Review of Heavyweights (1995) by Jon-Tyler S — 27 Jan 2012
(4 Stars) "The Judd Apatow Disney Movie"... it exists and it's pretty funny. The first half of Heavyweights is very amusing and has a ton of quotable lines, so you can see why it's a cult classic.
The story has so much potential for comedy: fat camp. And Ben Stiller as the insane Tony Perkins is very, VERY funny. So if you're a fan of these kinds of movies, that's enough to recommend watching it.
.. but halfway through, the story jumbles and falls apart, which prevents me from loving it. I love when it's about fat kids VS a psycho health nut, but then it melts into fat kids VS rival camp of fit kids (aka underdogs VS obviously going to lose to underdogs by the end credits) and we've seen that before.
The psycho health nut story isn't given that great of a payoff. However, I can't help but notice that the movie may have been hindered by its PG-rating; think of all the stuff they couldn't get away with.
There's even a few over-dubbed lines, like the "Seymour Butts" scene, to tone down the language. But I can't say I'm too disappointed because I really like the premise and I laughed a lot for a PG-rated Disney movie.
Heavyweights is very comical and due for a remake.
This review of Heavyweights (1995) was written by Jon-Tyler S on 27 Jan 2012.
Heavyweights has generally received positive reviews.
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