NORBIT isn't one of Murphy's best, a poor cousin to his other multiple-role comedies. As Rasputia, whose catchphrase is a brassy "How you doin'?", he's surprisingly unfunny. Norbit himself is a weak reworking of Jiff Ramsey, the socially challenged and funnier character Murphy played in 1999's amusing BOWFINGER. And much of the movie - which Murphy wrote with a small posse of collaborators - is taken up with the torturously dull, not to mention unbelievable, romance between Norbit and Kate (a disappointingly lackluster Newton), and the tedious agenda of Cuba Gooding Jr. as a schemer-manipulator.

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NORBIT (Murphy avec des grosses lunettes et un afro) est écrasé, au figuré et littéralement, par sa femme obèse (Murphy avec des tonnes de bourrelets en latex), ce qui désole le restaurateur chinois (Murphy, méconnaissable sous l'épais maquillage) qui l'a élevé et sa meilleure amie (non! pas Murphy, Thandie Newton!). Il est toujours impressionnant de voir Murphy jouer de multiples personnages, même s'il l'a déjà souvent fait (UN PRINCE À NEW YORK, NIGAUD DE PROFESSEUR, BOWFINGER, etc.). Toutefois, il pousse ici trop loin les grimaces, les gags vulgaires et les stéréotypes raciaux, et NORBIT est plus embarrassant que drôle.

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If you don’t appreciate the vulgar pleasures of broad comedy, the ongoing fat joke in NORBIT will likely strike you as misogynistic and mean-spirited, which may not be too far off the mark. (...) the fun in NORBIT is watching Murphy at work - the guy has a knack for bringing the physicality of his comic characters to life. He plays three roles here, including Norbit’s adopted father, a stubborn Chinese immigrant with no sense of political correctness, and they’re all fully realized in the physical sense but sadly lacking otherwise. It’s too bad that the script doesn’t serve Murphy’s multi-character talents in the way he deserves. If and when it ever does, he may actually make a comedy for the ages.

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NORBIT, a raucous, sloppy comedy directed by Brian Robbins, is primarily a showcase for the talents of its star, Eddie Murphy (also credited as a producer and a screenwriter), and Rick Baker, who was in charge of “special makeup effects”. Mr. Murphy’s polymorphous sketch-comedy chops have previously been enhanced by Mr. Baker’s mastery of fat-suit and latex-mask techniques in the two NUTTY PROFESSOR movies. In this film the makeup, along with editing tricks and visual effects, allow Mr. Murphy to play three different characters. (...) Mr. Robbins’s direction is adequate. He doesn’t mess up the story - it was a mess to begin with - but too many of the gags are lumbering and graceless, more fun to anticipate than to witness.

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