EDDIE MURPHY - MOVIE REVIEWS: NORBIT

Makeup and effects man Rick Baker, most famous for turning men into apes on screen, is getting as much attention in the reviews for Norbit as its star, Eddie Murphy. The makeup he has created for Murphy allows the comedian to play three different characters, including a fat female character. "Mr. Murphy appears to have been encased in foam rubber and dressed in Dolce & Gabbana for Elephants," writes A.O. Smith in the New York Times. "Eddie Murphy's new Rasputia is the reigning queen of simulated adiposity," writes Liam Lacey in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Even critics who hate the movie appear to love the makeup. "The one star for this review goes to the folks responsible for the makeup and visual effects," comments Teresa Budasi in the Chicago Sun-Times. Indeed, the movie itself -- and Murphy in particular -- are on the receiving end of some awful reviews. "Stunningly unfunny," comments Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post. And Lou Lumenick in the New York Post concludes his review by remarking that it amounts to "another crude, sloppy paycheck job for an actor who doesn't need the money -- and who proved in Dreamgirls that he is capable of far better."


09/02/2007