Norbit (2007)

Norbit is the kind of broad, shameless studio comedy that lives or dies on commitment, and Eddie Murphy attacks it with the fearless, full-body bravado of a performer who knows exactly how ridiculous he’s willing to get for a laugh. Watching him bounce between multiple larger-than-life characters—helped by impressively elastic makeup and a cartoonish physicality—is the main event, and the movie keeps the energy high with loud personalities, small-town absurdity, and a steady drumbeat of escalating chaos. The vibe is raunchy and mean-spirited at times, the kind of humor that swings big and doesn’t always land softly, but if you’re in the mood for a no-apologies, turn-your-brain-off farce anchored by a star doing maximal work, it’s hard to deny the entertainment value. If crude jokes and aggressive relationship comedy aren’t your thing, you’ll want to steer clear—but for Murphy fans, it’s a showcase of pure, unfiltered comic performance.

Norbit is trying to be a broad, old-school farce where Eddie Murphy plays multiple characters and the jokes come fast, loud, and shamelessly cartoonish. The problem is that most of the humor leans hard on mean-spirited body jokes, stereotypes, and crude sexual humiliation, so if you’re not on board with that “laugh at the target” style, it can feel more ugly than funny. There are a few moments where Murphy’s energy and the sheer commitment to the silliness land, and the romance plot is simple enough to follow, but the film’s tone is relentlessly abrasive. If you like your comedies sharper, kinder, or even just less dated and offensive, this is an easy skip.