Reviving the Murphy touch

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Eddie Murphy's Oscar-nominated turn in "Dreamgirls" should mean a second coming for the dethroned superstar.

Or will it?

The comic actor's ascent from "Saturday Night Live" standout to box office titan was as swift as it was deserving.

He was cool and compelling, whether he was staring down rednecks in "48 Hours" (1982) or outhustling the fuzz in "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984).

And how could you forget that laugh, so winning you couldn't help snickering, too.

For a while, Mr. Murphy's Midas touch seemed permanent. We even bought weak vanity projects like "The Golden Child" (1986) and explained away his more mean-spirited stand-up bits. Fans can revisit Mr. Murphy on stage via his 1983 concert film "Eddie Murphy: Delirious," finally on DVD this week.

Then came "Harlem Nights," "Vampire in Brooklyn" and the punch line that was "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" (2002).

But even if he hoists Oscar Feb. 25, it doesn't guarantee his artistic resurrection.

For starters, there's "Norbit."

Mr. Murphy's new comedy, which opened last week, finds him playing a multitude of roles again a la "The Nutty Professor" films. He's Norbit, the henpecked husband, as well as Norbit's overweight, overbearing wife, Rasputia. The laughs come chiefly from paint-by-numbers slapstick, which is beneath him.