Review of Tiptoes (2002) by Joe A — 10 Aug 2010

One of those movies you can believe only Hollywood had the audacity to make. McConaughey plays a man with whom dwarfism runs in his family. Tension arises when girlfriend Beckinsale gets pregnant and there is concern over the baby having this trait.

Adding to the "I can't believe what I'm watching" is Gary Oldman as McConaughey's dwarf brother with whom Beckinsale bonds with. The intentions with this film seem well meaned if not misguided.

It's got a good cast and is well acted but, the more it tries to show that all people are the same deep inside, the more it embarrases itself. The more the leads weigh the issue of the possibility of their baby being a dwarf, the more this supposed "nice" couple come across as callous and shallow.

The film blatantly misses it's own point. The real way to prove the point would be to hire dwarf actors to play parts that have nothing to do with their being dwarves, not create a film that hires them specifically for that reason, and, for the pointing out of how they are viewed as different.

Then it becomes exploitation.The film really derails in the final act with the scenes between the couple after the baby's birth. They are borderline repulsive and almost unwatchable.