When Brian Wilson named Eddie Murphy film ‘Norbit’ as his favourite of all time
He’s long been one of rock’s most influential figures, and since he broke through with The Beach Boys in tow in the early 1960s, Brian Wilson has kept fans on their toes. Ostensibly one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, and by extension, of all time, his contributions to music and broader culture are many, with no moment as storied as 1966’s Pet Sounds. The album is what crystallised the band’s standing, with it a profoundly cerebral and, at points, heartbreaking moment of psychedelic pop that set the scene for everyone from Radiohead to Billie Eilish.
What always marked the group out from their peers, even in the days of their sunny surf rock, was the fact that they had real personalities. Whether it be from creative mastermind Brian Wilson, his late brothers Dennis and Carl, Al Jardine, or Wilson’s cousin and perennial enemy, Mike Love, the band always matched their music with authentic substance.
Despite being tremendously popular, The Beach Boys were never two-dimensional patsies of the record industry. Brian Wilson is his own man, and The Beach Boys their own band, and it is this that has underscored their greatest highs and most crushing lows. It might have created a twisting career, but it also gave them longevity.
Whilst The Beach Boys are full of surprises, none of the members are as enigmatic as Brian Wilson. Although he has delivered many hot takes over the years, none were as surprising as when he revealed the name of his favourite film back in 2007. As highlighted by Beach Boys fan Michael Leddy, that year, Wilson sat down with the Asbury Park Press and claimed that his favourite flick was that year’s Eddie Murphy comedy, Norbit.
A controversial title due to its high volume of weight-based and crass racial jokes, despite being critically panned, the movie was still a box office success, grossing $159 million worldwide against a production budget of $60 million.
In the interview with Asbury Park Press, Wilson shocked everyone when he named Norbit as his favourite film of all time, particularly after he said it was the film he had most recently seen.
Asked if he had seen any good movies recently, he replied, “Well, I’ve only seen one in the last couple of years. It’s called Norbit by Eddie Murphy”. Asked how he liked it, the typically blunt Wilson replied, “Fantastic movie. Very funny.”
He wasn’t done there, though. When the host, Mark Voger, proceeded to ask him for the title of his favourite title, he said: “Norbit“.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that Brian Wilson was being insincere. As pointed out by SPIN in 2017, when asked the question again in 2015 by Consequence of Sound, he claimed that his favourite flick was 1940’s Pinocchio.
