Human Blowfish

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I'm getting sick of repeating this so this is the last time. Chubby or corpulent or run-of-the-mill fat is associated with "funny," as The Wrap's Leah Rosen reiterated yesterday. But Jonah Hill's button-busting obesity in Get Him To The Greek pushes this equation to the breaking point, I feel. The fact that his performance is arguably his best yet -- -- he's as funny as he was in Superbad but with more maturity and internal conflict -- is a tribute to his talent, but he has to grapple with his girth at every turn.

Jonah Hill, Russell Brand in Get Him To The Greek

He's so ballooned-up, in other words, that it's almost an obstruction to the material. It doesn't "stop" his hilarious performance as record-company flunkie Aaron Green, but it seems to mess with the vibe a bit. Hill is running down a Las Vegas hotel hallway with Russell Brand and it's hard not to think "Jesus, he's gonna need oxygen if he doesn't slow down." Hill is talking to g.f. Elizabeth Moss about possibly moving to Seattle and you're thinking "I can't buy this...he's just too fat for her."

Hill's surplus tonnage is easily the most visually distinctive thing about him, and yet it's never once commented upon in Greek, a no-holds-barred comedy in which everything and everyone is batted around for fun. Start to finish, nobody utters a single fat crack of any kind. There's one visual gag about Hill's exposed ass, okay, but it's a mild gross-out. (Or it was in the screening I attended yesterday -- some people went "eewww.")

Hill is short, but he's like a beach ball with legs and arms. As fat movie comedians go, the only ones I can think of who were more super-sized was Sam Kinison and Chris Farley at the end of their respective roads.

(l. to r.) Fatty Arbuckle, Oliver Hardy, Jack Black, Chris Farley.

Look at all the other funny fat guys of yore -- Oliver Hardy of Laurel & Hardy, Lou Costello, Fatty Arbuckle, John Candy, Curly Howard of The Three Stooges -- and they were all somewhere between big-chubby and run-of-the-mill fat. During their prime none could be called obese (although Hardy grew into this during Laurel and Hardy's career decline in the mid to late '40s).

I'm not saying all this to be cruel, but to simply point out that there are gradations and degrees of heavyness, and that there's a point at which bulk starts to get in the way of humor.

Rosen doesn't seem to get this. Her piece about Hill says he's part of a "long line of chubby men who have reigned as box-office stars in comedies almost since movies began." Calling Hill "chubby" is analogous to describing the current BP oil leak as "problematic" instead of "catastrophic." (Is it problematic? Yeah, but is it the right proportional term to use? No.) She also calls him "rotund" and "pudgy" -- terms that are more polite than descriptive. She also calls him a "double-wide guy" -- that I'll buy.

(l. to r.) Lou Costello, John Candy, Anthony Anderson, Sam Kinison.

Pecked To Death<< previous | next >>Bass and Buried

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 4, 2010 at 10:55 AM

comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

Every time I see a poster or ad for Greek I marvel at how a guy who looks like Chris Penn in Rush Hour is headlining movies.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 4, 2010 1:13 PM

comment #2

drbob says ...

John Candy was obese. Sam Kinison was run-of-the-mill fat.

Posted by drbob at June 4, 2010 1:14 PM

comment #3

moviesquad says ...

During the SXSW question & answer session for Cyrus, an audience member asked a question that derided Jonah's looks and he was visibly peeved. He could be the reason why "fat" jokes don't end up in the movies he stars in.

Posted by moviesquad at June 4, 2010 1:16 PM

comment #4

LexG says ...

For what it's worth, Anthony Anderson lost a TON of weight lately and looks really good now.

Of course Horatio Sanz did the same thing and is unrecognizable... but since Anderson does dramatic movies and TV now, he'll continue to get tons of work.

Jeff is forgetting about John Pinette, the biggest (size-wise) "funny fat guy" around. And whose act hasn't changed one iota since 1994.

"GO HOME NOW! YOU BEEN HERE FOUR HOUR!"

Posted by LexG at June 4, 2010 1:16 PM

comment #5

LexG says ...

Oh, and Ralphie May, who makes Jonah Hill look like Paul Bettany.

Posted by LexG at June 4, 2010 1:18 PM

comment #6

George Prager says ...

I eagerly await Hill's performance as the Jack Weston character in the FOUR SEASONS prequel.

Posted by George Prager at June 4, 2010 1:21 PM

comment #7

Josh Massey says ...

Wow, he does look like Chris Penn now.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 4, 2010 1:27 PM

comment #8

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Where did the Asshole Poll thing come from? In response to what exactly?

