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Unsteady Eddie

Whilst browsing the latest movie releases, I happened upon a write-up of Eddie Murphy’s new film, Norbit, about a guy who is trying to rid himself of an obese fiancé. The film itself didn’t strike me as one worth paying to watch, however I was drawn to the fact that, once again, Murphy plays several of the significant parts himself. Were this to be a one off occurrence, it could easily be considered a testament to the sheer breadth of his talent, and adaptability as an actor. The fact that this is the fifth film in which he has performed such heroics suggests there is more to it.

There is the possibility that Murphy has simply expressed a reluctance to work with other actors and tolerate their shortcomings, preferring to adhere to the proverb ‘if you want a job done (or a part played) properly, do it yourself’. I have my doubts about this, particularly because, for Norbit, Murphy obviously accepted that Thandie Newton would be more suitable for the part of attractive female temptress than he. Even the most deluded Murphy fans would be hard pressed to argue the case for casting him in drag, complete with fake bosom, over an established Hollywood beauty for such a role.

It is far more likely that Murphy’s fondness for such multi-role films is indicative of his need to satisfy a personality disorder via the medium of acting. Films such as Norbit are both a relief from, and a necessity of, Murphy’s disorder, whereby his conflicting internal personalities must each act out their share of a role in said film as an external character, or else the actor as a whole cannot operate at all. Satisfying these internal demons with a film such as Norbit will thus allow Murphy to make three or four solo pictures unhindered, before his next multi-part performance. I fear he is in danger of becoming the cinematic embodiment of a multiple personality disorder.

In a recent interview (BBC Film 2007) Murphy explained that the reason he opted to play both the male and female lead in Norbit was to make the weight-related jokes and scenes of domestic violence more palatable to a mass-audience. Given the press reviews generated by the film, both in the USA and Europe, that would seem a rather misguided strategy in hindsight. Bad taste jokes, no matter how funny and offensive (the two are rarely separate), are always going to be provocative. Dressing a man up as a fat woman and then making fun of him (her) won’t soften the blow for those of a sensitive nature.

Murphy is fortunate enough to be in a profession where normality is a state most people strive to avoid, so it’s hardly surprising that his condition has gone unnoticed. If he worked in an office as a regular white-collar clerk, questions would be asked were he to arrive at work one morning a goofy, chaste male with a squint, but then appear the following morning as a bloated, boisterous soul-diva. Acting by its very nature is a form of conscious personality switching, whereby in order to fully assume the role being played, an actor/actress is required to think and act like someone other than their normal self (except in the case of screen ornaments such as Jean Claude Van Damme, who are incapable of such things).

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the current politically-correct term for anyone suffering from a multiple personality disorder, and is defined as ‘the existence in an individual of two or more distinct personalities, with at least two of the personalities controlling the patient's behaviour in turns’ (source medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). It is possible that some (or all) of these distinct personalities may be aware of each other, while others will have no knowledge of their companions in the frontal lobe. With this in mind, it would be theoretically possible to talk to oneself, without the active personality even being aware of it. A bizarre scenario indeed, and yet one which almost mirrors the communication structure of many modern governments.

This inter-linking aspect of DID is cleverly portrayed in the film Fight Club, where The Narrator (Edward Norton’s character) is unaware of the fact that Tyler Durden, a man who he believes is real, exists only inside his own head. Durden, on the other hand, is playfully aware of the situation, and manages to out-think The Narrator on several occasions, leading him (them) along a dark and destructive path.

In Eddie Murphy’s case, his alternate personalities are forcing him along a path of poor films. Each multi-part performance brings him one step closer to exposure, and simultaneously further reduces his credibility as an actor, It is rumoured that he was overlooked for an Academy Award for Dreamgirls this year, as a direct result of his Norbit performance. One can only hope that the studios don’t decide to bring The Waltons to the big screen as a black family; the concept of Murphy saying goodnight to himself fifty-two times would be simply unbearable.

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