#207: Norbit
Release Date: February 9th, 2007
Format: Streaming (Tubi)
Written by: Charlie Murphy, Eddie Murphy, David Ronn, and Jay Scherick
Directed by: Brian Robbins
1.5 Stars
How many couples went and saw Norbit on a Valentine’s Day date back in 2007? Talk about a rough night.
Although it became the movie that may have crushed Eddie Murphy’s moviemaking spirit, or what was left of it, I can understand why Paramount forked over $60 million for Norbit and went all-in on an Eddie Murphy starring vehicle that he co-wrote and produced:
America had Shrek fever, and Murphy was the voice of Shrek’s beloved sidekick, Donkey
Murphy had a strong track record at the box office with other broad comedies in which he played multiple characters under heavy prosthetics (Coming to America, The Nutty Professor and its sequel).
Tyler Perry was going drag and raking in millions with his low-budget Madea movies aimed primarily at black audiences. Paramount probably thought, ‘Well we can do that too, but bigger and better.’
The mid-’00s were arguably the pinnacle of raunch humor in mainstream American comedies. Jackass, the Farrelly Brothers, the Frat Pack, the American Pie franchise, ‘Unrated’ DVD releases…this was the comedy film environment that Norbit was entering into.
And boy did Norbit announce its arrival. Yes there is raunch, definitely, but its defining quality is just how god damn mean it is. Eddie (and his brother, Charlie Murphy) seem to hate all of these characters.
It’s a mean-spirited movie.
The story is about Norbit, a nebbish man who is strong-armed into marrying an abusive, loud, obese woman named Rasputia (both played by Murphy). Norbit dutifully tries to appease Rasputia, until one day his childhood sweetheart returns home and they rekindle their romance. The two have a special connection: they were raised in the same orphanage, run by a Chinese immigrant named Mr. Wong (also played by Murphy, in yellowface).
This brings us to race, which is central to Norbit. The movie reduces its characters to stereotypes: Immigrants, like the aforementioned Mr. Wong, are violent primitives who run small businesses. White people are just lame squares. Mexicans are drunks who wear sombreros. And black people? They are pimps, scammers, cheaters, liars, and/or criminals. They are violent, ignorant, and mean. The movie seems to hate them.
By Murphy’s own admission, the inspiration for Norbit came from watching viral internet videos “where really large women, African-American women, would beat up their tiny husbands,” which he found hilarious. I agree, that sounds pretty funny, and I can only imagine how funny it would be to watch those videos with Eddie and listen to him riff.
But watching him get vengeance for all those “tiny husbands” in Norbit is not fun. Norbit’s wife, Rasputia, is a vile human being. Murphy hates her, and wants us to hate her. He includes a scene where Rasputia drives her car onto a lawn to kill the neighbor’s pug and actually hits him, breaking his back legs.
In fact, the funniest scene in the movie comes later when Norbit doesn’t know what to do about his marriage and runs into the dog, Lloyd, his back legs raised up onto wheels so he can walk. He asks Lloyd rhetorically, “Lloyd, what am I gonna do?”
Lloyd inexplicably replies (Charlie Murphy does the voice), “Kill the bitch.”
“Excuse me. What’d you say?”
“You heard me. Rub her out. Take her down. Ice the bitch.”
“Hey Lloyd, you’re talking.”
“She took my legs, Norbit. She took my legs.”
This is really funny. Eddie and his brother Charlie (who passed away in 2017) are really funny. I’m not doubting for a second that the Murphy brothers are funny, or that the all-star cast is also funny (Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams, Terry Crews, Marlon Wayons). They are.
But Norbit hates its characters, Rasputia especially, and it’s mean. Funny is spots, but mostly just mean.
It’s too bad. Who knows if we’ll ever see Eddie Murphy try like this again?
