Norbit

A nice-guy nerd (Eddie Murphy), raised by a Chinese restaurant owner (Eddie Murphy), marries an obese, abusive shrew (Eddie Murphy)—then unexpectedly meets his long-lost childhood sweetheart (Thandie Newton, in one role that Eddie Murphy didn’t think he could play). Written by Jay Scherick and David Ronn (from a story by Murphy and his brother Charles) and directed at a slovenly crawl by Brian Robbins, the movie has a few laughs in the opening scenes, then decays into a nasty, unpleasant ordeal, a splash of cold water in the faces of those who thought Murphy had finally gotten his career back on track. Murphy’s phenomenal talent is still on display, but mainly as an example of how he’s wasted it. The best moments belong to Eddie Griffin as a strutting local pimp. Yes, to Eddie Griffin; it’s that bad.