Fatso

Directed by Anne Bancroft, Fatso follows Dom DeLuise’s Dominic DiNapoli as he’s spurred on to lose some weight after the premature death of his beloved cousin, Sal – with the narrative subsequently detailing Dominic’s ongoing efforts at staying the course and, eventually, his pursuit of a shopkeeper named Lydia (Candice Azzara). It’s an intriguing setup that’s employed to periodically engaging yet mostly middling effect by Bancroft, as the first-time filmmaker, working from her own screenplay, places an ongoing emphasis on woefully broad elements that become more and more grating (and intolerable) as time progresses – with, especially, Bancroft’s reliance on eye-rollingly over-the-top instances of comedy ranking high on the picture’s list of misbegotten attributes. (It doesn’t help, certainly, that virtually none of this stuff is actually funny.) The movie’s failure is especially disappointing given that Bancroft has elicited a sympathetic, engaging performance from DeLuise, and there’s little doubt, ultimately, that Fatso is at its best when focused on Dominic’s appealingly low-key exploits (eg his tentative relationship with Azzara’s likable figure). The final result is a well-meaning endeavor that just doesn’t, for the most part, work, which is a shame, ultimately, given that Bancroft sporadically does an effective job of tackling the decidedly tricky subject matter.

** out of ****