Eddie Murphy's incendiary, riotous performances in early films like 48 Hrs, Trading Places, Coming to America, and Beverley Hills Cop set his anarchic brand of comedy upon Hollywood. Later, in his stand-up classic, Raw, he donned that famous leather purple suit to deliver a comedy-set for the ages. Now compare that with the picture you see above, that near-iridescent landscape you see of Eddie Murphy, dressed as a woman, in a fat-suit. He'd been building towards that for a while (think The Nutty Professor), building towards a feeling of hate among his former fans. Norbit all but sealed said fate, and the role has to go down as one of the most depressing by a former bonafide star in film history. It's an offensive performance (Murphy plays the title role as well as Rasputia and a certain 'Mr. Wong', which is as bad as it sounds) for a performer who's always been offensive. Except in the past he was offensive, as in always on the attack, alive, full of aggression which he channeled into his characters. Unfortunately, Norbit represents the other definition of the word: causing someone to feel resentful, upset, or annoyed.
