Heavyweights

This movie is funny no matter how old you are. It is silly enough for children, yet mature enough for adults. This is Ben Stiller at his best, before his "neurotic weirdo" persona became his calling card. There are so many good moments in this movie, and it gets funnier the more I watch it. If you're looking for a brilliant script, you won't find it here. But if you're looking for laughs and a lot of fun, look nowhere else.

I remember enjoying HEAVYWEIGHTS growing up, and I quoted it a lot, which is strange, because I never really watched it past the adolescent point. Just today I viewed it again as a sophomore in college, and I've come to a strange conclusion: this movie is simultaneously a dumb kids movie and a... well, dumb, but very funny, comedy. This is largely due to Ben Stiller's over-the-top performance as Tony Perkis, aka the prequel to his White Goodman character in DODGEBALL, as well as Tom Hodges as Lars (which I'm pretty sure is the role he's known for, considering... well, who the hell is Tom Hodges? No offense, Tom), one of Tony's muscle-bound idiots who is from... far away. The kids have their funny parts, but they mostly account for the farting, eating, and farting while eating jokes.
Anyway, the story concerns overweight 11-year-old Gerry Garner, whose parents send him to Camp Hope, a summer camp for overweight kids. He starts to feel comfortable there because everyone else likes to stuff their faces with sugar just as much as him. Then the sh- sorry, Disney movie- poopie hits the fan, as the sweet old couple (Stiller's parents, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller) who owns the camp are replaced by Perkis, a self-help exercise guru determined to turn these fatties into brawny Schwarzeneggers by the end of summer, all of which will be filmed for an infomercial to aid Perkis' career. The first half of the movie is the kids facing Perkis' strictness, while the second half is them rebelling. Along the way, there's a tepid romance between Pat (Tom McGowan), the former-camper-turned-sweet-counselor, and Julie (Leah Lail), the sweet camp nurse, and some added wackiness from Paul 'creator of FREAKS & GEEKS' Feig as Tim, the skinny counselor who used to be a fat camper.
There is a lot of talent involved here: Stiller, Feig, and most notably Judd Apatow, who co-wrote and executive produced, and who of course would also do the same for FREAKS, thus establishing his burgeoning career as of late (and Seth Rogen and James Franco's, I'm sure). Then there's director Steven Brill, who also did THE MIGHTY DUCKS, a few Adam Sandler films (LITTLE NICKY, MR. DEEDS, as well as apperances in others like BIG DADDY), and Apatow and Rogen's DRILLBIT TAYLOR. So it's obvious where the laughs came from. The rest is a typical, clichéd kids movie, but once you see Stiller walk defiantly on broken glass to prove his inner and outer strength, none of that will matter, dear campers.

Great DVD. Amazon delivered this dvd on time (Before the expected date), in great condition and kept me posted from the time it left them, to the time it was put into my Mailbox. Highly recomend, and definatly will be shopping with Amazon agan.

The movie is lacking in a lot of areas- some only middling performances, some overly quick plot developments, but overall the film is a great success and a classic of childhood. Its lesson of being yourself and not obsessing about weight issues is inspirational and fun to watch. It's additionally notable as one of the few really good over-the-top performances from Ben Stiller, a nice cameo from Tim Blake Nelson, and an early writing credit from Judd Apatow.

Cute movie - good for the whole family. I just wish the DVD would have included extras like outtakes or deleted scenes.