come out of this movie feeling that Eddie has serious issues with Asians.
But that is nothing compared to the most infamous character that Eddie brings to the movie. Rasputia, a 400 or so pound woman with disgusting flaps of cellulite hanging out from everywhere, is one of the most repulsive characters to come out of any movie I have ever seen. From the trailer, I was under the mistaken assumption that Eddie Murphy would give a brilliant comic performance. But there are absolutely no redeeming qualities in this character because Eddie doesn’t even bother to bring any to her. She is a hateful bitch who abuses everyone around her and who has absolutely no sympathy for her long suffering husband who she treats like absolute crap. Why is she even with him anyway? Does treating Norbit like shit and running over dogs with her car give her the only joy she can ever have? Do people like this actually exist? After watching this train wreck of a comedy, I shudder to think so.
In addition, you have Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams playing a bunch of pimps looking to make money on just about everything in sight. There is no real point to having these characters in the movie, none that I can see anyway. There is an especially insulting scene halfway through the movie where they are strolling around a county fair and decide to take over a kissing booth. They make the woman doing the kissing their new “ho.” The next thing you, this white woman who is the ticket taker for the booth decides she wants to be a “ho” too. Yeah, right! Nobody can be that stupid. Naïve maybe, but never that stupid.
And then we have Cuba Gooding Jr. in a role that is another tired reminder of just how far his career has fallen since he got the Oscar for “Jerry Maguire.” He plays the devious fiancé to Thandie Newton’s character who joins in with Rasputia’s brothers, who are neighborhood thugs taking money from store owners, in a scheme that will involve taking Kate’s money. In all fairness, he was very good in Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” but it doesn’t change the fact that after he did “Norbit,” he went on to star in the Eddie Murphy-less “Daddy Day Camp” which met with empty audiences and chirping crickets. Watching Cuba these days makes me sad. What happened to that great actor we first saw in “Boyz N The Hood?”
If anyone deserves to come out of this movie unscathed, it is Thandie Newton as she is an ethereal presence here. She is ever so lovely as she is in just about everything she does, but I can’t help but wonder what attracted her to this project in the first place. Was the opportunity to work with Eddie Murphy so irresistible that she didn’t even bother to look at the script? She must have so many other projects that she could have chosen from. But then again, this movie wastes the talent of everyone involved and not just her.
Seriously, I find it hard to believe that there could have been a worse movie to come out in 2007. I managed to avoid most of the crap that was inflicted on the movie going public, but this one I just had to witness for myself. A lot of comedy can be found in stereotypical characters and behaviors, but there has got to be a way to do it with intelligence and wit. There’s none of that here. When Eddie did his remake of “The Nutty Professor,” it could have easily been offensive to fat people at the least, but it had a lot of heart to it and managed to make a point that we cannot be what others want us to be. There is nothing to be gained here from “Norbit,” and there is no warmth to be found. Watching this movie is like hearing nails on a chalkboard.
The movie is also another in a long line of examples of how empty-headed the MPAA is when it comes to rating movies. This movie did originally get an R rating, but it was brought down to a PG-13 after an appeal. WHY???!!! This movie is definitely not for kids, let alone anyone else. I certainly don’t want my nieces exposed to this crap if I can help it. Meanwhile, the MPAA continues to give NC-17 to movies with intelligence and daring. Oh the hypocrisy!
Will Eddie ever live this piece of shit down? Time will only tell on that one. He has certainly bounced back from other disasters like “Pluto Nash” and “I Spy” among others. But the fact that he was so involved in the writing of this movie makes me wonder about him as a person. Does he really believe all the things his characters say and do in this movie? I sure as shit hope he doesn’t pass this same form of intelligence onto his kids.
Yes folks, there is nothing more depressing than a comedy that does not make you laugh.
ZERO out of ****
How did Thandie Newton get in this mess?
I miss when Murphy used to work for John Landis or Walter Hill. THis, The Haunted Mansion and Pluto Nash I have not seen. I just have no interest in this kind of film anymore.
Great review!!
How in the blue hell did this get nominated for an oscar? if it wins, ill have the shits for weeks.
Has any movie ever simultaneously won and Oscar AND a razzie?
I just hate having to read the title...
OSCAR CLEANUP: NORBIT REVIEW
That just gets my panties in a bunch...
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