Eddie Murphy is unironically one of the funniest guys around. It’s hard to believe these days for reasons that will soon become clear, but from the 80s through the early 2000s this dude was one of the most hilarious and charismatic actors around. And that’s the thing—he was genuinely very charismatic, something a lot of modern comedians and comedic actors lack. Like I didn’t love Beverly Hills Cop, but his performance made it impossible to hate. From SNL to his film debut in 48 Hrs. to his iconic voice acting roles as Mushu and Donkey, Murphy wasn’t always hitting it out of the park at the box office but he was always beloved and respected. But then something happened. A certain film came along that derailed his entire career…
Yeah, we’re not quite at Norbit yet. Murphy’s career took his first big hit with The Adventures of Pluto Nash, a film I’m sure I’ll end up talking about on here one of these days. But surprisingly, with how reviled that movie was, he didn’t have too hard a time crawling back into the good graces of critics. Daddy Day Care and The Haunted Mansion weren’t exactly critical darlings but they’re decent enough, and then along came a film that truly won him the respect and adoration he deserved…
Yeah, still not Norbit. Dreamgirls got him an Academy Award nomination and critical respect once more. See, that just highlights what a talent Murphy is, when he can bounce back from a brutal hit in only four years. The only thing left for him at this point was to cash in on that newfound respect and utilize his career resurrection to its fullest extent!
But he didn’t do that. Finally, we are at Norbit.
Released a year after his Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirls, this lowbrow comedy was critically reviled and snuffed out any attempt at a comeback from Murphy. For over a decade his starring roles were few, far between, and not particularly noteworthy, with his role in the Shrek franchise basically being his claim to fame (a similar fate befell fellow SNL alumni and Shrek star Mike Meyers thanks to The Cat in the Hat).It wasn’t until he returned to R-rated comedy in 2019’s Dolemite is My Name that he managed to drag himself out of the gutter.
Apparently this film was supposed to be a lot darker than it ended up being, which is what attracted Thandiwe Newton to the project as the black comedy therein intrigued her. Unfortunately, she was displeased with the final product, which watered down the abuse the title character faces from his wife among other things. She also didn’t get to interact with Murphy much due to his dual role, meaning she was mostly stuck interacting with his stand-ins, which would probably upset me to. If I’m gonna be in a movie with an iconic comedian, I’d kinda want to hang out with that comedian, y’know?
Besides Murphy’s career, this movie didn’t seem to badly impact anyone else, but it did help kill a trend: Fat suits. Between this film’s horrible reception, audiences vibing with comedies that depicted less larger-than-life personas amplified by prosthetics and more natural characters like in the works of Judd Apatow, and Tropic Thunder viciously skewering fat suit comedies via Jack Black’s Jeff Portnoy and his fat, fart-laden filmography, fat suits have pretty much gone the way of the dodo. And… frankly, I think that’s mostly for the best. I don’t think there’s anything inherently problematic with fat suits, especially if you need to portray an unhealthily obese character a la The Whale, but their use in comedy always implied there’s something inherently funny with being fat. Especially in this day and age, this just seems tasteless and cruel.
To this day, though, Murphy has defended this film. As recently as 2025 he has defended it, saying critics were too harsh and that it isn’t his worst movie. Does Murphy have a point, or is he just still bitter about what a bad movie did to his career all these years later? That’s what I’m here to determine!
THE GOOD
It’s hard to deny the biggest saving grace of the movie are the two pimps played by Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams, Pope Sweet Jesus and Lord Have Mercy. They got genuine laughs out of me whenever they showed up, were actually nice to Norbit, and steal the whole show when they hijack the wedding at the end of the film to buy Norbit some time. It’s not surprising when side characters end up stealing the show, but it’s a lot more impressive when they’re stealing the show from Eddie Murphy.
This movie won Rick Baker an Oscar for Best Makeup, and while this seems laughable to the point of comparing it to Suicide Squad’s win, it is an entirely deserved victory. The level of work put in to make Rasputia a believable character is astounding. Heavyset doubles with Eddie Murphy’s face being digitally transplanted onto them should not be this convincing, but it is almost impossible to tell. I actually had to double check IMDB to be entirely sure Murphy was playing her. In a way, it is kind of hilarious one of the greatest and most convincing works of dual performance ever put to film was in fucking Norbit of all things, but I’m not complaining.
