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The first rule of filmmaking—learn how to spell. Yes,
I realize that the title is supposed to be “slang”. That
was the first nail in the coffin for “Phat Girlz” a film
so unfunny that I suspected star Mo’Nique didn’t shed pounds
at a fat farm just her sense of humor. Honestly movies this
poorly made and, well, just plain dumb make Adam Sandler’s
“Click” seem like “It’s a Wonderful Life”. ***
The thin (pardon the pun) plot isn’t enough to hang
a sheet on much less an entire two hour movie. I’ll try
to summarize the film without vomiting. Here goes—Jazmin
puts the C in curves. She’s a big girl and has to put up
with her cousin Mia an aerobics teacher with just the right
look to lure in all unsuspecting men. She has it, uses it
and is proud of every inch of her perfectly sculpted body.
She’s also obnoxious as heck. Comparing herself to Mia just
depresses Jazmin (seems somebody flunked spelling either
that or the copy editor of those baby name books is in desperate
need of glasses) who hates how she looks. When Jazmin wins
a trip to a spa she takes her best friend Stacey (who also
has a weight problem of her own) and Mia planning on a girl’s
getaway. A convention of docs from African are in town and
they appreciate Jazmin’s ample curves more than Mia’s muscle
toned body. Comedy is supposed to ensue. ***
While I can appreciate “Phat Girlz” message it’s the
messenger that’s the problem. There certainly need to be
films that make fun of our culture’s focus on being wafer
thin and the definition of beauty. There’s a deft satire
that’s just aching to be made on the subject (in fact I
seem to recall a couple that HAVE been made and are quite
good) but this film isn’t it. The elements here just don’t
gel (and in fact the film would probably be better served
by being turned into hair gel but that’s another story entirely).
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Image & Sound:
Shot on digital video this is a great argument against
the format. Other films have since used the format extremely
well this film doesn’t. “Phat Girlz” looks awful with soft
images, a significant amount of digital grain and sequences
that appear so out of focus that they couldn’t pass muster
at a USC film class. I’m not sure if it’s the source material
or the transfer but either way this looks bad. The audio
likewise suffers although dialogue is clear much of the
time. The 5.1 mix makes the best of the format with the
various hip-hop songs from the film sounding robust with
solid bass throughout. ---
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