BlackFilm
Joined Mar 2005
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Reviews10
BlackFilm's rating
First let me say ... I am an Eddie Murphy fan. I think he's a comic genius. And that's why I was so surprised to see him star in and even write such a low level and offensive comedy.
The first few minutes of the film started out with a little promise, but it didn't take long for the film to fall to such a low level that I cringed from early in until the movie was over. And even though I watched to nearly the end, I demanded my money back. It's only the second time I've ever done that, and I'm an avid film goer.
What was so offensive? I don't know where to begin. Most obviously, every "fat" gag in the book was used. Eddie Murphy plays an overweight woman who is ugly and evil, and every nasty thing you can think to say about her is said. To make it worse, the leading lady is Thandie Newton who is extremely thin, which only goes to further emphasize the other extreme.
Maybe Eddie Murphy thought he could get away with this because he shows, in The Nutty Professor, how an overweight man can "get the girl". But, really, that just shows the extreme double standard that remains when it comes to overweight men versus women.
Now, I'm a realist, and I know that the double standard is not Eddie Murphy's fault. Still, he plays on it here in such a nasty way that it offended me, an open minded, in-shape male. And for those who argue that it's the character's attitude and not her weight that made her "the bad guy", then why make her fat in the first place. And why have so many nasty fat jokes.
The movie was offensive on other levels too. The racial humor wasn't funny. There are some lines with attempts at humor that really go too far. Many of you who have seen it will understand what I mean. And those who haven't, I hope you don't support this film out of curiosity. Please, wait for cable. There is nothing in this that you can't wait to see.
I heard that it was Eddie Murphy's brother who came up with this idea. If EM did this as a favor to his brother, he could have done his brother, and himself a bigger favor by bringing Charlie in on a better project and tossing this script.
On the one positive note: Eddie Murphy does put his all into these characters as always. His job as Norbit gets lost in the low class, low level "comedy". Even though I just saw the film, I had to really remember that his performance as Norbit was decent. All I can think about is how offended I was, and how thoroughly depressed an overweight woman sitting at the end of my row looked throughout most of the film (she left before I did).
The first few minutes of the film started out with a little promise, but it didn't take long for the film to fall to such a low level that I cringed from early in until the movie was over. And even though I watched to nearly the end, I demanded my money back. It's only the second time I've ever done that, and I'm an avid film goer.
What was so offensive? I don't know where to begin. Most obviously, every "fat" gag in the book was used. Eddie Murphy plays an overweight woman who is ugly and evil, and every nasty thing you can think to say about her is said. To make it worse, the leading lady is Thandie Newton who is extremely thin, which only goes to further emphasize the other extreme.
Maybe Eddie Murphy thought he could get away with this because he shows, in The Nutty Professor, how an overweight man can "get the girl". But, really, that just shows the extreme double standard that remains when it comes to overweight men versus women.
Now, I'm a realist, and I know that the double standard is not Eddie Murphy's fault. Still, he plays on it here in such a nasty way that it offended me, an open minded, in-shape male. And for those who argue that it's the character's attitude and not her weight that made her "the bad guy", then why make her fat in the first place. And why have so many nasty fat jokes.
The movie was offensive on other levels too. The racial humor wasn't funny. There are some lines with attempts at humor that really go too far. Many of you who have seen it will understand what I mean. And those who haven't, I hope you don't support this film out of curiosity. Please, wait for cable. There is nothing in this that you can't wait to see.
I heard that it was Eddie Murphy's brother who came up with this idea. If EM did this as a favor to his brother, he could have done his brother, and himself a bigger favor by bringing Charlie in on a better project and tossing this script.
On the one positive note: Eddie Murphy does put his all into these characters as always. His job as Norbit gets lost in the low class, low level "comedy". Even though I just saw the film, I had to really remember that his performance as Norbit was decent. All I can think about is how offended I was, and how thoroughly depressed an overweight woman sitting at the end of my row looked throughout most of the film (she left before I did).
