As a long-time fan of Eddie Murphy’s work, I must say that 2007’s Norbit was a peculiar addition to his filmography. Coming off the high of his Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirls, it seemed like an odd choice for him to dive into such a crude and stereotype-filled comedy. However, as I recently discovered while browsing through Letterboxd reviews, Norbit seems to be gaining a cult following of sorts.
2007 found me basking in the glory of Eddie Murphy’s award season success following his stellar performance in “Dreamgirls.” With high anticipation, he unveiled a production titled “Norbit” to the public. On the surface, it seemed to embody all the classic elements that had endeared his comedies to fans, yet something was amiss. The movie was a financial triumph, but it was met with an overwhelming wave of negative criticism. Some even speculate that its release prior to the Academy Awards voting may have cost Murphy the coveted Oscar that year. Regardless of its contemporary standing, it’s now being rediscovered and sparking a flurry of humorous, less-than-flattering reviews on Letterboxd.
There seems to be a mystery behind why movie enthusiasts on Letterboxd are all of a sudden re-evaluating the film “Norbit“, yet over the last few days, it has gained quite a bit of attention in terms of reviews. Since it can be found on Amazon Prime Video, perhaps it was an unusual pick for viewers during the spooky season as they wrapped up Halloween. No matter the reason, the comments are quite entertaining and could potentially establish “Norbit” as engaging “so bad it’s good” content to help pass the time in its upcoming phase.
In their 2.5-star critique, Forest Marshall remarked, “I dimly recall this film being an extended, roughly hour-and-a-half-long joke about flatulence.” This sentiment is shared by many critical reviews during its release, which often criticized the movie for being crass and a prolonged gag about farting. Contrastingly, user Josh M, in his one-star review, labeled it as a “Halloween classic,” but later advised viewers to skip certain sequences due to their poor quality, stating:
“Initially, I was planning to post an ironic review on Letterboxd and move on, but there’s a portion of this movie that’s so mind-blowingly bad, it needs closer examination. I implore you not to waste your time watching the entire film, but instead, take a look at it around 1 hour, 34 minutes and 25 seconds. The subsequent 25 seconds are a sequence of events so bizarre that they left my jaw agape like a stunned cartoon character.
Pachylord: “I genuinely think this movie was a fever dream”
Ben D: “Better than any Oscar-winner of the past decade.”
As a movie enthusiast, I awoke to find an unsettling film playing automatically on Amazon Prime following my late-night joyride. It sent a shiver down my spine.
Lewis: “Might be the worst movie ive ever watched idk”
Just as I anticipated, it turned out poorly. My hats off to Eddie Griffin and Katt Williams for their portrayal of Norbit’s former pimp companions.
Hunter Gerace: “A person at the Halloween party I attended just switched on this show before falling asleep on the couch at midnight, so I ended up watching it without much thought. Can you believe this is the same director as ‘Good Burger’? (Greetings!)
Norbit Wasn’t Loved by Critics
According to Hunter Gerace, the movie is directed by Brian Robbins, who was behind “Good Burger” from 1997, as well as “Varsity Blues” and “Hardball”. So, let’s be understanding about him transforming Dawson into a football star and stirring up emotions with the sad story of “G-Baby” in the baseball movie starring Keanu Reeves. After all, we can overlook “Norbit” when those movies are part of his directorial portfolio too.
In the movie “Norbit,” penned jointly by Murphy, the protagonist Norbit, portrayed by Murphy himself, experiences a heartwarming reunion with his childhood love Kate (Thandie Newton). Yet, standing between them are complications such as his overweight spouse Rasputia (also played by Murphy), whom he’s been unhappily married to for a long time, and her domineering brothers who further aggravate Norbit’s life. Terry Crews, Clifton Powell, Cuba Gooding Jr., Eddie Griffin, Katt Williams, and others also appear in the film.
Despite earning $159 million worldwide against a budget of only $60 million, the movie Norbit faced severe criticism and has a poor rating of 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics’ consensus reads: “Despite Eddie Murphy’s Oscar-nominated performance in Dreamgirls, his roles in Norbit, a crude, offensive comedy filled with stereotypes, are more disheartening than amusing.” Additionally, the film was nominated for eight Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, and ended up winning three of its nominations across different characters portrayed by Murphy.
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2024-11-01 21:01