Thinner (1996)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Michael McDowell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Let The Curse Fit The Crime.

Plot:

A lawyer is cursed by a gypsy to lose weight...and lose weight...and lose weight...

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Gypsy | Curse | Death | Fair

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert John Burke	...	Billy Halleck
Joe Mantegna	...	Richie Ginelli
Lucinda Jenney	...	Heidi Halleck
Michael Constantine	...	Tadzu Lempke
Kari Wuhrer	...	Gina Lempke
Bethany Joy Galeotti	...	Linda Halleck (as Joie Lenz)
Time Winters	...	Prosecutor
Howard Erskine	...	Judge Phillips
Terrence Garmey	...	Bailiff
Randy Jurgensen	...	Court Clerk
Jeff Ware	...	Max Duggenfield
Antonette Schwartzberg	...	Mama Ginelli
Terence Kava	...	Gabe Lempke (as Terrence Kava)
Adriana Delphine	...	Gypsy Woman
Ruth Miller	...	Billy's Secretary

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Thinner

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (TV rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Appleton, Maine, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Director Tom Holland wasn't happy with the ending; the producers changed the original one because every test audience hated it.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Halleck hits the gypsy in the car, she hits the windscreen and leaves no blood on it, but in the next shot there is blood all over it.

Quotes:

Billy Halleck: What are you trying to do to me?
Heidi Halleck: What you wanted me to do in the back seat of your daddy's car. Prove my love to you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: Walk Like a Man (#6.17)" (2007)

Decent Thriller, Doesn't Live Up to Book

I saw this movie on TV a few years back. I'd read the book before seeing the movie, and I've read the book a second time recently, after seeing the movie. And I think I can safely say that 'Thinner' is a decent attempt, but doesn't live up to the book.

The movie is based on Stephen King's 'Thinner'. It is based around an obese small-town lawyer, Billy Halleck (Robert Burke), who has a curse put on him by a gypsy (Michael Constantine), after running over his daughter with his car. Halleck leaves his wife (Lucinda Jenny) and daughter (Joie Lenz), to find the gypsy and get the curse that is steadily making him thin reversed, before it is too late.

Like another reviewer said, this movie seems really TV movie-ish. The only actor I recognize in this movie is the typecasted Joe Mantegna. The rest I've never heard of before or since this movie. For the most part the movie is faithful to the book. But, it lacks much of the vivid detail of the book. Also, the main character is far more tame in the movie. Though, as I said, most of the actors I've never heard of before or since, they do a very good job in this movie. After seeing the movie, I can't picture anyone else playing the roles they did. And the make-up effects are amazing.

Overall, a decent movie. Could've better captured the spirit of the book. You could find a worse way to spend two hours.

Rating: 7/10