I read some very adamant and strong reviews for this film that all said the same thing and I completely agree. This was marketed as a film for teen girls to feel good about themselves and not obsess over weight but then you watch the film and it's actually directed at skinny people and how they shouldn't make fun of fat people because they have feelings too. How pathetic. It almost made me sick to watch the movie. The girl in the film who is larger is made to look like a loser with real feelings so she should be treated gently. How about not making her a loser in the first place? The film was decently acted but certainly nothing outstanding and the script is downright depressing and written with the maturity and intelligence of an eight year old. The best I can say is that the prosthetics for the main character were well done, better than she should have been able to pull off. The story is incredibly predictable, depressing, and never really comes full circle to make you feel good about what is supposed to be essentially a feel good film. I don't recommend this to anyone...but especially teenagers or anyone looking for some kind of moral message.
Lovely Kaley Cuoco plays lovely Alyson, the picture perfect, pretty athlete who has everything going for and apparently is smart too. I actually find her character boring and vapid and I actually think it's not her fault. I think the character was written poorly and the writing overall gives an actor nothing to work with. Caroline Rhea is almost decent as Cuoco's mother who has had past issues with medical problems based on weight. She's struggling with her relationship with her daughter and it is almost the one redeemable quality about the film and the one almost interesting story. Melissa Halstrom plays the larger girl that Cuoco "befriends." On top of having a weight problem Halstrom is written to look like a loser. She has no friends save for one guy who is clearly written as a nerd, geek whatever you want to call them. Halstrom's character doesn't even try to be a likable character. For her first film I suppose she does an alright job but I don't think it helps her case. Brandon Olds is really the only other redeemable character and performance in the film. His character is far more apathetic and he actually gives a good performance.
I think I blame the poor quality of this film on the film makers, in particular the director and writer and there really is no excuse for director Douglas Barr who has been in showbiz for decades and has directed many, many TV Specials and shows although I don't know the quality of any of them. Same really goes for M.A. Lovretta who penned the script. She's been writing Television, although not great Television for the better part of the last ten years and coming from a woman writer I would have expected more respect and emotion to a story like this. It's not the worst film I've seen TV or otherwise but I don't suggest it if you think you're going to get a sweet cute little TV money. It's preachy in all the wrong ways and overall boring. 5/10
Lovely Kaley Cuoco plays lovely Alyson, the picture perfect, pretty athlete who has everything going for and apparently is smart too. I actually find her character boring and vapid and I actually think it's not her fault. I think the character was written poorly and the writing overall gives an actor nothing to work with. Caroline Rhea is almost decent as Cuoco's mother who has had past issues with medical problems based on weight. She's struggling with her relationship with her daughter and it is almost the one redeemable quality about the film and the one almost interesting story. Melissa Halstrom plays the larger girl that Cuoco "befriends." On top of having a weight problem Halstrom is written to look like a loser. She has no friends save for one guy who is clearly written as a nerd, geek whatever you want to call them. Halstrom's character doesn't even try to be a likable character. For her first film I suppose she does an alright job but I don't think it helps her case. Brandon Olds is really the only other redeemable character and performance in the film. His character is far more apathetic and he actually gives a good performance.
I think I blame the poor quality of this film on the film makers, in particular the director and writer and there really is no excuse for director Douglas Barr who has been in showbiz for decades and has directed many, many TV Specials and shows although I don't know the quality of any of them. Same really goes for M.A. Lovretta who penned the script. She's been writing Television, although not great Television for the better part of the last ten years and coming from a woman writer I would have expected more respect and emotion to a story like this. It's not the worst film I've seen TV or otherwise but I don't suggest it if you think you're going to get a sweet cute little TV money. It's preachy in all the wrong ways and overall boring. 5/10