Real quick ...
I meant to write this review after seeing the movie during the first week. But, it looks like many of you feel the same as me, so I'll add my two cents and make it quick.
The film is very good, and it makes you feel good to see it. Jennifer Hudson did Jennifer Hoilday proud. (She just won the Golden Globe for it. Well deserved.) Eddie Murphy is fantastic as James "Thunder" Early. I couldn't help but to be reminded of his James Brown imitations on SNL (and of his song "My Girl Wants to Pary All The Time"). He continues to show how talented he is. Even though he's not a singer, his performance is spot on for the film.
Beyonce wasn't bad. Her acting was a little flat at times, but she shined when she was on stage, as always. She's not an actress, but she held her own. Still, she got lost sometimes with Jennifer and Eddie doing such stand-out jobs.
I wasn't sure how the play would translate to film. I saw the play, and I greatly enjoyed the film.
I meant to write this review after seeing the movie during the first week. But, it looks like many of you feel the same as me, so I'll add my two cents and make it quick.
The film is very good, and it makes you feel good to see it. Jennifer Hudson did Jennifer Hoilday proud. (She just won the Golden Globe for it. Well deserved.) Eddie Murphy is fantastic as James "Thunder" Early. I couldn't help but to be reminded of his James Brown imitations on SNL (and of his song "My Girl Wants to Pary All The Time"). He continues to show how talented he is. Even though he's not a singer, his performance is spot on for the film.
Beyonce wasn't bad. Her acting was a little flat at times, but she shined when she was on stage, as always. She's not an actress, but she held her own. Still, she got lost sometimes with Jennifer and Eddie doing such stand-out jobs.
I wasn't sure how the play would translate to film. I saw the play, and I greatly enjoyed the film.
It's difficult to give a clear judgement on this film. There are some things that are almost brilliant about it, while other things were absolutely terrible. This is often the side effect of a writer/director who can either write and can't direct, or direct and not write. The latter is the case for this film.
Bryan Barber is a name to watch ... as a director. He may be one of the few video director who has come on the scene and proved that he can be a very good, and even outstanding director for films. As a director he was very creative and smart (forgiving the few shots that were "borrowed" directly from other directors), and he made a lot of choices that really work well.
As a writer, the story was simple and underdeveloped. The characters were one dimensional and bland. The action lacked any sort of motivation at all. In fact, it was only the fact that the members of Outkast have presence on the screen that gave me any reason to care about anything going on in the "story".
I am a writer, and I have friends who are screenwriters. Normally, I won't give a film with a story this weak much of a grade at all. Story is everything. But Barber did such a good job as a first time director, that he actually made his poor script watchable. He's lucky that it was a musical because that gave him enough elements to work with outside of the dismal/cliché dialogue.
If anyone who knows Barber is reading this, tell him to find a good script. There are people out there with good material just waiting to screw it up by directing it themselves. Maybe they can save each other. With a good script, Barber could be one of the best young directors out there. I can't wait to see!
Bryan Barber is a name to watch ... as a director. He may be one of the few video director who has come on the scene and proved that he can be a very good, and even outstanding director for films. As a director he was very creative and smart (forgiving the few shots that were "borrowed" directly from other directors), and he made a lot of choices that really work well.
As a writer, the story was simple and underdeveloped. The characters were one dimensional and bland. The action lacked any sort of motivation at all. In fact, it was only the fact that the members of Outkast have presence on the screen that gave me any reason to care about anything going on in the "story".
I am a writer, and I have friends who are screenwriters. Normally, I won't give a film with a story this weak much of a grade at all. Story is everything. But Barber did such a good job as a first time director, that he actually made his poor script watchable. He's lucky that it was a musical because that gave him enough elements to work with outside of the dismal/cliché dialogue.
If anyone who knows Barber is reading this, tell him to find a good script. There are people out there with good material just waiting to screw it up by directing it themselves. Maybe they can save each other. With a good script, Barber could be one of the best young directors out there. I can't wait to see!