Phat Girlz Review
Posted by Matthew Craggs on 04.11.2006
A valiant effort...
Cast
Mo'Nique - Jazmin Biltmore
Jimmy Jean-Louis Tunde
Godfrey Akibo
Kendra C. Johnson Stacey
Joyful Drake Mia
Dayo Ade - Godwin
Fox Searchlight presents a film written and directed by Nnegest Likké. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language, including some crude sexual references. Runtime 99 minutes.
I would like to take this time to take credit for the Queen Latifah theory. It may seem a little off topic, but stick with me and it will all make sense.
I am not a fan of Queen Latifah. I don't think she has much talent and besides Beauty Shop I don't think she chooses good roles. But there is no arguing that she is a huge star. You see her in Cover Girl commercials and in a few flicks every year. She makes more money in an hour than I will ever see in my lifetime and I can't fault her for that. So why on earth does she get this far with so little talent? I will explain.
Queen Latifah is not a small woman. That isn't to say that she doesn't look good when she wants to, and that's not to say she's big, but if you were to sit her next to Lara Flynn Boyle there is a size differential. I'll reiterate, she's a beautiful woman, but she is not 5' 3" and 110 pounds. Which is a-okay in my books. She was also a rapper that played off her rap career when she initially made her transition into mainstream roles. Take Bringing Down The House for example. The people behind Bringing Down The House wanted you to think "That character is ghetto" because they want you to think Queen Latifah is ghetto.
Her body and her image are the reason she is this famous. Audiences have countless 5'3" 110 pound Barbie dolls thrown at them when they turn on Entertainment Tonight and they feel guilty about it. When you say you are a Queen Latifah fan that guilt is replaced with a feeling that you have done good. It's the equivalent of saying "I'm not racist, I listen to Jimi Hendrix."
Meanwhile, rap music is the new Rock N' Roll. Everyone not just youth try to dress like rappers, talk like rappers, and act like rappers. To an older audience she is non-threatening because of her history and style. Latifah was the daughter of a cop and wrote lyrics that were more positive than negative. Remember when your parents started saying things like "In the house" and Rosie O'Donnell asked her audience to "raise the roof?" Those people love Queen Latifah. It sure isn't because of her movies. Remember Taxi?
So what does this have to do with Nnegest Likké's debut Phat Girls? Well, let me tell you a little bit about Phat Girls first.
Comedian Mo'Nique, of The Parker's fame, is aspiring fashion designer Jazmin Biltmore. She wants to make clothes for plus sized women, and I can't blame her. She's proud of her own plus sized body and isn't afraid to tell other's. Joining Jazmin on this journey is Stacy (Kendra C. Johnson) and her cousin Mia (Joyful Drake). The catch is that Jazmin, regardless of what she says, really doesn't feel good about her body. Who's fault is that? Society! To make matters worse she's single, even though she dresses flashy.
So at this point we have a good character in Jazmin and some decent sidekicks. We also have a hook. Jazmin wins a trip to Palm Springs. The girls head out there to relax and unwind. On their vacation they meet the boys. Doctors, to be exact. Tunde and Akibo from Nigeria. They take a liking to Jazmin and Stacy. The Tunde and Jazmin relationship eventually falls apart because of bad self image and Jazmin has to learn to, you guessed it, overcome her insecurities. We all feel good when we leave the theatre, not that I'm spoiling anything.
The Queen Latifah theory is relevant because Phat Girls works in the same way as a Latifah centric picture. The film itself is not very good. The plot winds and turns where you expect it to and the jokes fall flat, even if Mo'Nique does have quite a bit of talent. There are scenes where Jazmin trades insults based on appearance that feel juvenile, even if she knows how to trade an insult. In one scene she berates a fast food employee and you're left thinking "Why didn't I stay home and read that list of Yo Momma jokes that was forwarded to my e-mail?"
The difference between this film and the Latifah theory is that the moral (love yourself even if the front of the magazines tell you otherwise, which is a good moral) hits you over the head again, and again. Combined with the wackiness inherent to a comedy featuring an over-the-top star it doesn't go down smooth. If Likké had tried for straight drama with a touch of funny (which she does, to her credit, with much better jabs at the fashion world) and changed the name of the picture Phat Girls would have been more effective. See, Queen Latifah encourages the same love-yourself philosophy, but she knows when to hold back on the "Look at that booty, now that is a booty" jokes most of the time.
Still, the issues are real, and I know too many beautiful women who feel the same way as Jazmin Biltmore. This film will definitely make women who feel that way happy, and that's a good thing. If you consider the audience for the picture Phat Girls is kind of decent. Its heart is good. Unfortunately, if you consider it any other way, the film is a little below average. Either way the verdict is a rental when you're feeling blue.
The 411: Phat Girls is a mediocre movie that has a good heart. The theme is a valuable one to the young women of the world but the story is to stale to be entertaining.
