This woman’s name is Rasputia (also played by Eddie Murphy), and she makes life for Norbit nothing but hell.

It turns out that life has never been easy for Norbit, the main character and title of this Murphy-drenched movie. When Norbit was an infant, his parents casually threw him out of their car in front of a restaurant/orphanage.

The Golden Wonton Restaurant and Orphanage was where Norbit grew up under the guise of Mr. Wong — played by you guessed it, Eddie Murphy. In this orphanage, one bright spot came into his life: his best friend, Kate.

Kate and Norbit were together for years, and would do pretty much everything with each other, until one fateful day when Kate was adopted.

Time passed, and it looked as if it were back to the glum existence of being the shy, easy-to-pick-on individual for Norbit. At school, he

was bullied, and it was on one these occasions that he met his future wife, the enormous Rasputia.

After Raputia helped Norbit, she all but forced him to adopt her position of, “I’m going to be your girlfriend, or else!” That pretty much sums up Norbit’s life; he lives in almost constant fear of making his girlfriend (who eventually becomes his wife) angry.

Things change though when Norbit’s old friend Kate (Thandie Newton) comes back to buy and run the orphanage where they both grew up. With Kate coming back, Norbit realizes what a horrible mistake he has made in marrying the overbearing mountain of a woman known as Rasputia.

You get the conflict here. It’s pretty predictable. However, I liked the film for being generally funny, and it was believable in that I saw the characters instead of the actors, particularly in regard to Murphy’s characters.

Murphy is a very talented actor, and he brings all of his characters an individuality that holds up throughout the film. With that and six-time Academy Award-winner (for best make-up) Rick Baker doing an incredible job of transforming

Murphy’s looks for each role, Murphy literally becomes each character, making this film believable from looks to personality.

When it comes to comedy, one thing that you need to be is funny. That sounds like a no-brainer, until you have to sit through some very unfunny movies promoted as comedies. Happily, “Norbit” is sprinkled with plentiful funny moments, served up by genuinely funny people.

For me, the funniest characters in this film are two ex-pimps (played by Eddie Griffin and Kat Williams) who own an eating establishment called the Rib Shak. They have some of the funniest lines and deliver them with relish.

As for Norbit, his fear of the monstrous woman controlling his life was sad, but funny as well. Murphy also delivers with Mr. Wong, who was probably the sweetest, yet the most racist (and stereotypical) individual in the picture.

“Norbit” isn’t something that will become an instant classic in the comedy genre, but it is still a good film one can enjoy with almost anyone. It’s a fun, well-rounded film that has something for anyone wanting to enjoy a good comedy.