Phat Girlz

If you recall How Stella Got Her Groove Back, this film will ring like deja vu to you. Even the heart throb's accent is similar. This time instead of the obstacle to over come being age and ageism, it is weight and society's bias against heavy women. Laughs are spattered through out, but there are plenty of messages bout inner beauty. Think of the film as How Stella Got Her Groov Fat. I seem to have seen the leading actor in k mart store style clothing adds so i think that he is a model. His buddy who goes for the supporting actress looks familiar as having played clean cut guys without the accent in past films. Sloppy as it wants to be, the movie is not bad if you go in knowing roughly what to expect. I anticipate some becoming annoyed with the lead actresses soap box and presumed indictment of skinny people. Many will overlook this flaw as a point in which the movie was making...she was flawed and needed entire film in which to get somewhat better.

The problem with this movie is, that next to fact that has almost no laugh-out-loud-scenes, the protagonist of the movie, the Phat Mo'nique is all but likable. Yes, she's fat, hasn't been laid in 8 months, gets comments thrown at her head (which she can reply to) but that would make you think she herself would not make the mistakes other people make by judging her by her weight. Unfortunately, Mo'nique only likes men who are extremely handsome and have gone to the gym a lot. Next to that everybody who is thin is referred to as a skinny bitch, and if that girl happens to be white and have a black boyfriend it's even more terrifying according to Mo'nique as "they are stealing their men" She's constantly judging people by the way they look.

And we have to root for this woman.

So no humor and no likable lead-character makes this movie a bad one in my opinion.

Jazmin Biltmore (Mo'Nique) is an overweight, sassy woman who dreams to be a fashion designer. Her life is miserable because "no one loves fat people". But than she wins a trip to Miamie. She brings her uptight best friend (Kendra C. Johnson) and her perfect, skinny cousin (Joyful Drake). While there, she meets a perfect man (Jimmy Jean-Louis) from Nigeria, where the bigger the woman, the more they love her.

My oh my! This was VERY hypocritical! First off, she complains that guys only want perfect girls, and than she has pictures of almost-nude perfect men on her walls and dreams of hunky, almost nude men in her dreams! Secondly, she complains that people make fun of her and are rude to her just because she's fat, but than her and all the Nigerians make fun of her cousin just because she's skinny.

It looks like it was filmed on someone's home portable camera. Most of the actors cannot act for their life. BUT- it is not ALL horrible! There are some funny scenes! There are some (surprisingly) touching scenes! I am no way a fan of this, but I think that many, many other horrible films deserve the honor of worst film ever, not this.

Before I get to a review of this movie, I have a few words to say about some of the other reviews as well as some discussions on the message boards about this movie. It seems that in MANY cases, people aren't actually discussing the merits of this film but are more making value judgments about being fat--a major plot element in the movie. So, some supposed reviews talk about how the main character needs to lose weight or that she's unhealthy but this really isn't a review of the film--it's a statement about what they think of fat folks. Oddly, a few of the comments went further and were quite hateful--as if hating fat people was somehow okay. With a few, I almost wonder if they'll soon suggest that fat folks just be killed! Are they trying to say that this is one last acceptable prejudice? As for the film itself, I cannot understand it being placed in the hallowed Bottom 100 on IMDb other than prejudice against the overweight. Sure, the film is far from perfect and I do have some problems with the writing here and there, but there is no way this is a horrible film--something inclusion in the Bottom 100 would indicate.

Mo'Nique stars as a woman who is both ashamed of her obesity and who is also, oddly enough, very self-assured in other ways. In other words, she is strong and more than willing to stand up to people who are cruel towards fat people but she herself privately beats herself up mercilessly about being so overweight.

Obesity and body image is a great idea for a film--mostly because it's rarely addressed. I loved this aspect of the film and the film had so much positive to say. BUT the film also occasionally lets itself down now and again with cheap fat jokes or anti-skinny woman remarks or the buffet scene. Can't the film be self-assured without actually occasionally reinforcing these old stereotypes at the same time?! Yet, at other times, the film is very positive and reaffirming--such as Mo'Nique's coming up with a line of clothes to make overweight women look good as well as the wonderful relationship she has with her Nigerian love. It's an odd, odd dichotomy how the film seems so very progressive yet not throughout the film.

Subtle this movie is NOT--and if it were perhaps edited a bit, it would have been an exceptional film. With just a few tweaks, it could have been amazing--but as it is, the negatives aren't that bad and the film has been unfairly savaged. I'd give the film a 6--almost a 7. With a good editing and better writing, perhaps an 8.

If you see the film, judge the film--the writing, the acting and the technical aspects of the film.

I admit it. I'm guilty of wanting to look at women who are slim and trim. Some people complain that the women I like looking at have eating disorders or are unhealthy, but I just don't see it. And there are plenty of these women in this movie. One is the young hot babe who accompanies our plump heroines to the expensive spa treatments.

But Jazmin and her best friend are right. A woman can be large and attractive, and apparently, if this movie is to be believed, Nigerian men have the right attitude. Women who look like models are malnourished. It's unfortunate that this movie relies heavily on subtitles because things can happen, and did, I almost missed one of the funniest jokes in the movie but got a second opportunity to see it later. The joke was that the hot babe with the Nigerian doctor was a poor sick girl.

Jazmin, of course, does a number of things people shouldn't actually do, but it's a fantasy. If you assault someone who insults you and wreck a fast-food place, you should go to jail. This is a fantasy people might enjoy watching because they'd like to do what Jazmin did.

Mo'Nique gives a very good performance, one that suggests she might someday get an Oscar nomination. While she does a good job overall, she has one truly frightening scene as she struggles with her difficulties in life. Jimmy Jean-Louis does an excellent job as her boyfriend, and all the actors playing African men do a very good job as well. The humor is quite sophisticated in their scenes, and there are glimpses of African culture for those of us with European heritage.

Some of the movie is just plain silly, though. But overall, I think this would have been a good choice if African Heritage Network movies were still airing. I haven't seen any of those lately on my area TV stations, but they promoted positive images of people with African roots. In many ways, this movie does.

I am confused about a couple of things. I thought among black people, big women were desirable. I thought it was just white and Asian women (and possibly Latinas) in this country who had to meet certain standards of beauty to be accepted by narrow-minded men. That's just not the case with the Americans in this movie. Also, Jazmin seems to be the pot calling the kettle black as her men have to have perfect bodies.

And not once does anyone say Jazmin is beautiful BUT. A woman that big is likely to have health problems, and she should try to lose the weight if she can for that reason. That message was not addressed.

It's a worthwhile movie.