"Phat Girlz": Comedy's message on weight fluctuates
"Phat Girlz" is first-time feature writer/director Nnegest Likké's cinematic buffet about big women living in a "fattist" society. While the topic will invigorate the plus-size population and is an overdue eye-opener for others, the film is unfortunately uneven and self-indulgent.
Comic Mo'Nique plays the full-figured Jazmin Biltmore, a department-store drone who wants to design attractive clothes for women her size. Problem is, she can't seem to make up her mind. On one hand, she champions the plump woman. On the other, she's constantly dieting in hopes of finally wearing that size 5 dress hidden in her closet.
"Phat Girlz," with Mo'Nique, Godfrey, Joyful Drake, Kendra C. Johnson, Jimmy Jean-Louis. Written and directed by Nnegest Likké. 99 minutes. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. Several theaters.
She and her pals, fellow large lady Stacey (Kendra C. Johnson) and skinny cousin Mia (Joyful Drake), escape to a Palm Springs resort where a group of Nigerian doctors eye the big girls with love and lust. Tunde (Jimmy Jean-Louis) particularly admires Jazmin's physique and fierceness, but as their relationship grows, so do her insecurities.
The film isn't content to spell out the fat-equality message, but shouts it. When Likké isn't high-fiving her "sexy succulent" sisters, she has them harp about their size, fetishize food and put down skinny people. The director admits that she's still coming to terms with her own issues, which is probably why Jazmin is a flawed, contradictory being.
This is the heart of "Phat Girlz's" problem. Likké spends so much time nurturing Jazmin's neuroses, they become highly annoying, get in the way of the comedy and almost undermine her character's growth.
Likké crams so many examples of fat prejudices, jokes and doubts into the first two-thirds of the film that the remainder feels rushed.
In short, because of its good intentions and charming moments, "Phat Girlz" isn't a bad movie, but it's a badly made one.