Stephen King, that one-man cultural juggernaut, unleashes his latest cinematic effort with this adaptation of one of the novels he wrote under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. That name doesn't sell quite as well as his own, hence "Stephen King's Thinner".
Unfortunately, this horror flick, which has arrived just in time for Halloween, is one of the decidedly inferior King adaptations, more on a par with "Sleepwalkers" than "The Dead Zone". The film opened on Friday without the benefit of press screenings.
The story involves an obese lawyer, Billy Halleck Robert John Burke), who falls under the spell of a gypsy curse. Halleck and his wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenney) are driving home from dinner when she impulsively decides to provide him with some oral gratification. Understandably distracted, he fails to see the old gypsy woman and runs her down. When the judge and police chief, who happen to be his good friends, decide in a quick hearing that the incident was strictly an accident, the woman's father (Michael Constantine) takes matters into his own hands. He lays curses on all three of the conspirators, with Halleck's being described in only one word: "thinner."
Although momentarily disturbed, Halleck is soon overjoyed at his newfound weight loss, in which he loses pounds a day while continuing to eat all he wants. His elation turns to fear, however, when he discovers that he can't stop the process and that he's literally fading away. Meanwhile, his fellow victims are experiencing their own horrible transformations. Blaming his wife for causing the accident that brought about the curse, he also becomes suspicious of her close relationship with the family doctor.
He decides to fight back, with the aid of a gangster (Joe Mantegna) whom he's successfully defended on a murder charge. Soon, it's open warfare between "the white man from town" and the gypsies, whose ranks include the beautiful Gina (Kari Wuhrer), someone you definitely wouldn't want to play darts with.
After a fairly slow and subtle buildup, all hell eventually breaks loose in a violent conclusion, with a particularly nasty final development involving a lethal strawberry pie.
"Thinner" is not one of the more cinematic King stories, with the first two-thirds mainly concerned with the lead character's alarming weight loss. This transformation is well-achieved by makeup artist Greg Cannom, who convincingly alters Burke into a 300-pound behemoth and back down again. But the chief effect of watching the actor, in his fat makeup, chowing down again and again is a desire to watch a Richard Simmons infomercial. Theater owners be warned: Concession sales are likely to plummet.
Director Tom Holland, who has quite a bit of experience with this type of thing ("Fright Night", "Child's Play"), is ultimately unable to prevent the material from lurching into camp, and he is not helped by such decisions as casting Constantine as a 106-year-old gypsy. Burke, who's a long way here from working with Hal Hartley, does an effective job while coping with various kinds of inhibiting makeup. And Mantegna, who truly deserves better material than this, provides some fun moments as the Mafioso who consults his mother when it comes to important matters like curses. The author, himself, shows up in a cameo as a befuddled pharmacist.
STEPHEN KING'S THINNER
Paramount Pictures
Presented by Spelling Films
A Richard P. Rubinstein production
Director Tom Holland
Screenplay Michael McDowell, Tom Holland
Producers Richard P. Rubinstein,
Mitchell Galin
Executive producer Stephen F. Kesten
Director of photography Kees Van Oostrum
Editor Marc Laub
Music Daniel Licht
Color/stereo
Cast:
Billy Halleck Robert John Burke
Richie Ginelli Joe Mantegna
Heidi Halleck Lucinda Jenney
Linda Halleck Joy Lenz
Gina Lempke Kari Wuhrer
Tadzu Lempke Michael Constantine
Running time -- 92 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Unfortunately, this horror flick, which has arrived just in time for Halloween, is one of the decidedly inferior King adaptations, more on a par with "Sleepwalkers" than "The Dead Zone". The film opened on Friday without the benefit of press screenings.
The story involves an obese lawyer, Billy Halleck Robert John Burke), who falls under the spell of a gypsy curse. Halleck and his wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenney) are driving home from dinner when she impulsively decides to provide him with some oral gratification. Understandably distracted, he fails to see the old gypsy woman and runs her down. When the judge and police chief, who happen to be his good friends, decide in a quick hearing that the incident was strictly an accident, the woman's father (Michael Constantine) takes matters into his own hands. He lays curses on all three of the conspirators, with Halleck's being described in only one word: "thinner."
Although momentarily disturbed, Halleck is soon overjoyed at his newfound weight loss, in which he loses pounds a day while continuing to eat all he wants. His elation turns to fear, however, when he discovers that he can't stop the process and that he's literally fading away. Meanwhile, his fellow victims are experiencing their own horrible transformations. Blaming his wife for causing the accident that brought about the curse, he also becomes suspicious of her close relationship with the family doctor.
He decides to fight back, with the aid of a gangster (Joe Mantegna) whom he's successfully defended on a murder charge. Soon, it's open warfare between "the white man from town" and the gypsies, whose ranks include the beautiful Gina (Kari Wuhrer), someone you definitely wouldn't want to play darts with.
After a fairly slow and subtle buildup, all hell eventually breaks loose in a violent conclusion, with a particularly nasty final development involving a lethal strawberry pie.
"Thinner" is not one of the more cinematic King stories, with the first two-thirds mainly concerned with the lead character's alarming weight loss. This transformation is well-achieved by makeup artist Greg Cannom, who convincingly alters Burke into a 300-pound behemoth and back down again. But the chief effect of watching the actor, in his fat makeup, chowing down again and again is a desire to watch a Richard Simmons infomercial. Theater owners be warned: Concession sales are likely to plummet.
Director Tom Holland, who has quite a bit of experience with this type of thing ("Fright Night", "Child's Play"), is ultimately unable to prevent the material from lurching into camp, and he is not helped by such decisions as casting Constantine as a 106-year-old gypsy. Burke, who's a long way here from working with Hal Hartley, does an effective job while coping with various kinds of inhibiting makeup. And Mantegna, who truly deserves better material than this, provides some fun moments as the Mafioso who consults his mother when it comes to important matters like curses. The author, himself, shows up in a cameo as a befuddled pharmacist.
STEPHEN KING'S THINNER
Paramount Pictures
Presented by Spelling Films
A Richard P. Rubinstein production
Director Tom Holland
Screenplay Michael McDowell, Tom Holland
Producers Richard P. Rubinstein,
Mitchell Galin
Executive producer Stephen F. Kesten
Director of photography Kees Van Oostrum
Editor Marc Laub
Music Daniel Licht
Color/stereo
Cast:
Billy Halleck Robert John Burke
Richie Ginelli Joe Mantegna
Heidi Halleck Lucinda Jenney
Linda Halleck Joy Lenz
Gina Lempke Kari Wuhrer
Tadzu Lempke Michael Constantine
Running time -- 92 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/28/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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