Fat Funny Sidekick: A Hollywood Script Analysis
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Hollywood movies have a copy-and-paste routine when it comes to casting: the pretty girl, the pretty guy, the best friend, the enemy, and so on. However, for most Hollywood movies, the best friend is one type and one type only: the plus-sized ‘fat friend’ whose only job is to provide comedic relief throughout the movie. For example, if I were to say, “Fat Amy,” most people would know who I am talking about - the best friend in the Pitch Perfect franchise (2012-2017) played by the amazing Rebel Wilson. In looking at the script for the movies, her only description is “chubby girl,” and throughout the movies, all she does is eat and make fat jokes. She only has one real scene at the end of the last movie that gives her emotions besides just being funny. Another fine example is the recent movie, I Feel Pretty (2018); the main character, Renee, has self-esteem issues and while she is the main character in this movie, her only trait is being fat and only loving herself when she hits her head. Another popular example is the character Fat Albert; as the name suggests, he is only known for being fat and funny. In this presentation, I will break down the stereotypes in Hollywood film scripts that feature plus-size characters in the best-friend role, and I will compare these with films that feature plus-size actresses in interesting, complex roles that allow audiences to see more nuanced characters with character arcs.
Fat Funny Sidekick: A Hollywood Script Analysis
Hollywood movies have a copy-and-paste routine when it comes to casting: the pretty girl, the pretty guy, the best friend, the enemy, and so on. However, for most Hollywood movies, the best friend is one type and one type only: the plus-sized ‘fat friend’ whose only job is to provide comedic relief throughout the movie. For example, if I were to say, “Fat Amy,” most people would know who I am talking about - the best friend in the Pitch Perfect franchise (2012-2017) played by the amazing Rebel Wilson. In looking at the script for the movies, her only description is “chubby girl,” and throughout the movies, all she does is eat and make fat jokes. She only has one real scene at the end of the last movie that gives her emotions besides just being funny. Another fine example is the recent movie, I Feel Pretty (2018); the main character, Renee, has self-esteem issues and while she is the main character in this movie, her only trait is being fat and only loving herself when she hits her head. Another popular example is the character Fat Albert; as the name suggests, he is only known for being fat and funny. In this presentation, I will break down the stereotypes in Hollywood film scripts that feature plus-size characters in the best-friend role, and I will compare these with films that feature plus-size actresses in interesting, complex roles that allow audiences to see more nuanced characters with character arcs.