Trivia / Norbit

• Acting for Two:
  • Eddie Murphy. Acting for three, obviously: Norbit, Rasputia and Mr. Wong.
  • In the case of Alfonso Obregon for the Latin Spanish dub, it is actually for two: Norbit and Rasputia. Mr. Wong is instead dubbed by Eduardo Fonseca, Murphy's most recurring voice.
• Crosscast Role: Eddie Murphy as Rasputia.
• Creator Backlash: Thandiwe Newton said that she was interested in the project because the original script was much darker, with more emphasis on Rasputia abusing Norbit, and that the humor was twisted. However, because of the script changes, Newton described the finished film as a "Rankin-Bass commercial". She also admitted that because of the nature of the characters played by Murphy, she interacted more with his stand-ins than with Murphy himself.
• Deleted Scene:
  • A scene of Norbit and Rasputia as kids at school having lunch, with Rasputia stealing and eating Norbit's turkey.
  • A scene of Norbit working when Rasputia interrupts him with the news that they are getting married. Norbit is shocked and Rasputia throws a chair away and threatens to hit him if he does not propose to her. Scared, Norbit proposes to her, giving her a ring that Rasputia had given him a few seconds earlier.
  • Another scene in the sex montage, with Norbit and Rasputia wearing bunny clothes. Rasputia jumps on Norbit, crushing him and breaking the bed. Filled with pain, Norbit mutters, "My guts are coming out."
  • Another scene in the sex montage, where Rasputia would be dressed as a nurse and crush Norbit and break the bed, as usual.
  • A scene from Norbit at work, with the Latimore brothers asking why he looks tired. Norbit replies that he was up all night, and the brothers guess that he and Rasputia had been up all night having sex. They mock Norbit's sexual performance, making him uncomfortable.
  • At the end of the movie, a scene of Rasputia fleeing the city chased by Lloyd the dog.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Thandie Newton underwent a diet during the filming of the film because the script described Kate as a very thin woman and to make Rasputia look heavier before her.
• Fake American: British actress Thandiwe Newton puts on an American accent for her role as Kate.
• Fake Nationality: Eddie Murphy plays a Chinese man.
• Genre-Killer: While the film was a modest commercial success, its acidic critical reception proved the beginning of the end for Fat Suit comedy films. It didn't help that audience tastes were shifting towards smarter and more naturalistic comedies following the release of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, or that the use of fat suits was memorably lampooned in Tropic Thunder the following year.
• Inspiration for the Work: According to Thandiwe Newton, Eddie Murphy got the idea for the film after watching online videos of large African-American women beating their tiny husbands.
• Money, Dear Boy: Eddie Murphy has never really been shy about mentioning his motives for doing the movie. When one reporter mentioned that had he could have won an Oscar for Dreamgirls had this not been released during voting time, he reportedly said an Oscar would be nice, but it couldn't pay the bills.
• Playing Against Type: Cuba Gooding Jr., known more-or-less for playing heroic good guys or Nice Guys, plays a sleazy, Gold Digging Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and secondary antagonist.
• So My Kids Can Watch: Thandiwe Newton revealed that this is the only movie of hers that her children have seen, as they convinced her to be in an Eddie Murphy film.
• Star-Derailing Role: Not only did Norbit cost Murphy an Oscar, but it also cut short the start of his Career Resurrection.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Originally, the filmmakers planned to cast a female actress in the role of Rasputia before choosing Eddie Murphy in a fat suit. The reason for this decision was because Eddie Murphy found the original script too bleak and believed that the audience would better accept the comedy if Rasputia were played by him.
  • The original script, which is available on the web, is darker and has several different scenes:
    • The original script makes it clear that Norbit was born in 1968, that Rasputia is a year older than him, and that events in the present are set in 2005.
    • After Kate is adopted, Norbit has a recurring dream where a beautiful woman on the beach promises to be his soul mate and that she will meet him soon. When Norbit meets Rasputia, he realizes she has the same hairstyle as the woman of his dreams, so he agrees to be her boyfriend.
    • A scene where the teenage Norbit is forced to ride Rasputia on his bike, with him nearly dying from the effort and the bike's tires tearing at her weight.
    • Norbit being forced by Rasputia to become a football player in high school. Meanwhile, Rasputia decides to become a cheerleader, and forces Norbit to watch her performance. When Rasputia jumps on the pyramid, all the cheerleaders can't stand her weight and fall to the ground.
    • Teen Norbit becomes actor in a high school play. Rasputia is furious to see Norbit kissing a beautiful actress in the rehearsal of the play, and beats her, and her replacement, and threatens any girl interested in the role. The play is suspended because of this, to Norbit's sadness.
    • Adult Rasputia forcing the adult Norbit to propose to her.
    • The couple's first sex scene on their honeymoon is almost identical, with just one different detail: Rasputia is completely naked in this scene.
    • A scene with Norbit in the living room of the house, looking for a movie for the couple to watch at night. Rasputia enters the room wearing lingerie. Norbit is horrified and pleads with Rasputia, saying that "even God rests." Rasputia refuses his appeals and orders him to enter the room with her, and for him to put on the guard costume. This is when the sex montage occurs.
    • Before Rasputia runs over Lloyd, she says she is suffering from hemorrhoids and that when she gets home, Norbit will put the cream on her. Norbit is horrified to hear that.
    • Rasputia does not lie about being pregnant when Norbit tries to leave. She simply says he has no money, no friends, no place to go, making Norbit give up on the idea. She then forces him to put the hemorrhoid cream on her.
    • Seeing Norbit and Kate dancing, Rasputia decides to participate in the dance, and the two compete to see who dances best with him. The scene ended with Rasputia throwing Norbit away, hurting him.
    • The third act is different, with Norbit and Kate's confrontation with Rasputia and her brothers taking place in a play rather than a church. Kate discovers that Deion is a criminal well before that, and after defeating the Latimores, Norbit decides to perform in the play.
    • Rasputia and the brothers are arrested instead of fleeing to Mexico. The last scene shows Rasputia accidentally crushing her cellmate while she sleeps, just as she did with Norbit.

---