Heavy Weights

3/4

Starring: Aaron Schwartz, Tom McGowan, Ben Stiller, Shaun Weiss, Kenan Thompson, Leah Lail, Paul Feig

Rated PG for Some Rude Language and Pranks

To me, "Heavy Weights" represents more than just a movie.  It's all about nostalgia.  This is a movie that I would watch at friends' houses during sleepovers or at summer camp.  It feels so personal to me than I can hardly believe that this was made to make money for Disney.  True, it's not particularly a good movie, but it is special to me.

Gerry Garner (Schwartz) is an overweight kid living in suburbia.  On the last day of school, he arrives home to find that his parents (Jeffrey Tambor and Nancy Ringham) have brought in Roger Johnson (Tim Blake Nelson) to tell him something no portly kid ever wants to hear: he's going to fat camp.  Naturally, Gerry is against the idea, preferring to lounge around, but he's won over by the promotional video (especially the go-karts).  So Gerry flies to a place in the middle of the woods to attend Camp Hope.  Things are looking great until he finds out that the camp owners, Mr. and Mrs. Bushkin (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara in cameos), have been bought out by Tony Perkis (Stiller).  Perkis is a living nightmare.  He's vain to the point of narcissism and his methods for making the kids lose weight border on sadistic.  In no short order, he has turned what looks to be a fun summer into a hell.   That's when Gerry and the campers start to fight back.  And they have help; longtime counselor Pat Finley (McGowan), nurse Julie (Lain) and ex-camper turned counselor Tim (Feig) share the campers' hatred of Tony and his equally narcissistic counselors.

In today's climate of an obesity epidemic, one might think that a movie about fat kids who fight back against guys who are trying to get them healthy sends the wrong message.  Such party-poopers have wandered into the wrong movie.  This is a fun comedy, and the message is about personal responsibility (something that no one in this country seems to be able to grasp).

The acting is suspect, but no one is truly good or bad.  Aaron Schwartz is good, although the sometimes clunky dialogue (penned in part by Judd Apatow--surprise, surprise) defeats him.  Ditto for character actor Tom McGowan.  Shaun Weiss and Kenan Thompson are the standouts among the campers.  They've been funny before (such as in "The Mighty Ducks" franchise, whose initial film also starred Schwartz), and they bring in some big laughs.  Leah Lail is a pretty face, but that's all she has going for her.  Paul Feig is funny, but he doesn't have much to do.

The exception is Ben Stiller.  If there's one reason to see this movie, it's to see how far over-the-top Stiller goes.  With a bizarre harido and in constant skin-tight workout wear, Tony looks nuts.  His obsession with exercise and a lack of brainpower make him hilarious.  This helps take down his pretty brutal behavior.

Steven Brill, a director without a particularly sterling resume, does decent work here, although he doesn't direct his child actors particularly well and his timing is sometimes off.  Still, he understands what a movie like this is supposed to be, and he does a reasonably effective job of pulling it off.  While there are some clunkers in the beginning, there are some scenes in the movie (particularly in the second half) that are hilarious.

Look, this is one of those movies where affection may have overshadowed my critique ("An American Tail" falls into this category as well).  But to be honest, this movie is too good-natured to truly dislike.  I liked this movie as a kid, and I like it now.

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