|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
some misconceptions, July 13, 2002
By A Customer
I've perused some of the less favorable reviews of this film and I believe there are some misconceptions about its humor and message. One misconception is that the movie makes fun of fat people. It doesn't. There isn't one scene where we ever find ourselves laughing AT Gwyneth Paltrow. What we laugh at are the reactions of Jack Black to what she does. For example, when she downs the milk shake she shares with Black, it's not the gulping of the shake that makes us laugh but Black's incredulity when he turns around and sees an empty cup. And when we see the two in the canoe, it's not the canoe we chuckle at, but the sight of the befuddled Black paddling air. So the laughs don't come at Paltrow's expense; they come at Black's.Yes, the movie relies on typical fat-type jokes - ie, overeating and crumpled funiture. But there is a subtle point in these hackneyed images that distinguishes them from your usual fat fare. Paltrow only seems to overeat by the standards society imposes on women. Like Black says, many women when they go out just order "water and a crumppette"; they deny themselves to satisfy society's expectations. But if they were to eat what THEY wanted, how many do you think wouldn't love to order that pizza burger with the fries and milk shake? Or take more than a "little" slice of cake? We all would! That is, we would if we weren't so concerned about what other people would think. Paltrow eats the way she does NOT because she's fat, but because she feels FREE to eat what she wants. Eating less makes no difference so she has no reason not to do what she wants - which is what the rest of us would also do if we were less uptight. And as for the crumpled chairs and the poor little car's suspension, there's a subtle point here, too. It's not that Paltrow is too heavy; it's that these people are not only ignored in the media but they are also forgotten in the design of the most basic artifacts of everyday life (chairs, cars, etc.). In other words, society treats fat people as if they don't exist. Now, is that a comment on fat people? Or on society? Where's the insult here? Another common misconception is that by using a model-like beauty like Paltrow in the lead role, the message of the film is still that "fat is ugly, thin is beautiful". I disagree. I can see why this might be the first impression because Paltrow IS used to represent Black's ideal of beauty, indeed, OUR ideal of beauty. But the reason this is done is because the film has to use a common language of beauty to communicate its ideas to the audience. The only common language everyone speaks is the one we see everyday in the media - ie, the thin, waif-like model ideal. So when we see Paltrow, the message ISN'T "thin is beautiful", the message is "thin REPRESENTS beauty". Because that's the only kind of beauty we RECOGNIZE. In other words, thinness is NOT beauty but a signpost pointing to beauty. And the direction the movie points is inwards: true beauty is NOT thinness at all - in fact, it has nothing to do with what a person looks like on the outside - true beauty is what a person is on the inside. If you still doubt this then just ask yourself this: at the end of the film did you or did you not think the fat Paltrow was beautiful? I did. Not because of the way she looked, fat or thin, but because of who she was. A good movie. Funny and touching AND it made it's point worth making w/o preaching.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
DVD ~ Rob Schneider
DVD ~ Rob Schneider
DVD ~ Rob Schneider
DVD ~ Rob Schneider
DVD ~ Jeff Doucette
on 
