La Colo des gourmands (1995)

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.

Director:

Steven Brill

Writers:

Judd Apatow, Steven Brill

Stars:

Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, Ben Stiller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Goldman	...	Nicholas
Joseph Wayne Miller	...	Sam
Cody Burger	...	Cody
Allen Covert	...	Kenny
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Roger Johnson
Nancy Ringham	...	Mrs. Maury Garner
Seth St. Laurent	...	Camp MVP Racer
Bobby Fain	...	Camp MVP Pitcher
Tom McGowan	...	Pat Finley
Aaron Schwartz	...	Gerald 'Gerry' Garner
Shaun Weiss	...	Josh Burnbalm
Tom Hodges	...	Lars
Leah Lail	...	Julie
Paul Feig	...	Tim
Kenan Thompson	...	Roy

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

fat camp | summer camp | mother son relationship | father son relationship | videotape | 

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Taglines:

They never met a hot dog they didn't like... until now.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rude language and pranks

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song played at the beginning of the movie when school gets out, is "Closer to Free", by BoDeans, from the 1993 album "Go Slow Down".

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Goofs

The position of one of the campers that Lars pushes into the water before running over to Julie; when the camper is pushed, he tips over, but in the next shot, he can be seen falling upright into the water.

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Quotes

Nicholas: [Passes Gas directly into Gerry's Face] Oh, my. I didn't mean to.
Gerry: Just go!

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #18.10 (2010)

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Soundtracks

I WANT CANDY
Written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Richard Gottehrer, and Jerry Goldstein (as Gerry Goldstein)
Performed by Bow Wow Wow
Courtesy of BMG (UK) Limited

User Reviews

Unassuming "family movie" that provides plenty of laughs

"Heavyweights" is a mid-90's Disney film about a fat camp taken over by the villainous fatboy-turned-success Tony Perkis. While the premise is not so novel, the execution is great and keeps you pretty entertained throughout.

Some of the humor is dated, very 90's-specific. However, there is plenty of timeless, cross-generational humor, and Ben Stiller is absolutely at the top of his game. He would reprise this role many times again in his career: the guy with low self-esteem who becomes an overcompensating jerk. Tom McGowan, who plays a Camp Hope lifer, also plays a solid role and draws many laughs.

Sure, it's another Disney story about underdog kids who end up conquering the odds... or something like that. But Stiller and McGowan are great, and the kids do a pretty admirable too. It's not a must-see movie, but you also won't feel like you wasted your time for having watched it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 February 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Colo des gourmands

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,062,857, 20 February 1995

Gross USA:

$17,689,177

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,689,177

Company Credits

Production Co:

Caravan Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1