Norbit

I went to see this film on my birthday with my friend Paul. There were low expectations from both of us and we came out pleasantly surprised. We were laughing throughout the movie and it turned out to be a good birthday for me.

The other two people in the cinema were not as impressed but there's no accounting for taste.

I honestly cannot understand why this film has been critically mauled. It doesn't pretend to be something it's not. It's a film aimed for laughs and it does exactly what it delivers.

To fully appreciate and understand this film you need an enlightened and intelligent sense of humour to comprehend the genius film that is Norbit. People like Paul and I are just very rare.

This is NOT meant to be a serious movie. Those who created Norbit did not set out to make a witty, comical masterpiece that made the viewers think and contemplate...this is a comedy. No one seems to understand it, be the long, winding and rather dull critical remarks on the movie bringing 'a new meaning to distasteful' or something equally as yawn-worthy, what needs to be realized is that this is riddled with clichés and fun, comical satire. This is not meant to make one think, it exists because it must have been entertaining to make and it is funny. This is no Little Miss Sunshine, and it serves its purpose, I spent one hour and forty-two minutes without a decent thought in my head. Those humorless people who continue to bore us with their in depth reasoning for 'why this movie isn't good' need to stop for a second and look at the plot and concept...this is not meant to be taken seriously.

I get some people just like this type of humor and that's fine. But if you're into crude humor this movie is absolutely hilarious. Yeah some jokes aged worse than others but still funny.

The story is typical guy falls in love but something is in the way of it. The movie doesn't try more than what it is and makes work of what it could.

Also there Eddie Murphy, Terry Crews, and Cat Williams. Who else do u need?

Yes, the movie is racist and politically incorrect, but you know what? I think many people are offended because they miss the point. Brian Robbins and Eddie Murphy would be stupid to make a racist movie -- instead, they are making fun of it. Anyone who has seen a South Park episode would understand "satire" instead of calling it racist, homophobic, or whatever. I think that's what Eddie Murphy was trying to do here -- to poke fun at our own prejudices.

As a film, Norbit only succeeds halfway. It has some hilarious moments, but the film is unfocused and inconsistent. The script is bad, but I guess if you're used to comedies like Epic Movies, you'll be okay with bad comedy scripts. The stereotypes are so blatant and obvious that they are funny. When Mr. Wong (Murphy) said, "Of course I am racist!" he had a point. In a way, we are all prejudiced; we just don't want to admit to it.

Judging from the reaction of a packed theater on a Sunday night (blacks, whites, Asians, men, women, thin people, overweight people), I think people can have a good time with this one if they put aside their political correctness. It's just another crude, raunchy, silly comedy. And Eddie Murphy is funny as hell.

If you liked the humor in The Nutty Professor, you'll laugh yourself silly while watching Norbit. Nowadays, it's not acceptable to make fun of unattractive, overweight women, but back in 2007 it was still alright to make ugly, fat jokes. And it was still alright for Eddie Murphy to dress up as a woman and make the audience laugh. I thought this movie was hilarious, but I'm including a little disclaimer for the modern feminists out there.

Those of you who still like to laugh at politically incorrect jokes will want to rent Norbit after a hard week at work. It's very silly and pure escapism. Eddie Murphy plays three parts: the nerdy, meek title character, his adoptive Chinese father, and his overweight, overbearing wife. The entire movie of just the unhappily married couple would have been funny enough, but adding in a love triangle amps up the motivation of Norbit's wife to get even more aggressive - which in turn, becomes even funnier! Thandiwe Newton plays Norbit's childhood sweetheart, but good luck getting a divorce! Can two sweet souls find happiness, or is there bound to be a large, obnoxious, hilarious fly in the ointment? Rent Norbit for a very silly and fun evening.