Fat Girl (2001)

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

To begin with: I love artistic movies. Even slow ones. Subtle ones. So when I say, that this movie was for me painful and boring to watch, it's not at all because I dislike the pace itself. No, this movie was painfully boring because of how DULL it in reality is. I spent my time asking my self what the actual point to this was. The movie lacks any original thought or vision. The romance is dull, boring, poorly presented and over-sexualized. The relationship between the sisters (which is probably supposed to be the main focus of this film) is dull, boring, and forcefully pathological. The characters are incoherent and there is virtually no character development. The movie tries hard to be controversial and provocative, but for me it came out as forced and annoying. The ending just nailed this impression.Not worth seeing. (Who thought that 20 minutes of driving on the highway, with no interesting interactions between the characters at all, would be a good thing to put into a movie? I mean: What the hell?)

I admit, there are some beautiful, irreplaceably touching moments in this, concerning first love, and sisterly love between two opposites. One girl is beautiful, a sex object of a lot of wolf whistles, who falls for a young French guy, while holidaying with her younger, plump sister who adores food. She of course envies her, and so much wants a boyfriend, as seen by her kissing a pool pole, fantasizing it's the real thing. The especially funny scene is when the older sister and boyfriend who have just met, are sharing a perpetual kiss in an outdoor cafe, while little sister, cross seated on, watches on, while devouring her sundae/coppa. From there our love birds really get intimate sharing a raunchy night of intimacy in the girl's big bedroom, while little sister watches on there as well. These unhurried scenes have already carried half of the movie, where the fireworks between mother and daughter soon play out, and they are soon packing up and going home, the following twenty minutes is pointless, and has no substance, save for a shocking finale, something I admit, I never saw coming, which is no apology. Brielliat has done better, here. There is a coming of age story, but not enough of it to carry it through as a film, in this strung tale, that relies on very few scenes, despite good performances. Brielliat's other pics of higher rank, are far better, this a one off. Mesquida is hot, though. The title song, sung, by the younger sister, stays with me.

Truthfully I didn't get much out of Fat Girl. It was a moderately realistic approach to a pretty dysfunctional family, with some serious issues thrown in here and there....actually there are issues thrown all over the place. This movie is unique in a way where you don't focus on anything else besides what's going to happen next. For example, films like Happiness or Bad Boy Bubby, these are two films where the situations presented are so strong and realistic feeling you don't even think about the acting or cinematography etc. For this feeling that Fat Girl gives off, the film should be applauded. But on the other hand it doesn't really teach you anything. Anyone with a grip on today's reality, should understand these situations aren't so uncommon. But the ending is a totally different story. I, like everyone else watching this flick was waiting for something to happen to Anaise, but what did occur was pretty out-there. Im sure they could have handled the situation differently, to get that same exact line Anaise spoke. For one, why not have sister's boyfriend rape her? But, I suppose it's not the situation that is most important, but why she said it in the first place. All her talk about not wanting her first to be someone she didn't love.....she wasn't kidding.

Fat Girl opens with a scene depicting the sister Anais, 13, and Elena, 15, walking to town from their vacation how to get a drink. At first it appears as a seemingly innocent scene until their conversation is overheard. Of course, the topic is sex. While this topic is nothing new for teenagers going through the difficult years of puberty, what strikes the viewer is that the conversation goes far beyond mere curiosity. Elena, slim and pretty, has already engaged in a number of amorous activities besides actual penetration and Anais, overweight, plain, and deadpan, while still a virgin, is convinced that she wants her first sexual encounter to be with someone that she does not love so that she will be "broken in" for the man that she will one day love. This conversation devolves until Elena challenges Anais to see who can get a boy first.Arriving at a small outdoor café, an Italian university student invites to Anais and Elena to sit at his table with him. Anais is quick to sit beside the student, whose name is Fernando, but is ordered to stand by Elena. Fernando assures the girls that it is perfectly alright to sit with him and Elena quickly takes the seat next to him and soon, after ordering some refreshments and making small talk the two are kissing. Because of her beauty and character, Elena's parents made a rule that Anais must be with her at all times away from the vacation home, but Elena is quick to abandon her sister for a short getaway with her new boyfriend.Later in the film, after sharing a meal with Elena and Anais and their parents, Fernando sneaks into the vacation home and puts the move on Elena and she is more than willing to do anything for Fernando outside of intercourse. On this point, Fernando's demeanor changes and he tries to convince Elena to give herself to him as a "proof of love" because if she does not he will have to go off and find another woman which he does not want to do because he "loves" her. To appease Fernando, Elena consents to another route of intimacy which leaves her feeling ashamed, but Fernando assures her that it was "beautiful and "a proof of her love" for him. During this entire process, Anais has been watching the young couple. She was not spying on them per se because the activities were taking place within the bedroom that she shares with her sister. More mature than her amorously inclined but naïve older sister, Anais can see that things are leading to disaster.Always a controversial director because of her filmic depictions of sexuality that borderline on the pornographic, some would say dive right into the pornographic, Breillat delved into new ground and faced even more controversy because of its depictions of underage sexuality. However, the sexual acts depicted in the film are not meant to titillate but to make the viewer feel uncomfortable, because it is one of the few films that reflect the suffering of a young girl who has been suckered by a man she "loves," she is already talking to Fernando about getting married which he fully supports to reach his "goal," and the damaging effects that it has. Also, the film does a wonderful job depicting children who grow up too quickly and the highly uncomfortable situations that it can create. The scenes depicting the drive home are almost exhausting because of the high sense of tension that they create.While I cannot recommend Fat Girl to everyone, I can recommend it to film viewers who want to delve into a film that depicts sexuality, especially on the part of the male, at its mot base and the resulting psychological and sociological effects that it has.