Thinner
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Movie Reviews of Thinner
Movie Review: THINNER - THE MOVIE BY RICHARD BACHMAN AKA STEPHEN KING
Summary: 4 Stars
VERY GOOD MOVIE. FOLLOWS THE BOOK ALMOST TO A T. I THINK THEY DID A FINE JOB OF SHOWING THE VARIOUS STAGES OF WEIGHT LOSS THAT THE MAIN
CHARACTER ENDURES. NICE LITTLE TWIST TO THE END THAT THE BOOK DID NOT
HAVE.
Movie Review: PRETTY BIG TO BE THIN:c)
Summary: 4 Stars
Enjoyed the movie. Teaches everyone to never underestimate anything someone else is capable of... especially if you don't know them.Movie Review: Okay
Summary: 4 Stars
i thought the movie was cool, i hope i never make anyone that mad at me....Movie Review: There's just not a lot of story to work with here
Summary: 3 Stars
Stephen King's Thinner is famous for one thing, and it's not this motion picture adaptation. Thinner was the fifth novel released under King's Richard Bachman pseudonym, and its relative success on its own (along with a few tell-tale clues in the text itself) lifted the veil on what was already basically an open secret to reveal none other than Stephen King to be the actual writer. If Thinner had been one of King's better novels, he would not have released it as Bachman; thus, the movie has little chance of becoming a classic or universal crowd-pleaser. The main problem with this whole story is in fact one of thinness; unlike the main character, who enters the arena rather hugely and soon wastes away to nothing, the storyline starts out thin and basically remains that way. Thinner just doesn't have the feel a Stephen King movie (or novel) should have; very little of consequence happens outside the tight strictures of the basic plotline; none of the characters seems to bring any life to what they are doing, and no one besides the young daughter is even remotely likable. Depth of character and the inherently interesting relationships between seemingly real individuals make up one of the greatest strength's driving King's creations; oftentimes, movie adaptations fail to capture this important magic and, predictably, prove somewhat disappointing. In the case of Thinner, such depth was never there to begin with.Thinner is about as straightforward a plot as you will ever get from Stephen King. Billy Halleck, an obese, morally ambivalent lawyer accidentally (with some help from his unsavory wife) runs over an old gypsy woman. His friendship with the chief of police and presiding judge allows him to walk away scot-free, a fact which obviously annoys the victim's 106-year old father. This gypsy king places a curse upon the men who killed and then covered up the death of his daughter. Billy's curse comes down to one word, "Thinner." He quickly finds himself losing weight, which seems to be a blessing - at first. It doesn't take him long to figure out, though, that he is dropping two to four pounds a day regardless of how much food he throws down his throat. When he sees the effect of the gypsy curse on his two friends, reality hits him like a great big frying pan. As his fear and paranoia increase exponentially, he grows distrustful of his own wife, who truly is just a little too friendly to his basically unhelpful doctor. In desperation, having failed to convince the gypsy to release his curse, Billy turns to one of his shady clients, using him to implement his own "white man's curse" on the gypsy king and his thoroughly despicable grand-daughter. The ending of the movie differs slightly from King's original ending, but it comes off rather well.
All in all, this is a perfectly good movie that really doesn't even aspire to anything greater than what it is. Stephen King makes another memorable appearance as the town pharmacist, and that is pretty much the highlight of the whole film for me. If you are some kind of fanatic about movie makeup, though, maybe Thinner has a little more to offer you than it does me. Taking a character from 300 pounds to 128 pounds in a matter of several weeks is not something you just do off the cuff. Thus, the evolution of Robert John Burke's makeup becomes almost distracting as the movie progresses. This is really beaten into your head listening to the commentary by director Tom Holland and actor Joe Mantegna. Each stage of the makeup job is addressed, and I really don't care how many layers of latex the guy has on at any point or how that little bit of flaking and almost imperceptible sliding works and doesn't work, etc. I don't often listen to movie commentaries to know how they normally go, but this one seems to point out too many little problems, editing mistakes, and budget-deprived inadequacies in the film. Take my advice - don't listen to the commentary's litany of problems, just watch the film and try to find what little successes it provides. Again, I'm not saying this is a bad movie; when it's over, though, you just kind of shrug your shoulders and go on as it immediately begins to fade from your memory.
Movie Review: Thinner?Was It All Worth It In Some Way?
Summary: 3 Stars
Speaking from personal experience from being an extra (one who actually appeared prominantly) in King's TV production The Langoliers I had a first hand look into what goes into a Stephen King production in general.I was to have appeared in this film as an extra as well but circumstances simply didn't allow for it. Wheras I watched The Langoliers on TV and actually enjoyed it I just recently saw this movie.I'd always been curious about it and heard a lot of conflicting reviews of the film which didn't give the proper impression. So I finally saw it. Frankly.......it was a disappointing film.I've seen horror films before and most of them have some resolution in the end. While this one is unique in that it involves a very terrestrial curse rather then something supernatural. The problem is I was never really certain which of the central characters to route for.Billy Halleck,a lawyer presented in the beginning as having somewhat "questionable ethics" (itself a stereotype of the profession) may have been cursed by a gypsy for "killing" his daughter,being mildly distracted by his wife having given him "oral pleasure" in their car but at the same time some of the methods he uses to undo the curse,including an encounter with a mobster played by Joe Montenga,who was involved in a court case with Halleck as lawyer earlier in the film, become very selfish and sadistic.Not to mention that Robert John Burke portray's Billy Halleck as pompous and glutonous to an unbelievable degree. At certain points in the film it doesn't seem like his is really a life worth saving. Although the concept of bigotry against gypsies is covered to a certain point they are not portrayed as sympathetic characters either,but as nomad rougues looking for a fight. Not only that but another reviewer here is VERY correct:in terms of how Billy Hallecks misadventure takes him his wife,whose only crime seems to be trying to help him with his sudden weight loss it leads to a syndrome of misunderstanding,resentment and finally murder. There is an undercurrent of sexism behind it-a strong one. Kind of a letdown in a horror film where the storyline isn't supposed to take too much focus off the genre. But to avoid sounding too needlessly critical......this is just an okay movie as Stephen King movies go.And since he lives almost nextdoor to me,being from Bangor Maine myself I have some awareness of the New England culture and Stephen King certainly has done better examples of the New Englad horror "genre I guess then this.So only if your really curious is this worth looking into just to see it for yourself.