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Movies / On DVD / Norbit
Norbit

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Norbit (2007)

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Reviews Counted:116

Fresh:10

Rotten:106

Average Rating:3.3/10

Consensus: Coming off his Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirls, the talented-but-inconsistent Eddie Murphy plays three roles in Norbit, a cruel, crass, stereotype-filled comedy that's more depressing than funny.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for crude and sexual humor, some nudity and language

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:09-03-2007

Synopsis: Norbit (Eddie Murphy, channeling Buckwheat and Woody Allen) is a shy, nebbishy fellow, raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy again) in a combination orphanage/Chinese restaurant in Boiling Springs,... Norbit (Eddie Murphy, channeling Buckwheat and Woody Allen) is a shy, nebbishy fellow, raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy again) in a combination orphanage/Chinese restaurant in Boiling Springs, Tennessee. As a child, Norbit comes to love Kate, a fellow orphan, but the soulmates are separated when Kate is adopted. Enter Rasputia, an aggressive, plus-sized 10-year-old who protects him from bullies and demands his romantic loyalty, much like her thuggish older brothers demand "protection" money from all the merchants in Boiling Springs. Rasputia and Norbit eventually marry--and the peevish adult Rasputia is played to great comic effect by Eddie Murphy in a fat suit. Although Rasputia is controlling, unfaithful, hideous-looking, and always madder than a hornet, she and Norbit make a life together, albeit one based on inertia, fear, and complacency. The bubble bursts when the now-grown Kate (Thandie Newton) returns to Boiling Springs to buy Mr. Wong's orphanage. Norbit's love is rekindled, and he must find a way to end his loveless marriage, save Kate from marrying a crooked philanderer (Cuba Gooding Jr., in a rare villainous turn), and prevent Rasputia's brothers from carrying through with a big con job that would destroy the orphanage and Kate's life. Eddie Murphy, not surprisingly, carries the show, with broad, juvenile humor, fat jokes, and pratfalls, and while he never aims very high, he manages to inject some poignancy into Norbit's and Wong's characters, even as he plays Rasputia strictly for laughs. It's not Shakespeare--it's not even BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE--but the laughs are as big as Rasputia's muumuu. [More]

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Cuba Gooding, Charlie Murphy

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Cuba Gooding, Charlie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Terry Crews, Clifton Powell

Director: Brian Robbins

Director: Brian Robbins
Screenwriter: Jay Scherick, David Ronn
Producer: John Davis, Michael Tollin
Composer: David Newman
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Norbit

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Eddie Murphy reteams with Nutty Professor makeup artist Rick Baker to show those whippersnappers Martin Lawrence and Tyler Perry how a black comedian in a fat-lady suit gets the job done. He half-succeeds.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
02/09/07
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
E! Online

Norbit may be the most disturbing, morally repugnant, nightmare-inducing film of the century so far.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/09/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News

After taking in double helpings of Tyler Perry and Martin Lawrence doing the same shtick in the Madea movies and Big Momma's House, isn't it time for us to just say no to Norbit?

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
02/09/07
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press

This borderline-PG-13 comedy demands the sort of sociological scrutiny that often has the moviegoer looking for a fun night out rolling her eyes. And granting Norbit consideration feels like swinging a sledgehammer at a microbe.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
02/09/07
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

Apparently all fat people are inherently evil.

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
02/09/07
Joshua Tyler
Joshua Tyler
CinemaBlend.com

Norbit briefly thrives on the power of Murphy's genius and then becomes mean-spirited and depressing.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
02/09/07
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

The movie seems a weird nightmare of rampaging femininity and gross gags.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
02/09/07
Michael Wilmington
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune

There is potential all over this film, but every scene is overwrought with unfunny caricatures and tired jokes. We've seen every gimmick and sight gag before, in better, funnier films.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
02/09/07
Teresa Budasi
Teresa Budasi
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is all pretty ordinary Murphy movie stuff, which is to say it's kinda funny most of the time and very funny some of the time.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment 2 Comments
02/09/07
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

Dumb and coarse and sometimes boring and a little bit sad.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
02/09/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

Eddie Murphy in another fat suit? What could possibly go wrong with that? Oh, plenty, let me tell you.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
02/09/07
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

Eddie Murphy's finest example of multi-role playing is still his first, 1988's Coming to America. Compared to that comedic gem, Norbit is little more than excess weight.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
02/09/07
Tyler Hanley
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly

Murphy may bring down the house in Dreamgirls, but -- despite its crudities and obvious failures -- Freud would find Norbit significantly more interesting.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/09/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

From start to finish, Norbit is dismally unfunny, inspiring this Sign of the Apocalypse observation: Big Momma's House 2 was better.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
02/09/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

If I thought hijacking a plane carrying prints of the film and crashing it into Murphy's house would put a stop to it, I'd go out and buy a box cutter right now.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
02/09/07
Pete Vonder Haar
Pete Vonder Haar
Film Threat

...works on a basic level, but I left it very sad.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
02/09/07
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

one long fat joke... a vanity showcase that exists for no reason except to put as much of its star as possible on the screen.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
02/09/07
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

[Rasputia is] violent, vulgar, selfish, and lacking the subtlety of even a fairy tale orge or evil stepmother. The character undercuts the entire film.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
02/09/07
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

It's not hard to detect this creature [Rasputia] as the object of something like pure hate by four male screenwriters. Comedy like this isn't pretty.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/09/07
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Too many of the gags in the sloppy comedy Norbit are lumbering and graceless, more fun to anticipate than to witness.

comment Comment
02/09/07
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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