Heavy Weights (1995)

I was reading about Ben Stiller on IMDb discussion boards and plenty of people recommended Heavy Weights (1995) as one of his best comedy films. Oh, boy! This is one of the most disgusting and stupid films I've ever seen - the jokes were so lame (really, do people still laugh at fart jokes?! - Probably fat people do ...), Ben Stiller's character was pathetic rather than funny and the obese boys - well, they were too self-indulging, spoiled (and most of them - hm, ugly) to be appealing in any way. Instead of amusing I found the film dangerous - it promotes stuffing with junk food, encourages undisciplined behavior and on top of all - promulgates fat people as cleverer than thin and fit ones, while the truth is that junk food and lack of exercise is bad for brain development. Do not waist your time with this crap, life is too short, watch a better movie.

Fmovies: Heavyweights was a movie that will not teach you any lessons. All this movie will teach you to do is have the time of your life whenever you are released from school for the summer. However, I still think that the movie Camp Nowhere was a little bit better though.

11 year old fat kid Jerry (Aaron Schwartz) finds out that his parents are sending him to Camp Hope for the summer. He gets excited by the idea at first until he discovers that it's a camp for fat children. After he is forced to go, he arrives and meets a ton of cool kids even though their fat also. He immediatley fits in the group and everyone is happy until the owners of the camp discover that they're being replaced by the psycho health nut Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller). Tony puts the boys through nothing but a living nightmare because he makes them work out 24/7 and doesn't let them eat anything good or let them have any fun. So the boys put their heads together and work on a plan to take down Tony and take the camp over themselves to have some FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must say that this was one of Ben Stiller's very first movies and he did such a hilarious job with the character.

Heavyweights is a very entertaining family comedy that will leave you laughing even while the credits are rolling.

As a "hefty" child Gerry's parents decide to send him to a Fat Camp and, although initially shocked, the camp looks like a lot of fun and starts really well. However only a few days into the camp, the long-time owners are forced to sell to fitness freak and would-be guru Tony Perkis. Quickly the camp goes from being one of family fun to resembling more of a prison camp, with a tight regime and cruel ownership. Gradually, as Perkis' mental state deteriorates, the group decide to take a stand.

With the Disney logo and the afternoon slot on television, I was ready for a rather childish tone to the film and I accepted it from the start. The plot is obvious and predictable throughout but really this is like complaining that water is wet, what is important that the film is fun for both kids and adults. In some ways it succeeds and the film is pretty enjoyable on a basic level even if it could have been better. The silly tone is quite fun even if it is all aimed at older children (7 –11) and not adults, I was amused by it even if I didn't really get into it – sharper material and more inventive and witty writing would have greatly improved it but it does what it does just about well enough to be worth watching.

The cast reflect the material and is full of broad (in all senses) characters who are very much cookie-cutter in their development and really don't do much more than basic pratfalls and so on – there are no real people here and the performances are average. The kids are all so-so and suit the material while the adults pretty much do the same stuff. I had reasonable hopes on the basis of Stiller and some of the cameos. Stiller plays a very toned down character that he would later do much better in Dodgeball; he is funny but you can't help feel that his material is a real limiter on what he can do – most of his best stuff is more about his delivery than his material. Stiller snr does his usual stuff but is given far too little time to make an impression while Jeffrey Tambor was a surprise find.

Overall a fairly standard film from Disney aimed at the older, pre-teen end of the kiddie market. The standard sense of humour, plot formula and material never really inspire and produce a film that is enjoyable enough on its own terms but could have been much better with a bit of effort, invention and wit put into the material. The cast are par for the course although the presence of Ben Stiller does help (although again he could have been so much better). Average stuff for pre-teens then but not without some value as amusing filler.

Heavy Weights fmovies. The film is great, I don't need to write another review of the synopsis as there are so many below, but if you have any sense of humour at all you'll like this movie. If you're a dried up 60 year old prune reminiscing about the good old days of black and white cinema when you could see a film + popcorn for a shilling and sixpence, you'll hate it. Great for kids, enough stupid stuff to keep them entertained, Fantastic for teenagers/people in their 20s, enough sick/dry humour to satisfy and make you think 'holy crap can they say that in a DISNEY film????', and older middle aged people with a sense of humour will see its quirky side too.

I just have one question, at one point with the seymour butts joke, does anyone know what josh actually says, as his joke is totally out of sync with his lip movements.

What's not to love about this movie. It's a classic 90's shenanigan comedy with the tubbies from The Mighty Ducks. They work so well together as a cast and their chemistry really shows. Although the movie's funny it doesn't start to get really good until about halfway through. It's rude, crude and childish with a carefree spirit...so moronic but you can't take it too seriously.

I do agree that it's a poor example of glutinous behaviour but even a child can tell that this is a gross over exaggeration and nobody commends this sort of diet and laziness. In saying that it's funny and not necessary about food. It's about losers becoming winners and the clinically insane getting what they deserve. And who doesn't like to watch that.

This is truly the best movie that has ever gushed from the loins of Disney. I have 7 copies in constant rotation, each dedicated to a particular weekday for viewing. I quit my job and collect social security to support my habit,as well as stuffing envelopes during the rewind phase. On the weekends when my grandma comes over to clean, she usually plays Lars or Tony, and I get to be Gerry Garner. Once I asked some Jehovah's witnesses to be Nicholas and Simms, but one talked too much and the other had a crappy English accent. I used a microwave box to make my own go-kart in the living room for me to sit in when I get to part the wild horse's mane. I'm doggen 'em, Pat! I'm doggen 'em!