ith the unbelievable advancements in makeup artistry and special practical effects, it’s something of a wonder that the best use of it here is for a blubbery fat-suit. It certainly looks real enough, and makes for quite a few crude laughs, but it’s nothing audiences haven’t seen before – and by Eddie Murphy, no less. Predictable, straightforward, and only mildly amusing at times, “Norbit” is a bromidic Valentine’s Day comedy with a familiar plot and banal characters; undeservingly it will probably be #1 at the box office simply because it has little competition.

Ungainly, geeky, and shy Norbit (Eddie Murphy) was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage as a baby, to be raised by the cantankerous Mr. Wong (also Eddie Murphy). His only fond memory is of childhood sweetheart Kate (Thandie Newton), who was adopted and whisked away to a better life. Trapped by the loneliness and solitude of orphanhood, Norbit’s maturation lends to timidity and uncertainty, resulting in a forced marriage to the bullish and gargantuan Rasputia (again, Eddie Murphy), to live out his days as a pawn for her voracious appetite. When Kate suddenly moves back to town with plans of buying the orphanage, Rasputia’s jealous rage interferes with Norbit’s second chance at true love.

“Norbit” has a very customary and uniform storyline; but then again, what could anyone expect? Undoubtedly, the filmmakers wanted to follow an elementary plot so that audiences could concentrate on the constant barrage of racial and fat jokes. In fact, those continual jabs drive the movie along more than the plot. As Rasputia, a grotesquely overweight woman, Eddie Murphy is able to exhibit scene after scene of his elephantine character doing all sorts of marginally humorous, situational comedy events. Although the United States has a particularly increasing problem with obesity, its denizens are the first to fall over laughing at jests made toward the porcine. In its truly generic “boy meets girl, loses girl, regains girl” formula, “Norbit” plays it safe and stays straight on course, never interfering with the focus on uncomfortable corpulence begetting awkward slapstick.

With countless romantic comedies getting lobbed out every year, it’s not surprising that new variations are so rare. Even the roles of the villains and supporting protagonists are commonplace and calculable. That’s not to say that there aren’t any funny scenes in this latest effort, but when compared to the infinite number of superior films already out there, “Norbit” fails to demonstrate any creative hijinks. Murphy has already played multiple characters in the same film before (most memorably in more than one “The Nutty Professor” film, as well as in “Coming to America” and “Vampire in Brooklyn”), and with projects such as “Big Momma’s House,” Martin Lawrence has already done the “little man in a fat suit” routine. So why did “Norbit” choose to use a plump, ponderous character to duplicate Murphy’s gimmick? Had Rasputia been slender, the story wouldn’t actually change all that much; her domineering, antagonistic attitude is what generates conflict, not her weight. The only difference would have been a diminished number of whale gags.

Typically, when touchy or offensive subjects are approached in cinema, filmmakers have to be fastidious in selecting which characters approach specific subjects. Ironically, when the film chooses to rely heavily on racial riffs, it’s socially acceptable as long as Eddie Murphy speaks those lines and plays all of those roles (including the elderly Chinese man). If an actual obese actress was hired for the role of Rasputia, the result would have been highly controversial – not the jocose foray into physical comedy that it becomes.

It seems that the recent trend in Hollywood is for an accomplished actor to astonish critics with a breakthrough, Oscar-worthy performance, only to then star in absolute dreck. Halle Berry went from an Oscar-winning role in “Monster’s Ball” to lacing up in black leather as Catwoman; Charlize Theron played a monster in “Monster” to win an Academy Award, only to subsequently portray the flavorless “Aeon Flux”; and now Eddie Murphy goes from a Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated performance in “Dreamgirls” to the ridiculously mediocre film that is “Norbit.” Adding to that is the coincidence of turns by Thandie Newton, who had an outstanding part in last year’s Best Picture-winner “Crash,” and Cuba Gooding Jr., who previously won an Oscar for “Jerry Maguire.” There’s so much wasted talent in this production, which requires nothing more than a few careless jests at portliness to propel it to, no doubt, an excellent Valentine’s weekend opening.

– Mike Massie