Phat Girlz (2006)

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Phat Girls was fricken funny. It was full of good jokes and Mo'Nique is a charming comedic lead. A romantic comedy is not supposed to be Shakespeare. It's supposed to be cute and light and usually formulaic, which this movie was. Given that, the story took on a social issue and made it entertaining, humorous and totally watchable. If you can't crack a smile or allow yourself at least one belly laugh while viewing this movie, then you're probably the problem, not Mo'Nique.

To be honest, I found Phat Girls very disappointing. It could have been so much better. I know Mo'nique can play a confident woman, I watch The Parkers. I didn't mind her playing a woman who isn't confident and has self-esteem issues, that is a good role as it reflects many of the target audience. What I did mind was the overall message was so pushed down to make way for hateful discrimination in this wish-fulfillment movie that it was overly blatant. And I don't mind wish-fulfillment movies, that's why I bought this so I could live a little fantasy where an overweight woman (like I am) can get the hot guy and live happily ever after.What bothered me the most was how in your face the whole "I'm fat, and everyone around me is a hater" the movie was. Seriously, everyone who was not Mo'nique (and I do love her, really), her friend, and the two Nigerian guys they hook up with was just portrayed as one-diminsional villains. Every woman (okay, with the exception of a few nameless Nigerian women in one scene) was a sheer bitch to Mo'nique, every guy didn't appreciate her or was just there to trade fat jokes. Now, I'm the size as her friend, Sally, Sandra, something with an "S", but my mother was Mo'nique's size. Never have we encountered the sheer stupidity in the film where a fast food server would say, loud enough for everyone to hear, about what fat asses we were. This scene in the movie was just to have Mo'nique share "Yo Momma" jokes and verbally beat down the kid. While, yes, for his comment he deserved a beating, it did not show Mo'nique's character in a good light. Instead, it portrayed her as a person who is verbally abusive to anyone whom she can be abusive to in order to boost her self-esteem.When meeting with the Nigerian men, they swarm around Mo'nique and her friend, leaving the skinny cousin to the sides. While this is expected in a wish-fulfillment movie, again, it was handled poorly. The men make comments (in Nigerian) on how the cousin must be dying and malnurished. Which made no sense to me since they are at a pool in Palm Springs surrounded by the "American" ideal of beauty in women, and Mia was not that skinny. She was fashionably skinny, but not to the point where anyone looking at her would think malnurished. Her bones were not showing and she clearly had some muscles and tone. It was just to drive home that skinny was evil. This skinny girl, who was portrayed as self-centered and rather mean, deserved being on the other end while Mo'nique was lifted as a goddess. I don't mind that, and the only saving grace was the development of the cousin by the end, but at that moment it was so heavy handed a neon sign flashing, "Phat is sexier than skinny" would have been more subtle.There was also Mo'nique's character's attitude. As mentioned, she got in a verbal fight with a kid because he insulted her. For most of the movie, we are treated to a barrage of hateful rhetoric either spoken or thought through this character. It's considered okay because, of course, every person in the world is out to be mean to Mo'nique because no one realizes that she is really a sexy goddess who deserves respect. However, it's hard to respect a person whom you know is thinking mean thoughts over every little thing. I would have enjoyed her character more and the movie more it wasn't so ham handedly done to pound it into my skull that Mo'nique, and only women who not skinny, deserve to be well rounded and get respect. If you are not a size six, the whole world hates you, so be mean and spiteful back because you've been hurt.I really wanted to enjoy this movie more. I really did. As I said, I knew it was wish-fulfillment. Some of the things I've seen complained about, I actually liked about the movie. Like Mo'nique's break down scene. I've felt like that, and it made the movie better that afterward she picked herself up and made a decision to make her life better. Instead of just waiting for Prince Charming, her character got her courage to make her dreams come true. That part I liked. I liked the hidden message of be happy with who you are, even if you are not skinny. Well, the skinny part got muddled since the show hammered a lot of "Skinny bitches are evil" into our heads. So I guess the message was really, "If you're not skinny, be happy with who you are." I just really wish that, in order to portray this character, the movie did not feel like it had to beat into the audience that "Phat" is wonderful and "Skinny" is bad. I know Mo'nique can play a positive role model to overweight women. As I said, I watch her on The Parkers and feel that her character there is a much better representation than this character. I leave watching the Parkers feeling better about myself and enjoy Mo'nique's performance. I left watching this feeling embarrassed for being overweight because Mo'nique was portrayed as such an awful person. And I know this movie could have been so much better.So, for what it's worth, I gave it five out of ten. It lived up to being a wish-fulfillment movie, it tried to bring a positive message, and I enjoyed Mo'nique even if I didn't really like her character for the first half or so of the movie.

This movie was a good movie. It shows how no matter what you look like you need to be love yourself to be loved by someone else.It really helps big woman take a look at reality to see there can be good in being big. And just because your big doesn't mean your a bad person. The cousin was too stuck up ,and didn't really fit in this movie well. It did have a few parts that could have been taking out or changed around but overall this was a good movie. If you're a person who thinks bad thoughts about yourself, this movie can be a good eye opener for you. Follow your hopes, and dreams and anything can be possible. This is a good movie, no where near the worst movie out there.

I know I am vastly in the minority on this decree, but I found this movie to be hilarious. I admit it was very poorly done and the film itself was unprofessional, and definitely nowhere near a masterpiece, but hey, it's just good fun and not meant to wow the audience. I laughed my tail off at some of the jokes, because it is a really funny movie, and even though it could have been a lot better, it was enjoyable, entertaining and overall a very cute and fun movie to watch. Mo'Nique is really a joy and steals the show, whereas everyone else just tags along for the ride. The plot was warming, even if it had plot holes, and I was entertained thoroughly from beginning to end.It's getting way too much unfair treatment, as do a lot of movies on IMDb, and people just really need to open their eyes to all of them on here, because the ratings and comments on many, including this one, are ridiculous. Overall, it was a bad movie, but not in the sense of, "Oh my gosh, this is absolutely terrible." I totally enjoyed it and found it to be a really neat little movie in the end, and think that all the haters should rethink just a bit, because Mo'Nique is proving that BIG is beautiful.