Review of Norbit (2007) by Jay R — 13 Mar 2011

To describe Norbit would be to describe some sort of apocalyptic nightmare, and I don't use that phrase lightly. Okay, maybe it isn't as bad as that, but the depressing feeling remains the same. Norbit stars Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy as Norbit, the queen of terror Raspusha, and the (incredibly offensive stereotype) "father" of Norbit, Mr. Wong. Norbit is a very vulnerable character, growing up an orphan and bullied on the schoolyard, who runs into a big problem named Raspusha. Aside from her ability to bring Norbit closer, seemingly by her own gravity, she enjoys running over dogs, being irrational, insanely jealous and ignorant. Norbit is able to strain a few cheap laughs from me, but this is a career implosion for Eddie Murphy. Offensive, cheap, lazily shot with a terrible message, Norbit is a gargantuan disaster.

Made for a decent sum of $60 million ($40 million of which I bet is spent on the ridiculous make-up) Norbit is completely unjustified in its awfulness. The worst part is that you can see potential. Maybe on how Raspusha could have been funny and light hearted in her approach. How Norbit's isolated life is why he can't have a decent conversation or relationship. Even a man dressing up in drag is funny if done properly. She's fat, we get it. Constantly bombarding us with ignorant and racist cracks, it is very hard to find a likable character in Norbit. Norbit, the character, isn't necessarily just likable, just too innocent to blame for everything.

And then we have Raspusha, probably the most butchered and mishandled character in recent memory. Murphy, who helped write this excruciating experience, plays Raspusha as everything you can't stand about a person. Not someone of a particular race, religion, ethnicity or anything like that, she is a terrible person. She abuses her husband, she destroys property. She is insecure, creepy, insanely jealous and very angry all the time. Not only is she unattractive physically, but she is just a scathing persona who is so hard to watch as she just annihilates everything in her path. She can be fat, loud and obnoxious. That is expected. I did not enjoy her company at all, and she is constantly on the screen. She abuses Norbit and forces him to stay around by telling lies and beating him. That just doesn't appeal to me.

The film just struggles to find any sort of purpose behind what the film is trying to say. It fails on its characters, because they are laughably acted. It fails on the front of comedy, because, despite some cheap laughs, it really isn't that funny. It fails on the front of a movie because it is caught between an absurdist love and fat jokes. That is beyond between a rock and a hard place. Norbit, the character and film, is caught in cinema blubbering.

By the end there is a terrible message. Norbit begins to fall in love with the highly attractive Kate (the wasted Thandie Newton). Obviously, Raspusha is out to kill him. Yes, she wants him dead. What a wife! However, Norbit finally begins to realize what a terrible wife Raspusha is, and finally wants to leave. By the end, nobody wins. We lose because the ending is predictable and cliche, and Raspusha loses because she becomes constantly exploited about her "weight problem". It's sad, and a terrible message for those watching.

There really isn't much else to say about Norbit. The stereotypes are sometimes offensive, even Norbit says to Mr. Wong at one point "isn't that a little racist?". Well, yeah it is. So since you realize that, why not try and fix that? It's sad when you can see the options a film could have taken, and then it goes for cheapness. That is what Norbit is: cheap. There is always something appealing about seeing a man dress up as a woman. And there is something so repulsive about the ability to say "Oscar Nominee Norbit". I shudder at that statement.