Review of Phat Girlz

Introduction

Written and directed by Nnegest Likké, `Phat Girlz` tells the story of Jazmin (Mo`nique), who works in the fashion department of Bloomfeld`s and has ambitions of being a fashion designer for plus size women, like herself. Permanently overweight, and using every diet pill on the market, she can`t seem to lose weight - which isn`t surprising as she snacks on fries and orders huge amounts of food from the `Fatass Burger` fast food outlet. Jazmin`s cousin Mia (Joyful Drake) has always been thin and stood by when Jazmin was picked on at school and now has the figure of a swimsuit model, unlike Jazmin`s best friend Stacey (Kendra C. Johnson), who is also overweight.

Jazmin wins a five star stay at Palm Springs courtesy of one of the diet pill companies and she reluctantly goes when persuaded by Mia and Stacey that the break will do her good. There they meet three Nigerian doctors who take an interest in Jazmin and Stacey because, in Nigeria, being big is a sign of affluence, so Mia finds herself sidelined and miserable. Meanwhile Stacey is having the time of her life with Akibo (Godfrey) and Jazmin finds herself falling in love with Tunde (Jimmy Jean-Louis).

Video

A nice crisp transfer but unfortunately the poor camerawork is a major distraction.

Audio

The DD 5.1 soundtrack is clear enough, although the urban Afro-American language is hard to follow and is similar to the Queen Latifah film `Barbershop 2: Back in Business` that was so unintelligible I didn`t make it to the end.

The English HoH subtitles helped but for some reason they subtitled the burned in subtitles for when the doctors are speaking Nigerian to each other.

Features

Deleted and Additional scenes - ten omitted or extended scenes with optional commentary by writer/director Nnegest Likké. None of these add much to proceedings but at least the commentary contextualises them.

Bloopers - three minutes of outtakes which, surprisingly, aren`t in the slightest bit amusing.

Conclusion

So Wikipedia tells me, `phat` is "An adjective in African American slang used to express approval" and that the word can be used to describe attractive women, and obviously `Girlz` means girls so the film is about the different way women can be attractive: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Jazmin Biltmore (geddit?) learns that phat stands for "Pretty, Hot And Thick" and that not only do you have to be skinny to be attractive, being overweight is actually preferable. This is not a healthy message to send out with obesity levels on the increase together with all the health issues it brings.

With concerns over the boom in `size 0` models and celebrities, a film that shows the other side, to show that you don`t need to be ridiculously thin to be successful is to be welcomed but `Phat Girlz` goes the other way and seems to promote another equally unhealthy lifestyle.

Issues with the subtext aside, this is supposed to be a comedy yet at no point did I laugh, let alone crack a smile. Aside from the woeful script, dire direction and wooden acting, the other major flaw with the film is the character of Jazmin, the protagonist with whom we are supposed to empathise. I didn`t really feel for her plight because she is shallow, rude and fat because she doesn`t stick to a diet plan and gorges on unhealthy food.

I can find no sign of an R2 release for this and as, this film has no redeeming features whatsoever, I`m not at all surprised.