Norbit

What it’s about:

A tender-hearted wimp named Norbit (Eddie Murphy) marries a violent, monstrous woman named Rasputia (Eddie Murphy in a wig and a fat suit) despite the warnings of his grumpy old foster father Mr Wong (Eddie Murphy again). But when his childhood sweetheart Kate (Thandie Newton) returns to town, Norbit begin to regret his decision.

What we thought of it:

Eddie Murphy has talent, and not just the kind of talent that lets you play half the characters in a film, or the kind that earns you an Oscar nomination. Buried deep inside Murphy is the sort of 1000 degree wit that made comics like Richard Prior and Red Foxx such legends. Back in the ‘80s with his Raw show, Murphy was dangerous, you got the feeling he could say anything. Nowadays he’ll say anything all right, as long as it earns him a fat pay cheque.

It was bad enough when he was wasting his talent on crass rubbish like The Nutty Professor and Daddy Day Care, but at least those movies were sweet-centred family fare. Norbit on the other hand is as mean-spirited as it is aggressive. The simpering title character exists merely to act as a foil to the movie’s real reason for being – Rasputia.

It’s a kind of genius is a way. With a single character Eddie Murphy and his brother and co-writer Charlie have made it ok to laugh at fat people, to hate opinionated women, and to spout all the racist, sexist and misogynist filth they can dream up. It’s ok because Rasputia is so obviously the villain, right? Wrong. It’s actually “ok” because, deep down, we always enjoy a bit of hate with our comedy. When Rasputia finally gets what she deserves, we’re all thinking “Yeah! That’ll teach you, you fat bitch!”

At least that’s what the Murphy brothers are betting on, anyway. And that’s where the real tragedy of this story lies. It’s not in the waste of great actors like Cuba Gooding Jr. and Thandie Newton on paper-thin characters. It’s not even in the offensive racial stereotypes (blacks, Italians, Jews – everyone gets a kick). It’s in the fact that the once passionate Eddie Murphy has become a cynic. For all her shock value, Rasputia is nothing new, just a variation on one of mankind’s oldest and cruellest forms of entertainment – the freak show.

- Alistair Fairweather