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"I've Eaten Ribs
Bigger Than You!" |
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Directed by Nnegest
Likke' - Written by
Nnegest Likke'
Starring Mo'Nique,
Kendra Johnson, Eric
Roberts
Distributed by Fox
Searchlight - 2006 -
99mins - Rated PG13 |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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D- |
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Yo' mama is so ugly... |
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It's like the car
crash you can't help but look at as you drive by.
No, no wait.
It's like the circus freak sideshow you can't help but pay a dollar to
watch.
No, no...wait.
It's Mo'Nique.
I went into "Phat Girlz" with an open mind. Despite my distaste for
Mo'Nique, and despite her pathetic performance in the recent
straight-to-video "Irish Jam" I held out hope that "Phat Girlz" might
offer something...a morality lesson, a cheap laugh, any glimmer of
hope.
It doesn't.
It is now firmly, and I mean firmly, established that Mo'Nique cannot
act. Is she a funny stand-up comedienne? Hmmm, there are apparently
many who think so. I am not, however, one of them.
Beyond the awful, horridly assembled direction by Nnegest Likke and
production design that looks like it was developed by the "Kiddie
College for Phlegm Design", "Phat Girlz" is a tasteless, stupefyingly
ignorant excuse for a film.
Of course, I must confess that I am a bit biased.
You see, Queen Latifah just made this film a couple months ago. Her
film, "Last Holiday," was funny, insightful, occasionally intelligent
and, amazingly enough, well acted and written. "Phat Girlz", on the
other hand, is a stereotypical film with stereotypical situations with
the fundamental message that "fat people good...thin people bad."
Sorry, I've just given the film away. You have my humblest apologies
if you actually have any intention of seeing this crap.
The film features Eric Roberts as the stereotypical White guy in a
Black film role. Roberts, whose career is apparently now officially
off the radar, must be taking over this type of role from Tom Arnold,
who has been handling this type of role for years. Oddly enough, I
prefer Arnold.
"Phat Girlz" is also written by Likke', and I get the feeling that the
original vision for "Phat Girlz" was, in fact, quite promising. In
fact, it's easy to see why Mo'Nique would be attracted to a film that,
essentially, preaches the importance of self-acceptance and being
comfortable in our own skin. Yet, it feels like somewhere between
vision and production the film-maker lost his way. This is one case
where a different director may have actually allowed this writer's
vision to manifest itself onscreen.
"Phat Girlz", while a definite Razzie contender for 2006, offers two
small shining lights. A supporting performance by Kendra Johnson
offers "Phat Girlz" a few moments of genuine onscreen light. Also, the
film's opening moments actually do offer a few moments for Mo'Nique to
shine before she goes over-the-top into the comic twilight zone.
The end result? "Phat Girlz" is worse than a lightweight comedy...it's
downright anorexic. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
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How We Rated This Film
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TC Candler -
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| Richard Propes
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D- |
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Jacob Hall
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TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
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