This Eddie Murphy Flick, Finding Success on Paramount+ Was an Unmitigated Disaster, Yet It Received an Oscar Nomination

In late 2006, Eddie Murphy appeared to be entering a new career phase full of prestige films. His performance as a doomed soul singer in Dreamgirls earned him several accolades, including an Oscar nomination for “Best Supporting Actor”. Weeks before the Academy Awards in 2007, however, the release of Murphy’s Norbit sent the ‘80s icon back to the land of misguided raunchy comedy fare.

Norbit marked a creative return for the ever-inventive Murphy to play multiple characters in prosthetics, as he had done with comedy classics Coming to America and The Nutty Professor. Those movies that balanced the comedian’s infectious energy with a level of sensitivity pale in comparison to the mean-spirited nature of this Brian Robbins-helmed ensemble picture. Audiences laughed out loud, giving Norbit a $159 million worldwide haul and even landing an Oscar nod for Rick Baker’s makeup work. Yet, critics pounced on the comedy with a 9% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes.

‘Norbit’ Caused Controversy in the Body-Positive Community

Murphy plays both the meek puppet showmaker Norbit and his arrogant, overweight wife Rasputia. The two have been together since the day she saved little Norbit from a gang of bullies. While not a happy marriage, Norbit puts up with Rasputia’s abuse until she’s caught having an affair with her flamboyant dance instructor (Marlon Wayans).

While giving a depressing puppet show to the kids at the local orphanage where he lived, Norbit reunites with childhood friend Kate (Thandiwe Newton), whom he once “play-married” with Ring Pops. Unfortunately, Kate is engaged to the self-centered Deion (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is secretly plotting with Rasputia and her brothers (Terry Crews, Lester “Rasta” Speight, and Clifton Powell) to close the orphanage and turn it into a strip joint. With Kate just days away from marrying Deion and Rasputia’s plans in motion, Norbit has to find the courage for the first time in his life to stand up for himself.

Rudy Ray Moore (Eddie Murphy) sits looking confused in Dolemite Is My Name

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Norbit’s concept, conceived by Murphy and his late famous brother Charlie Murphy, tries hard to reconcile which audience it aims for. On the one hand, it is a simple story aimed at Murphy’s family-friendly crowd full of Nickelodeon-style humor that director Robbins is famous for with Good Burger and Ready to Rumble. On the other hand, Norbit aims for excessive crude humor that goes even further than The Nutty Professor. Where the latter classic has a message about being body-positive through Murphy’s various roles as Professor Sherman Klump, as well as the scene-stealing Klump family members, Norbit goes in the exact opposite direction by making Murphy’s role as the obnoxious Rasputia so unsympathetic that it shames real women combating weight issues. At the time of release, body-positive activist groups publicly protested Norbit for mocking the obese community. Not a good place to be for an Oscar-nominated star.

Did ‘Norbit’ Cost Eddie Murphy an Oscar?

Compared to the numerous flops that Murphy had in the 2000s, including The Adventures of Pluto Nash, the comedian gives a full effort in delivering laugh-out-loud moments, ranging from Rasputia causing a disaster at a water park to Norbit imagining his neighbor’s disabled dog (voiced by Charlie Murphy) encouraging him to bring his wife down. But Norbit’s humor often goes too far in ways that date the movie poorly. More specifically, the reliance on stereotypes through Murphy’s third role as the Asian orphanage owner, Mr. Wong. Unlike the old-fashioned Jewish man he played in Coming to America, Murphy’s Mr. Wong reinforces the stereotype by exaggerating his voice and constant need to fight. It’s a sad throwback to Mickey Rooney’s incredibly offensive buck-toothed Japanese man in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Norbit was the wrong picture for Murphy as his follow-up to Dreamgirls. As critics knocked Oscar nominee Murphy for taking on the film, it’s believed the extremely offensive comedy cost him the Oscar win, which went to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine. While there is no concrete proof that Norbit influenced the decision by Academy voters, it marked the beginning of what Entertainment Weekly called “The Norbit Effect”, where other instances of Oscar nominee losses were the result of stars releasing bad movies during Oscar season. Though it seems like an embarrassing title, it never truly stopped Murphy from sticking to a genre he thrives in. For every disaster like A Thousand Words and You People, there’s winning success with Dolemite is My Name and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.