It’s been a while since Eddie Murphy truly had a comedy film that does justice to his immense talent. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1996) was probably the last time Murphy truly hit all the right notes as a comedian. Since then most of his films have either been targeted at children with his brand of humour watered down or just not up to the mark with the exception of LIFE and DR. DOLITTLE. Films like HOLY MAN, BOWFINGER, SHOWTIME, I-SPY, and DADDY DAY CARE have all had Murphy retread the same material that he has done over and over again without anything new being offered(I have yet to see DREAMGIRLS). NORBIT from the promo’s looked like “return-to-form” for Eddie Murphy with a outright, politically incorrect comedy which is right up his alley, sadly despite a hilarious premise, and a spirited performances by Eddie Murphy who puts his heart and soul in to the performance salvaging the movie to a large extent, the movie still ends up as a disappointment.
Murphy’s ability to play multiple characters is a feat witnessed before in THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and its sequel. With NORBIT Murphy aims for the same affect by re-treading the same formula, however the movie turns in to a one-joke affair which starts out well, but loses steam mid-way.
The movie revolves around Norbit (Eddie Murphy) a mild-mannered man who is engaged to a monstrous woman Rasputia (Murphy again with layers and layers of make-up). He runs in to his childhood sweetheart again who he is still in love with Kate (the delicious ThandieNewton), and schemes to find a way to be with her.
The story written by Murphy himself with close friend Charles Murphy is a one-joke comedy. The initial reels of the movie have enough comic scenes merged with what seems like a decent enough story to get viewers engrossed. However as the movie progresses the jokes become staler and the narrative hits a dead end. The screenplay is laden with crude and loud jokes which I admittedly don’t have a problem with given they evoke the laughter and the gags are refreshing and new and sadly that’s where NORBIT fails.
Brian Robbins is a let-down as a director. He has hoped that the concept of Eddie Murphy playing multiple characters is enough for the movie, and sadly that’s not the case. The tone of the comedy is offensive, vile, loud, crude, exaggerated and completely over-the-top and Robbins doesn’t make any excuses about what he’s making here. However unlike say THE NUTTY PROFESSOR or even BIG MOMMA’s HOUSE the laughs and story run dry. One can’t really blame Robbins much here as it’s evident that Murphy was the ghost-director of this self indulgent mess and Robbins was a absentee director.
Eddie Murphy in my humble opinion is a comic genius, and I’ve always admired his comedy. With NORBIT he had the opportunity to strike a true comeback in the comic genre, however sadly he lets it go by. Playing dual characters who are diametrically opposite isn’t an easy job, and one must give full credit to Murphy and his make-up team for creating two characters who are total opposites. In-fact it’s hard to tell that it’s Murphy playing both roles. As the mild-mannered and geeky Norbit Murphy is as lovable as ever. He brings the right touch to the characters and manages to exude warmth with the character. The character draws an instant reminder to Steve Eurkle from the hit TV show FAMILY MATTERS for those that remember. However as Rasputia Murphy is a let-down. The character is no doubt meant to be one that is so disgusting and vile that the audience detests her right away, and on that front the makers succeed, however the barrage of “fat” jokes get tedious after a point as they become more offensive and painful than funny. The racial jokes in the movie too fail to evoke any kind of humour, and sadly Murphy’s efforts have gone to waste here.
The movie compromises of a huge supporting cast none of whom have been given a decent enough role to sink their teeth in to as Murphy dominated most of the film which is a pity.
Thandie Newton is the only reason I stayed till the end. GOD this women is just absolutely stunning..gorgeous! Draped in those tight summer dresses, wavering her sensually magnetic smile it’s hard not to be completely smitten by her. She owns every frame she is in with her natural beauty.
Comic geniuses in their own right, actors like Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams and Marlon Wayans have all been wasted in roles not worthy of their comic ability. If all these actors had been utilised properly NORBIT might have been elevated to something else.
Cuba Gooding Jnr is one of the saddest cases of an actor going to waste I have seen in Hollywood. After leaving his mark with a breakthrough performance in JERRY MACGUIRE (1996) the media even went on to call him “the next Denzel”. His subsequent releases were promising as well and he even got a chance to go head to head with Hopkins in INSTINCT (1999) and with De Niro in MEN OF HONOUR (2000) however none of these did much for his career, and now with NORBIT he has hit the rock bottom enacting a character that would usually go to the likes of Mohinish Behl in a Hindi film.
Overall, NORBIT does have funny moments, the first half has quiet a number of moments which make you laugh-out-loud however after a point the jokes run dry and the self-indulgence starts kicking and never let’s go.
Overall Rating=5.0/10.0
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