Eddie Murphy has showed off his comedy chops time and time again in breakout hits like Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America, but even he has a few flops in his resume, including a handful that rocked his career. As Tubi stocked new streaming titles for November, the free streaming service added one of the critically panned comedies that caused Murphy to take a hiatus from acting.
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After cementing his status as a comedy legend, Murphy stepped away from acting in 2011 and only appeared in a handful of projects until his big return in Dolemite Is My Name in 2019. The decision boiled down to a string of critically panned films in the 2000s that earned him Razzie Award nominations and prompted Murphy to rethink his career, and one of those movies was Norbit. The critically panned film about the mild-mannered titular character who gets a second chance at love with his childhood sweetheart started streaming on Tubi on November 1st.
Norbit was a critical disaster, earning just a 9% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes to become one of Murphy’s lowest-rated movies and also picking up nine nominations at the 2008 Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture. Murphy received a Razzie record of five personal nominations and won three of those. He later revealed in 2021 that he realized that “maybe it’s time to take a break” after films like Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and Meet Dave earned him Golden Raspberry Awards and caused him to realize, “I was making these s– movies.”
Norbit Is One of Eddie Murphy’s Worst Movies, but the Actor Doesn’t Think So
There’s not much to say about Norbit other than it’s just not a great movie. The film has little substance or character development and instead relies on humor that just isn’t and oftentimes veers into offensive, crass, and stereotypical territory. From the fat jokes and body shaming of the character Rasputia, portrayed by Murphy in a fat suit, to humor and characters that perpetuate stereotypes of the Black community, Norbit’s humor wasn’t great when the movie premiered and hasn’t aged any better. Norbit also did a massive disservice to its talented cast, actors like Thandiwe Newton and Cuba Gooding Jr. never given the opportunity to display their full abilities.
Despite its poor reception and the fact that it ultimately contributed to his hiatus from acting, Murphy still holds a fondness for the film. Norbit often ranks among his worst movies, but Murphy said in a new interview with Complex‘s Speedy Morman over the summer, “I love Norbit.” Murphy said he was shocked by Norbit’s poor reception and Razzie nominations, recalling that he “was like, ‘Come on now, s– ain’t that bad.’ They was just hatin’ on me.” He added, “To this day, I like Norbit. There’s stuff in Norbit that makes me laugh,” and cited 1998’s Holy Man and 2002’s Pluto Nash as his worst films.
Other Comedy Movies Now on Tubi
If you’re looking for a laugh but would rather avoid Norbit, Tubi has plenty of other comedy options. Movies like Dinner For Smucks, Hot Tub Time Machine, Maid in Manhattan, and Think Like a Man all started streaming free on Tubi in November. Starting next month, viewers will also be able to stream Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past, Mrs. Doubtfire, and The Wolf Of Wall Street.
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Image courtesy of Monolith Productions, Nightdive Studios, Warner Bros. Games, and Atari
