Thinner
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Movie Reviews of Thinner
Movie Review: Feels Like Something's Missing
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm sure you've had the feeling that something's missing in a movie. The one thing I must applaud in this movie are the genuinely subtle special effects of the main character's change. The story itself seems a little TOO short and just...ends when you don't really expect it to, like you're hoping it's going to continue. If you read the book, are a horror fan or a Stephen King fan, I'd recommend this movie. Everyone else, steer clear, as unfortunate as that may seem. Rent/buy Misery or the Shining instead, they're much, MUCH better movies.
***3 stars***
Movie Review: Journey to the Center of the Girth
Summary: 2 Stars
This one caught my eye while shopping around at local DVD retailer the other week and my interest was peaked. The premise of Thinner sounded very interesting to me, and the cover art (which deceivingly is not a picture of anything from the movie), looked pretty spiffy as well. I decided to watch.
Thinner tells the tale of Billy, an overweight dirtbag lawyer who just can't seem stick to his diet. A semi-solution to his problem comes one night after he plows down and kills an old gypsy woman in a car accident. His cop and judge buddies pull some strings and the death is ruled as accidental, getting him off the hook for his crime. The 106 year old gypsy king is not pleased with this, so he carries out his own style of justice in the form of a curse that rapidly melts the pounds away from Billy. The initial enthusiasm Billy has regarding his weight loss quickly fades into sheer panic as he begins withering away before his own eyes. He embarks on a mission to hunt down the gypsies and have the curse withdrawn, and get back at his unfaithful wife (Who sort caused the car accident while she and Billy were having naughty time).
Either Thinner is not that great movie, or the Stephen King tale it is based on was no gem to begin with. If you were expecting to witness the graphic deterioration of a body filled with intense emotional anguish like David Cronenberg's The Fly (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) for instance, boy did you come knocking at the wrong door. Thinner is mostly just a chronicle of an unlikable character who sheds a bit of latex from scene to scene until he finally just breaks down and begs to have the curse lifted. I think most will find that the plot is even thinner than Billy himself during the movie's final moments. The concept is a fairly straight forward one, I was only halfway through the movie before I started wondering how much longer they were going to drag this out.
Overall I'd say Thinner is another King book put to film that just doesn't quite take off. In fact, I would really recommend Thinner to no one other than a die hard Stephen King fan, (He makes a brief cameo as a pharmacist too). It's certainly an interesting idea for a story and the acting is decent, but it just doesn't work out very well as a movie and is ultimately forgettable.
Movie Review: Rent it for Joe Mantegna's Character
Summary: 2 Stars
The good news for Stephen King fans is that Tom Holland's "Thinner" is a faithful adaptation of King's tale, the bad news is that "Thinner" isn't one of King's best stories to build a film around.
Robert John Burke plays a rotund, and thoroughly unlikable lawyer who literally gets away with murder. Drawing the wrath of a band of gypsies he finds himself on the receiving end of a thinning curse. No matter how much he eats, he continues to lose weight.
The premise is pretty original, and the cast does a really good job with the material they are handed. Burke as a slimy lawyer does a particularly disgustingly good job. He is so repulsive both in character and physically, you almost root for the gypsy.
**On a side note, I would love to see just how much this film affected popcorn sales at theaters where it played? Watching Burke shovel in food hand over fist is truly nauseating! I can't imagine anyone eating while viewing scenes of him stuffing away food to try and gain weight!!**
Michael Constantine does a great job as the 106-year old Gypsy King, and Kari Wuhrer is smokin' hot as his grand-daughter.
But this movie belongs to Joe Mantegna. His portrayal of mobster Richie Ginelli is the one likable character in the entire film. Mantegna is having so much fun as the vegeance seeking mobster you can't help but get caught up in the spirit of things. You almost wish the focus of the film were on the Ginelli character solely.
The story is a bleak a depressive tale, populated by unlikable characters. And while the special effects are fantastic and the acting top notch, it's just too hard to recommend this film for anyone buy die-hard Stephen King fans.
Movie Review: Thinner
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this movie and had it lying around the house, waiting to be watched. I was on a King kick so I unwrapped this movie and put it in the ol dvd player. I remember seeing the film awhile back and thinking it was good. Robert John Burke does a great job as the lead role but the movie just seems to be missing something. The speical effects are good but they really didnt give anything to the movie. I did like the end of the movie where Burke seems to be turning into a maniac. Im surprised a sequel wasnt made, it would have be interesting.Movie Review: Mean-spirited; very little redeeming value
Summary: 1 Stars
My video store actually had this in the "All-Time Best" section. What a joke. This movie is a mean-spirited piece of junk. What happens to the main character's wife -- whose only crime was to give her husband oral pleasure, then try to help him -- is one of the most abhorrable depictions of cruelty to women coming out of Hollywood that I've seen in a while. The guy who plays Billy Halleck is a terrible actor. I heard that at one time, there was talk of John Candy playing this role and actually slimming down for the part. It would have probably won him an Oscar, saved his life and saved this movie. Instead, we have a guy who's so obviously wearing a fat suit that it's pathetic, and his acting in the suit amounts to some bad impression of Oliver Hardy.