Frameline Film Fest: Fat Girls June 24, 2006

Fat Girls

It’s not easy being Rodney Miller. His dad dies during sex with a dominatrix, his mom is a fundamentalist who serves “holy hamburgers” for dinner, and the only other gay guy at his Texas high school, sexy blond Brit Joey, is running hot and cold.

An irreverent, no-budget romp, Fat Girls is the writing-directing debut of 21-year-old Ash Christian, who plays awkward, lovable Rodney with painful familiarity. “Ever since I was a little kid I felt like a Fat Girl,” Rodney complains. “You don’t have to be fat to be a Fat Girl. You don’t even have to be a girl. It’s a state of mind.” Rodney dreams of making it on Broadway, but first he needs enough self-esteem to survive his date with Joey at the graduation dance. Meanwhile, his pal Sabrina, who lives with her lesbian mothers in a trailer, is on the verge of hooking up with the new kid at school, an extremely dorky but well-hung Cuban refugee.

Fat Girls is John Hughes by way of John Waters, with the punk flair of Tarnation. (Fans of that film will recognize director Jonathan Cauoette as Rodney’s teacher, Mr. Cox, who moonlights at the local bar doing scary Liza Minnelli drag.) Will Rodney learn to love his inner Fat Girl? Is there really any doubt? What Fat Girls lacks in big-budget polish it makes up for with a giddy enthusiasm for the surreal details of smalltown America.

FAT GIRLS dir Ash Christian 2006 USA 82 min video

Eligible for the Dockers® First Feature Award

This program is sponsored by Joie de Vivre Hospitality.

Official Website: http://www.frameline.org/festival/30th/filmsevents.html