But pimps, funny-talking Asians and fat ladies crashing through walls do not a movie make. Or maybe they do, especially if you throw in a talking dog, which this movie does. In any case, tradition dictates that there must also be a pretty, skinny woman (Thandie Newton) and, um, another guy (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Newton is Kate, Norbit's childhood sweetheart, and Gooding is her fiance, Deion, a smooth-talking charmer quickly revealed to be a heartless phony.
Norbit himself is sweet, odd and beleaguered, and one of the movie's most ingenious touches is the discrepancy between his sunny, forgiving view of the world (conveyed in voice-over narration) and the horrific reality of his married life. Not only must he endure Rasputia's domestic tyranny; he also works for her three nasty brothers, who dominate the town through their construction and extortion business.
Robbins' direction is adequate. He doesn't mess up the story — it was a mess to begin with — but too many of the gags are lumbering and graceless, more fun to anticipate than to witness. What will happen when Rasputia goes down an amusement park water slide? She'll crash through a wall. What will she do when she's mad at Norbit? Throw him through a window.
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