Norbit
A Saturday post? What is this madness? Well, I thought I'd better post this up before it sinks even further into the dark, seething vat that is my movie memory.
Norbit: The movie that cost Eddie Murphy his Academy Award! You see, Norbit was released in the period between Dreamgirls' debut and Oscar night. Oscar watchers theorised that Norbit's critical panning clued Academy voters to cast their votes in Alan Arkin's direction. So no little gold man on Murphy's mantlepiece.
Norbit may fall squarely into Murphy's collection of lowbrow comedies, but I actually didn't find it as bad as critics had been grumbling. It's certainly better than the puerile Nutty Professor II (giant hamster sodomy, anyone?).
The film centres on good-hearted dweeb Norbit, raised in Mr Wong's orphanage. Norbit's desperation for a family sees him falling under the wing of monstrously obese Rasputia, and her bullying trio of brothers. For years he meekly accepts their abuse until the return of his childhood sweetheart (Thandie Newton) - as well as Rasputia's infidelity with a sleazy dance instructor - help him realise how mistreated he's been. However, with Rasputia's foul temper and considerable bulk, escaping a life he hates won't be easy for Norbit.
If you've seen the trailer for Norbit you've seen most of the funniest scenes in the film, but there are other laugh out loud moments. Any scene with Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams as former pimps turned fast-food dealers is good, and Rasputia's all-round badness is most apparent in her attempts to kill a little yapping pug.
Norbit is heavily reliant on 'fat' jokes, but the film is pretty cartoony and harmless in nature so I struggle to see how anyone would be offended... unless of course they share Rasputia's mix of obesity and nastiness.
The film is certainly helped by Eddie Murphy's convincing trio of performances - he plays Norbit, Rasputia and eldery Mr Wong, under Rick Baker's superb make-up effects. With camera trickery, sometimes you have to remind yourself that the characters are all played by the same person.
In the end Norbit is utterly forgettable, but if you are looking for some undemanding movie entertainment with an undemanding sense of humour, Norbit is perfectly fine as a Half-price Movie Tuesday release.
Norbit: The movie that cost Eddie Murphy his Academy Award! You see, Norbit was released in the period between Dreamgirls' debut and Oscar night. Oscar watchers theorised that Norbit's critical panning clued Academy voters to cast their votes in Alan Arkin's direction. So no little gold man on Murphy's mantlepiece.
Norbit may fall squarely into Murphy's collection of lowbrow comedies, but I actually didn't find it as bad as critics had been grumbling. It's certainly better than the puerile Nutty Professor II (giant hamster sodomy, anyone?).
The film centres on good-hearted dweeb Norbit, raised in Mr Wong's orphanage. Norbit's desperation for a family sees him falling under the wing of monstrously obese Rasputia, and her bullying trio of brothers. For years he meekly accepts their abuse until the return of his childhood sweetheart (Thandie Newton) - as well as Rasputia's infidelity with a sleazy dance instructor - help him realise how mistreated he's been. However, with Rasputia's foul temper and considerable bulk, escaping a life he hates won't be easy for Norbit.
If you've seen the trailer for Norbit you've seen most of the funniest scenes in the film, but there are other laugh out loud moments. Any scene with Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams as former pimps turned fast-food dealers is good, and Rasputia's all-round badness is most apparent in her attempts to kill a little yapping pug.
Norbit is heavily reliant on 'fat' jokes, but the film is pretty cartoony and harmless in nature so I struggle to see how anyone would be offended... unless of course they share Rasputia's mix of obesity and nastiness.
The film is certainly helped by Eddie Murphy's convincing trio of performances - he plays Norbit, Rasputia and eldery Mr Wong, under Rick Baker's superb make-up effects. With camera trickery, sometimes you have to remind yourself that the characters are all played by the same person.
In the end Norbit is utterly forgettable, but if you are looking for some undemanding movie entertainment with an undemanding sense of humour, Norbit is perfectly fine as a Half-price Movie Tuesday release.
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