The funnier Eddie Murphy pictures (see “Coming to America,” “Bowfinger,” the original “Nutty Professor”) work because the gags in those films are always under the service of a compelling, well-scripted story filled with likable characters and heart.

There are moments in “Norbit” that elicit a chuckle, but overall the film is hampered by an extremely predictable plot, weak scripting and characters that contain little originality or believability.

Norbit is an earnest, nerdy guy who grows up in a orphanage/Chinese restaurant, which gives Murphy the chance to play owner Mr. Wong — a misguided caricature with mild shades of Mickey Rooney’s Japanese landlord in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

At the orphanage, the young Norbit shares a deep bond and friendship with Kate, who is taken away from the orphanage after being adopted. In school, Norbit is yanked under the massive thumb of Rasputia, a mean, large girl who takes the nice skinny kid as her boyfriend.

Then they’re married.

Which brings me to the complaint that if you’re supposed to get the audience to engage with one of your characters, at least make the character somewhat realistic and grounded in reality. The coupling of Norbit and Rasputia isn’t believable, and so therefore, neither is much of the movie.

Rasputia is selfish, mean and ugly. If we can’t buy why Norbit would fall for somebody like this and then marry her, why should we buy into Norbit as a hero?

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Then the adult Kate, played by Thandie Newton (“Crash”), returns to Norbit’s life, when she wants to take over the orphanage. Kate’s scheming, no-good fiancee, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire”), has plans of his own.

Norbit obviously falls for Kate and wants to leave Rasputia, and we can see where the film is headed from the get-go.

Newton and Gooding, who have been excellent in much better work, completely waste their talent in schlock this bad.

Gooding doesn’t do anything remotely interesting here and Newton appears for the simple sake of being gorgeous foil to Rasputia’s ugliness. Her character doesn’t have anything meaningful to add to an otherwise meaningless film.

“Norbit” also fails because the plot seems to serve as mere background to the film’s gags and gimmicks. Also, much of “Norbit” is derivative of Murphy’s earlier work. Rasputia is an amalgam of the Klump mother in “Nutty Professor,” and his ugly troll buddy “Shrek.” Norbit is a “Bowfinger” clone.

There’s even a completely awkward and unnecessary scene involving Norbit chatting with a talking Pug — a sad attempt to recapture the animalistic verbosity of the allegedly funny “Dr. Doolittle.”

The only possibly interesting things in the film are Murphy’s isolated bits of absurdity as he’s layered under effects artist Rick Baker’s grotesque and humorous makeup.

But the gimmick is better served in Murphy gems such as “The Nutty Professor,” where instead of playing simply two characters under the guise of Baker’s rubber creations, he plays an entire family and with smarter and funnier dialogue.

If you like Eddie Murphy and his genius, then by all means rent “Bowfinger” and “Coming to America,” and see “Dreamgirls.”

Avoid this unnecessary waste of two hours of your life and that well-earned chunk of change.