They don't run the fastest. They don't jump the highest. But they sure are getting the last laugh.
1995-02-17
$10.0M
100 min
Camp Hope is a summer retreat for overweight boys run by a kindly couple who make the campers feel comfortable with their extra pounds. But when tyrannical fitness guru Tony buys the camp, he puts the kids on a cruel regimen that goes too far. Sick of the endless weeks of "all work and no play," the kids stage a coup and reclaim their summer of fun.
A one-joke film.
I expected a fair deal from <em>'Heavyweights'</em>, especially after seeing Ben Stiller was involved. Unfortunately, it never takes off after the initial joke becomes tiresome; the characters are fat, that's basically it. It needed more meat on the bones (pardon the pun), too mediocre.
Stiller isn't great either, in a part which is basically a watered down version of the role he'd play nine years year, White Goodman, in <em>'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'</em> - he, surely, used this character, Tony, as inspiration for White? Elsewhere, you have two of the funnier kids from <em>'The Mighty Ducks'</em> series, as well as a few fairly known faces like Jeffrey Tambor (Maury) and Tim Blake Nelson (Roger).
I get the intentions, but the heartfelt message that (I think) the film aims for doesn't really come out clearly. The ending feels like an unconnected add-on that was put in to add to the run time. In truth, it isn't anything terrible - I just wanted and expected more.
