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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thinner Heavy on Plot, October 6, 2000
You might not expect it from a Stephen King novel but the film is realitivly tame by todays standards. The result is a thriller of the best kind. The characters are less-than-desirable and that makes things all the more fun to watch. Robert John Burke stars as a morally corrupt attorney who we can't help but empathizing with, after all most of us are carrying a few extra pounds but he's tipping the scales at 300 lbs. and shows no sign of stopping. That's until he hits an old gypsy woman with his car and finds himself the victim of her father's wrath. You see he's over a hundred years old (the gypsies father that is), though by the looks of the cancer growing on his nose he won't be around much longer. Burke and co. conspired to make the old woman's death look like an accident and thus free him of any and all charges he could face in court. After being touched by the gypsy he finds himself on the role of his life, or so he thinks. He drops pounds like there candy - which we get to see him cosume much of. Enter Joe Mantegna in his typical Mafia hitman role. The two fight back and thats when things get really good. In the end nobody's spared there just deserts (excuse the pun). The DVD offers and interesting if incomplete commentary track by it's director Todd Holland, of Larry Sanders fame, and costar Mantegna. The widescreen format keeps Burkes weight in proper perspective, instead of streching the screen like they do in those horrorendous pan and scan discs. And the 5.1 sound is very commendable. It's a Halloween treat that I've grown to appreicate more each year 'round this time.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"come on, I insist...white doctor from town", July 15, 2006
I must say, I really enjoyed this movie. We all know that most, if not all book based movies are not as good as the book. Stephen King movies are a good example of that. But, unlike movies such as The Tommyknockers or The Golden Years, Thinner is one of the better book based movies by King. First off, I really enjoyed the cast, especially Joe Mantegna. The evil old Gypsy (depending on what point of view or "side" your on) is especially creepy because he seems so ruthless. Tom Holland, who plays the main character as the cursed man who seems to be growing "Thinner", did a great job fulfilling his role.
Also, I must say that the production team of this movie really made Tom Holland's character look extremely convincing, mentally and physically.
In conclusion, This movie is extremely creepy and seems as if it's possible in real life, because it's simply a curse/hex that is at play throughout the movie. It has nothing to do with Aliens, mythical creatures, Ghost's etc. I highly recommend this movie to everyone, even if you aren't a horror fan, you should give this movie a chance.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Avoid The Gypsy Diet, June 6, 2003
If you are old enough to remember "Room 222"'s gentle principal in that 1960's TV hit, then you will marvel at Michael Constantine's performance as Tadzu Lempke, the centenarian patriarch of a roving band of gypsies. Considered unsavory nuisances whom the sheriff wants evicted, the gypsies legally lure curious onlookers. One of them, Billy Halleck (Burke), a dangerously overweight lawyer, ogles the nubile gypsy daughter gyrating seductively, but her unexpected vulgarity sets a sinister tone for what follows. In this 1996 Stephen King thriller, Billy and his wife accidentally run down and kill Lempke's aged wife after she pilfers from a drug store. However, the couple is immediately acquitted as townsfolk "testify" in a stacked courtroom. Enraged, Lempke eerily grazes Billy while murmuring the curse, "Thinner." Within days, Billy credits his new "diet" for his sudden weight loss which continues at a frightful pace. The sight of him going from obese to "normal" to gaunt are truly frightening, especially as the gypsies mockingly camp nearby. Although other townsfolk are cursed in even more grotesque ways (one commits suicide), Billy realizes all are doomed unless he can reason with Lempke, man-to-man. Still, Billy is continually mocked, and flees with a near-fatal slingshot wound through his right hand. Now, leveraging the threat of violence against Ms. Slingshot, Billy forces Lempke to reveal that the only "antidote" is to pass the curse to someone else, as deceptively as possible. With a few scores to settle, including that of his unfaithful wife, Billy sets the trap, but forgets one very important detail.
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