Plump kids are lured into joining a posh fat camp with the promise of quick weight loss and good times, only to find that the facility is a woodland hellhole run by a psycho ex-fitness instructor.
11-year-old Gerald "Gerry" Garner lives in Long Island, New York, and he's overweight. Gerry's parents Maury and Mrs. Garner decide to send Gerry to Camp Hope, a camp for overweight boys. The camp is owned by kindly Harvey Bushkin and his equally kind wife Alice Bushkin. When the Bushkins file for bankruptcy the camp has to be sold, it is bought by a wacko named Tony Perkis. Tony plans to force the campers to lose as much weight as they can, and he also intends to document the marathon shedding of weight and use it for an infomercial for his slenderizing program. In the eyes of the campers, Tony has made Camp Hope a living hell. As Gerry and counselor Pat Finley lead the efforts to overthrow Tony, the campers prepare for the Apache Relay against arch rival Camp MVP. The Apache Relay is a kind of race in which Camp Hope has never defeated Camp MVP before.
Written by Todd Baldridge
The story that Tony tells the boys during the hike is actually a confused mix of the myths of Icarus and Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a Greek king who tricked the gods on several occasions. As punishment, upon his death, he was forced to push a boulder up a hill for all of eternity. Before he could reach the top of the hill, the boulder would roll back down and he would have to start over. Icarus was a young man who tried to escape an island prison with his father, Daedalus, by making wings out of feathers and wax. Despite his father's warnings, Icarus flew too close to the sun, his wings melted and he fell to his death.
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Goofs
Plot holes:
Tony offers Nicholas a "chocolate kiss" to lure him closer to his cage. The boys had only just been through their all-night food and candy orgy. It's highly unlikely that Nicholas would be tempted by a little piece of chocolate, given he's been able to have whatever he wants to eat for days now.
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Quotes
Gerry:
I'm not going to a camp with a bunch of fat loads! See more »
Crazy Credits
As the credits end, a doorbell rings. A door is opened to reveal Tony
Perkis, now a door-to-door salesman selling "Healing Crystals". After
a brief salesman speech from Perkis, the door is slammed shut in his
face.
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