Film: A Big Love Story (Worth the Weight) (2012)
Cast includes: Robbie Kaller (Ninja Cheerleaders), Jillian Leigh (City Baby), Tommy Snider (Dr. Dolittle 3), Constance Reese (Friday at Dewayne’s) Jacquelyn Umof (#1 Cheerleader Camp)
Director: Ryan Sage (As Seen on TV), Writer: Dale Zawada
Genre: Comedy | Romance (90 minutes)
Look for it in 2012
“The home crowd is on their feet… [roar]... it’s Roberts on the outside… amazing speed… uh oh, he’s down… looks like he’s having trouble getting up…” That was Samuel Roberts in high school… 6’ 1”… 260 pounds… with a promising football career ahead of him… until the knee injury. Seven years later, Sam tips the scale at… 411? Yikes… shirt off, try again… 413! Heading to work with roommate Miles, we see that Sam hasn’t lost his eye for pretty girls. When a hot chick passes, she won’t even give Sam a nod… even though Sam is clearly friendly. “Hey girl, you wanna get married?” Oops. He asks Miles, “You think I came on too strong? Sometimes I feel invisible.” Miles assures him, “You’re not.” Everything’s a struggle… Sam can hardly get the seatbelt on. “They make those for little Japanese people.” But when the tire goes flat, that’s the last straw. “I need to go on a diet. I’m tired of being fat.”
At the bowling alley where Miles and Sam work, you see all kinds of people… hot chicks with cool guys... hot chicks with weird guys… like Cassie and Stephan, her stuck-up boyfriend who writes esoteric poetry. Sam and Cassie make eye contact when Stephan is being an ass… but they’re just ships passing in the night. Anyway, Miles’s sister works at a gym, and Sam decides to sign up. He’s made a bet on how much he can lose in 8 weeks. He never expected to see Cassie again, but as it happens, she’s going to be his coach… “Don’t call me ‘coach.’ It’s ‘trainer.’” “Thanks coach.” Cassie doesn’t have much of a sense of humor… and Sam does. Cassie’s real smart… “You’re like Wikipedia!” And Sam’s “only read one book all the way through.” So it comes as quite a surprise when Cassie invites Sam to a poetry reading… technically, it’s not a date… just as friends. “Hell yes!”
“I don’t know why she wants to hang out with me. I figure, don’t ask.” We already know this movie is a love story, and we already know the on-screen relationship will go from cool to warm and… beyond. The real question is whether we in the audience will warm up to hugely overweight Sam… not as a funny guy but as a love interest. It needs chemistry between the actors… and with us. Amazingly, this big love story works on many levels. It’s got just the right balance of complexity, humor and believability. It feels sincere, thanks in large part (I guess that’s a pun) to Robbie Kaller as Sam and to the nicely developed script. There’re a lot of charming bits and we come to like all the quirky characters, but Sam definitely grows on us. (Yikes. Another pun.) Anyway, Sam’s tired of watching cool guys with hot chicks, he’s thinking, “I wanna be that guy.”
3 popped kernels
Hugely overweight Sam has an eye for hot chicks, but they don’t give him the time of day… until now
Popcorn Profile
Rated: Not rated yet
Audience: Young adults
Distribution: Mainstream limited release
Mood: Upbeat
Tempo: Cruises comfortably
Visual Style: Unvarnished realism
Character Development: Engaging
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Pure entertainment
