Simply A Masterpiece

Boring

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I could not get all the way through this movie. The way she stalked him made me so uncomfortable I had to stop. I was only able to get up to their first interaction. I love Ricki Lake so much and it was hard for me to see her in this type of role. I do love the way she so bravely went after what she wanted but it was the way she did it that bothered me. The spying on him and continuing to pursue him with romantic intentions when she knew he was attached. I think the writers could have improved the film if they had let her continue to go after him but because she wanted to get to know him as a person. Instead they focus on her getting a new mattress and silk sheets. I has to be a trade off: keep the overt sexual intentions or the fiancé, maybe trade in a disapproving parent.I'll try to finish it one day but only because I feel all the good reviews mean it has to be worth it in the end. I have seen this type of movie before and seeing the cast I was hoping for better.

I have mixed feelings about this movie. On the one hand, I love to see the underdog win, especially as she is portrayed in this movie. On the other, the movie rushes to a close that leaves many loose ends, and ultimately makes some of the action seem a bit immoral.Grace (Ricki Lake) is the overweight daughter of widowed Al (John Karlen). As the movie opens, Al is marrying Wanda (Betty Buckley), a woman who seems to delight in talking about Grace's weight problem in euphemistic terms. Al seems oblivious to how hurtful his new wife is to his daughter. Grace works as a make up artist for a funeral home, an irony which is not lost on her. On her commute to and from work every day, she sees a handsome subway conductor (Craig Sheffer), whom she pines after. In spite of all the unpleasantry in her life, and a best friend, Keri (Nada Despotovich), who is doom and gloom personified, Grace has a surprising upbeat attitude about life. As the holidays approach, she decides it's time to make some positive changes in her life, looking into becoming a cosmetologist, and deciding it is time to meet the subway conductor that she dreams of. His name turns out to be Rob, and the audience knows before Grace does that he is unhappily engaged to a rather pushy woman named Olivia (Cynthia Dale). While Olivia is out of town, Grace puts her plan to meet Rob into action, with hilarious, touching, and ultimately humiliating results. Can Grace pick up the pieces and go on with her life? Can Rob actually marry Olivia? Or will fate throw them together after all? The biggest problem I have with this movie is that it completely ignores the issue that Grace is attempting to snare a man that is already taken. Granted, Grace doesn't know this at first, but when she finds out, she doesn't seem to care. Her attitude is that she will enjoy her time with him, and not worry about tomorrow, thus when tomorrow comes crashing in in the form of a very angry Olivia, I was more inclined to say "I told you so" to Grace than to comfort her. Likewise, I needed to see more of Rob working himself up to getting out of his relationship with Olivia. He just suddenly changes his mind, and shows up at the end of the movie asking to be with Grace, which is hard to swallow, even though the audiences wants to see them together. Finally, I can't imagine why Grace values Keri's friendship. Keri forces her to choose between friends, and then betrays Grace. Odd behavior from someone who is supposed to be your most trusted confidant. All of it added up to a somewhat unbelievable plot, which could have been fixed with a minimal amount of effort. Things might have worked better if Grace hadn't discovered Rob was engaged until she actually met his fiancé. And it definitely would have worked better if we had seen a scene where Rob finally tells Olivia that he wants nothing to do with her anymore, before going to tell Grace he wants to be with her, and really having to convince her to take him.The acting is a mixed bag. Lake does a nice job with Grace, although this is a similar character to Tracy in Hairspray. She contrasts Grace's sunny optimism very nicely with the difficulties she has with her family. Karlen and Buckley struggle to rise above bad material, but don't quite get there. Sheffer merely comes off as confused and unsure, while both Despotovich and Dale bristle with believable malice.I very much enjoy seeing the underdog have her day, and this is an underdog you can't help liking. But there is much that needs fixing in this movie, and the fixes are so easy that you wonder why somebody didn't catch them in the first place. So, enjoy the movie. Celebrate the triumph of this underdog, just ignore the lack of depth to the story.

I have this movie taped from the early 90's off of the lifetime channel, before lifetime became as pathetic as it now is. This movie rocks! it is a definite favorite of mine. It is heartwarming, charming, and hilarious. my best friends are all like the character of keri! but more importantly, Ricki Lake is so great! she plays the role of a lonely twenty-something so well! and it strikes a nerve for anyone that is fat and has had troubles getting the perfect guy to notice you. it is a true picture of what some people will do (i.e. me) in times of desperation! It's funny at the same time. such as the cute way ricki continually bumbles around is clumsy. i guess that might just be part of the role, however, it really makes me giggle and take awe. my boyfriend and i cuddle up and watch this movie a lot during the winter, it is a great blizzard movie! make some s'mores and get some cocoa, this movie will match the warmth you start feeling! the character of rob, played by the very beautiful craig sheffer, is a fun thing too. he's a very charming person, and it's so good that grace ends up getting a guy like rob and not someone like olivia!

It has to be said from reading the others comments that this film produces a completely different reaction on those who have weight issues & those who don't. The fact that the film is based on society's reactions and experiences for people (Rikki) with weight issues and those who don't! (Rob) - later, even Ricki herself said that she no longer wished to play such obvious roles.As a larger person myself, the idea of emotional love and physical love with a slim person in combination can be a problem. Negative Body Image can be very distructve - Happily I experienced the 'hunk relationship' which was very healing - but for all the wrong reasons -I am guilty of proving to society that good looking people don't find fat people unattractive. In fact it took several (or more) such relationships to realise that relationships are much much deeper. Sorry to bore you, but I really did relate to the film.I didn't want the film to be seen just as a 'Hollywood Dream' as on commenter wrote . . . "as if the fat girl would get the hunk".But, yes the film was funny, it was sweet and very entertaining.