Oh, Vegas, you’re a tricky, tricky beast. You push hundreds of dancers to their physical limits, then pare them down to a group of 20. Are they the best dancers in America? Well, no, but SO YOU THINK YOU DANCE makes a point of reminding viewers they are in search of “America’s favorite dancer.” And, by “America’s favorite dancer,” they mean America’s most winning reality TV show personality —- who can also dance!
What a difference a couple of hundred miles makes. In Vegas, the judges are more vicious with their critiques and the choreographers are almost delusional with their ultra-demanding choreography classes. OK, I’m generalizing. Shane Sparks’ and Mary Murphy’s choreography classes each feature tough routines but neither compares to Mia Michaels’ absurdly intricate contemporary routine. She’s so earthy and wise-seeming that when she snaps into dictator choreographer mode, the dancers and America know IT’S ON.
Eddie Murphy flexes his comedic muscle to new proportions with NORBIT and easily champions his position as of one Hollywood’s finest funnymen. The movie, a slapstick romp where Murphy plays multiple-characters, is a departure from the Academy Award-nominated DREAMGIRLS, but not from the laugh-happy flicks of his 80s heyday.
Murphy, as the main protagonist, Norbit, is a shy, nerdish orphan who marries the wrong girl, a larger-than-life woman aptly named Rasputia (who he also plays). Murphy also portrays Mr. Wong, the Chinese food restaurateur/orphanage owner. It’s hard to imagine Murphy inside all of those bodysuits; he hones all the accents with total and utter finesse.