Fatso

I saw this film on a pay channel a long, long time ago. It seems to have vanished in the decades since. Something about it stuck in my mind - the humor, the sensitive anguish of broken self-esteem, the endless struggle with conflicting desires. I still tell stories from the movie - the support group intervention is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Curiously, I have never met anyone else who has even heard of it. I have to admit that I didn't even remember that the lead was played by Dom Deloise, as it is a very different role than the Burt Reynolds films I know him for. I would love to see it again, so I hope they have the wisdom to release the DVD and allow me to refresh my all-too-aging memory.

Fatso is running on Fox Movie Channel now as I write this. I feel compelled to add my appreciation for this sweet little movie that, as I recall, got creamed by many critics when it came out.

The pacing IS slow and the story (unlike the theme) slender. Nevertheless, this is a greatly under-appreciated movie. There are many, many funny scenes and lines that are equal to any from more celebrated comedies. The performances are all right on target, especially DeLouise and Bancroft.

I'm here to say you DON'T have to be Italian or from NY to appreciate the movie. However, if you've ever struggled with a diet, the movie will resonate with you more than if you're a lifelong skinny Minnie. You will not soon forget Dom DeLouise's heartbreak as he listens to a list of restricted foods recited by a severe-looking nurse in his diet doctor's office. Afterwards, when he has to pick up a birthday cake for his nephew, the camera lingers lovingly on the rows of luscious- looking pastries. His torment is palpable and very, very funny.

We in the U.S. live in the land of plenty. This is THE BEST movie about Americans and their unique--dare I say perverse?--relationship with food. And it's sweet, and funny. Really, really funny.

This movie is very heartfelt and is able to capture how painful it is to have a passion for eating.It is easy to relate Dom and his struggle. I love this movie and i don't feel it should be viewed as a comedy but more of a drama.There are some very funny moments but they are also subtle It is not a laugh a minute but I think it shows how dramatic Dom DeLuise can be. So If You are Italian-American and or overweight or just love any movie with

Rudy Deluca or Ron Carey (Mel brooks Movies).in my opinion it is a very nice love story and It makes me cry.

I remember seeing Fatso for the first time in Madison, WI in 1980 and I thought it was a sad but funny movie. It was sad throughout several portions of the movie, including the opening scene when the DiNapoli family gathered at the funeral of cousin Sal, who died of obesity, motivating Dom's sister Antoinette (hysterically portrayed by Anne Bancroft in her movie debut as writer and director) to persuade him to make an appointment with the diet doctor.

Things go well until he threatens his brother (Ron Carey) with a knife and goes nuts and starts crying in self-pity and binges with his Chubby Checkers Sonny and Oscar. Meanwhile, things get back on track when he falls in love with Lydia, played by the lovely Candy Azzara but one day she's not home and Dom is so distraught so he eats a humongous order of Chinese food. Once again he wallows away in tears of self-pity. Once he finds out that Lydia is OK, things get back to normal, they get married and they live happily ever after.

There was one other scene that cracked me up. The scene where Dom bought a birthday cake for his nephew Anthony and he ate part of it, causing Antoinette to get hysterical and throw the cake around.

It's a shame that Dom DeLuise, who played Dom so well in his first starring role in a movie, Bancroft and Carey are gone. Fatso should be seen as a tribute to a fine and funny cast. Don't see it on an empty stomach.

This may not be an amusing look at the dark side of eating to someone with a disorder but I roared with glee at Don's antics as the frustrated food addict. It was done from a comedy angle of course, but Don's big Chinese binge was a sobering glimpse at how ugly this passion for food can be. Well worth seeing.