Speaking of Rasputia, she actually surprised me because I was absolutely thinking I was going to hate her for the wrong reasons instead of the right ones, but ultimately I think she’s a pretty entertaining unsympathetic villain. She actually got a few chuckles out of me, especially with the bed-breaking sex montage and the water slide incident. I do think at points they portray her abuse of Norbit as a bit too lighthearted and I don’t like how she barely gets any comeuppance, but she did not grate my nerves like I imagined she would. The same goes for Norbit himself; I thought I’d find him a frustratingly insufferable pushover, but I kind of found his character engaging and interesting, and his character arc was done decently well for what this film is. When he finally manages to stand up to Rasputia and pull a fast one on her, I was genuinely impressed and even proud of him. So yeah, I’d say Murphy did good with two out of three of his characters. The third? Uh...
THE BAD
Yeah, I’m not defending this Mickey Rooney bullshit. I thought this was bad when I believed this was just a Chinese actor that was forced to play as stereotypical a role as possible. Imagine my disgust when I found out this is fucking Eddie Murphy in yellowface. I guess I’m much more impressed with the makeup here than I was with Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but this is still a blisteringly racist caricature that I cannot believe was okayed even back in the mid 2000s.
The most Rasputia-sized problem with the movie, however, is the plot. I actually really liked the story, truth be told, but the problem is the tone. This is actually a pretty chilling depiction of female-on-male abuse, with Rasputia constantly dominating the meek and timid Norbit, pressuring him into sex and emotionally and physically abusing him. This leads Norbit to trying to find escape in his childhood love, which only angers Rasputia more and leads to more abuse. On paper, this is actually a very interesting concept and there are points where it actually works. The issue is that, by and large, all of this abuse is played for laughs. I don’t think I need to explain why this is just utterly disgusting. It most certainly wouldn’t be funny watching a fat man pressure a timid woman into having sex and slapping her around, and the reverse isn’t particularly funny either.
In the film’s defense, it never portrays Norbit as anything less than sympathetic, and I will admit some of the abuse got a cheap laugh out of me, but by and large it was just jarring tonal inconsistency. I think if they really wanted to make this comedic they should’ve stuck more to the black comedy of the original script and just gone darker a la Heathers. That movie works because while it is showing genuinely horrible things like teenagers murdering each other, suicide, and attempted school bombings, it knows when to reign it in and play things seriously and when to mine a few laughs from the bleak events unfolding. I think things would’ve been a bit easier to swallow if Rasputia and her family got more of a comeuppance for their various crimes, but they ultimately escape punishment and live in exile in Mexico. Like they still lost everything they had, but I think this is really a slap on the wrist considering the kind of characters they were. Ultimately, I get why this movie left a bad taste in Newton’s mouth.
IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?
Honestly, I think I’m with Murphy on this one. This is not his worst movie.
Now, do I think it’s a good movie? Fuck no! This is stupid, bottom-of-the-barrel lowbrow schlock! But it is exceptionally well-made lowbrow schlock, and there is enough effort and passion to be seen in this that I kind of respect the movie. I don’t think I’m a fan per se, but if someone were to tell me they enjoyed Norbit I’m not gonna look at them funny like I would if they said they liked Meet the Spartans or Epic Movie. I’m a huge fan of Freddy Got Fingered and I love White Chicks, I’m not immune to trashy 2000s comedies.
Its 4.3 is… kind of fair? At my most charitable I’d give it a 5, but my actual rating is a 3. That’s the rating I give not just to movies I find pretty bad, but so bad it’s good movies that I appreciate in a way but ultimately just don’t totally vibe with. This is definitely the latter category. I can’t say I particularly like this film because of everything wrong with it, but I have to say I respect it for what it does well. If you like those trashy 2000s comedies, there are a lot worse than this one and I'd say give it a watch.
