The story of an unexpected friendship between two women - one obese the other anorexic.Lydia is a fat graceful woman struggling to maintain her identity in fashionable Venice Beach CA. Though she is a member of a Fat Acceptance Group (a movement dedicated to fighting prejudice against fat people) she still struggles with complex feelings about her body and its place in the world.Darcy a recovering-anorexic Venice real estate agent is struggling with the same issues from a very different perspective. Her attempt to join the Fat Acceptance Group (since she sees herself as fat) is quickly rejected - but it introduces her to Lydia.Though they seem at first to be each other s worst nightmare Lydia and Darcy begin to confide in each other. Meeting warily in the social minefields of hunger and satisfaction anger and femininity sexuality and fashion trust and fear...they become friends.But then Lydia stirred by a growing romance with a sweet overweight guy named Bob asks Darcy for an unusual favor: she wants anorexia lessons.When Darcy lets Lydia inside her secret inner world it forces both women to confront deeply-buried feelings about their bodies - and nothing will ever be the same again for either one.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/WOMEN'S FRIENDSHIP UPC: 881394104921 Manufacturer No: CLS1049 Product Description
While the conversations in this movie are thought-provoking, this film ultimately reenforces stereotypes. Lydia is portrayed as a compulsive, emotional over-eater, when study after study has shown that many fat people do not eat any more than average people, and often are persistent dieters. The film also comes down on the side that Lydia needs therapy - it portrays sizism as an issue that must be dealt with internally, rather than dismantling society's prejudices. If any other group of people facing discrimination were told to seek therapy and self-help, we would recognize that attitude alone as an extreme prejudice, much less the problem of failing to recognize the very real prejudice that leads to internalized oppression. This film portrays the leaders of the fat acceptance group as being extremists instead of being needed social reformers.
December 1, 2008 |  | Perfect for what it was meant to be |  |
The actors were real. The story is real. The film-makers tie together two seemingly opposite women's struggles and show very clearly how it is all the same thing, at the end of the day: fat, anorexic, "normal" (whatever that means), no matter where a woman falls on the continuum, the body dissatisfaction is the same, and it's all-pervasive and all-encompassing. I would not go so far as to call the actors' performances brilliant; they are amateurs, in my opinion, and their performances are less than polished. But they're just amateur, they aren't painful to watch, and the film comes together nicely despite the seeming inexperience of the cast, and tells an important story which I think should be required material at all high schools and universities. I'd say elementary schools, but there is a sex scene that's pretty visual...speaking of which, as a woman whose body looks a lot like the actress who starred in the scene, I want to say that I am happy that they showed the actual scene and didn't cut to a more acceptable view of a fat woman, meaning, as covered up as possible. I am not a big fan of sex scenes, as they go, because I would really prefer to keep my sex private and vice versa, but if I have to see skinny people's nakedness in the average PG-13 movie that I see in the theaters these days, then for once I am glad to have seen some fat people over-share in that department, too. You know, equal-opportunity inappropriateness. But aside from that, anyhow, I think this was a great film.
August 24, 2008This was one amazing film, and one everyone should see - fit, fat or in-between. It brings up a lot of interesting subjects and surprised me in that early on it becomes clear this is not a movie about making overweight women feel proud of themselves. It also doesn't really answer any questions - what it does is make you think: about how you view yourself and how you view other people, and this includes the overweight as well as the underweight. And still it was about so much more. I had the pleasure of meeting cast and crew at Cinequest in San Jose and this was one of my favorite films of the festival.
August 17, 2008Provocative, engaging, inspiring. Wow!!! I found this movie thoroughly enjoyable. I was laughing and crying as I related to the characters in this movie. I applaud the cast and crew for making such a fine feature film.
August 8, 2008I wish there were more movies like this: interesting, engaging, sensitive, well written, well acted and about every day life. No explosions, no special effects, just real people and real life, with an emotional impact and characters we care about. The main theme, body image and relationships, is a timely one.
August 3, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(5 reviews)