Posted by Jeffrey Wells at June 4, 2010 1:29 PM

comment #9

LexG says ...

Since I consider Roman Polanski, Jeff Wells and George Prager to be geniuses, I'll take Vinessa Shaw Hardapple's new lame shtick as a compliment.

Posted by LexG at June 4, 2010 1:30 PM

comment #10

Gordn27 says ...

Because of the whole Mencia-stealing-jokes thing, I was listening to a bunch of the back catalog of Mark Maron's podcasts. He had one with Matt Walsh, from UCB, and Walsh said that, in his experience, if you give the same line to an entire class, as a generalization, ignoring individual talent, the fat guy will get the biggest laugh. He said this regarding Chris Farley and Belushi and a few others, but qualified it to be clear that he wasn't taking anything away from their actual talents, just commenting on audience reactions. He had no real explanation for why.

Posted by Gordn27 at June 4, 2010 1:59 PM

comment #11

nemo says ...

I'd rather be looking at that heart-stopping Hopper photo of Jane Fonda.

Posted by nemo at June 4, 2010 2:00 PM

comment #12

George Prager says ...

I guess he thought that the Pecked to Death thread had run its course, so he reposted it here. It's more than an hour later. How am I doing?

Meanwhile, dig Chris Penn's wack-ass coif (to use a LexG phrase) in THE WILD LIFE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdbd2V330Kg

Posted by George Prager at June 4, 2010 2:19 PM

comment #13

eddie mars attacks says ...

johan hill comes in my store. we've become friendly over the years. at one point, right before superbad came out, he told me he was encouraged to gain weight by his managers in order to get more parts.

Posted by eddie mars attacks at June 4, 2010 2:21 PM

comment #14

LexG says ...

I have a fat-guy question:

How does Hill get that big, but basically doesn't have man-boobs? Most of the fat-guy stars have the same deal-- they get a huge, round gut and a pudgy face, but they still have normal sized chests. How does that happen?

Posted by LexG at June 4, 2010 2:23 PM

comment #15

Ryansi51 says ...

tape.

Posted by Ryansi51 at June 4, 2010 2:26 PM

comment #16

moviesquad says ...

LexG: I'd like to challenge your theory that he has no man boobs. Go see Cyrus. His man boobs are clearly evident.

Posted by moviesquad at June 4, 2010 3:23 PM

comment #17

Hellay says ...

You know, call me crazy but he really doesn't look that fat to me:

http://www.thedeadbolt.com/images/get_him_greek_21.jpg

He looks more fat, probably, because he's starring opposite Russell Brand who is really skinny. Jonah Hill was on Jon Stewart and yeah, he had a belly on him but he wasn't like the 500 lb man or anything.

Posted by Hellay at June 4, 2010 3:24 PM

comment #18

moviesquad says ...

Jonah's fat distribution is very top heavy. Check out this pic:

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Russell+Brand+Jonah+Hill+Set+Get+Greek+4FQ-Vj7yDJ6l.jpg

Posted by moviesquad at June 4, 2010 3:41 PM

comment #19

Hellay says ...

Yeah, that's a pic that shows his weight more - but I still think he suffers more from starring opposite Brand. If Jack Black was his co-star....

Posted by Hellay at June 4, 2010 3:56 PM

comment #20

Nick X says ...

John Candy was fucking enormous, are you kidding?

And yeah, Anthony Anderson is slimmer now. He's also a GREAT dramatic actor, one of the most underrated one working in film/TV right now. I'm basing that opinion almost entirely on his performance as Antwon Mitchell in season 4 of The Shield. Absolutely amazing.

I couldn't find a good clip on YouTube, although you get a glimpse here, even though it's more Walton Goggins's scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL91y3KAXRw

Posted by Nick X at June 4, 2010 5:06 PM

comment #21

TimDG says ...

If Johan Hill, or even Jonah Hill , comes in my store, I'm calling the police.

Posted by TimDG at June 4, 2010 5:43 PM

comment #22

cangefilmfest says ...

Ok, so HIll is 20lbs heavier than the other fat, funny men in movie history. I don't see how that makes him less of a fat, funny man. If he were to walk down my street, (just as a guy and not a 'movie star') far from being just a fat freak, he'd have as good a shot at the primo p*** in my 'hood as anyone else. It's 2010, you know.

Posted by cangefilmfest at June 4, 2010 5:43 PM

comment #23

Neil Jung says ...

That banner pic makes this look like a really irritating remake of STUCK ON YOU. As for Hill, his main problem is that fleshy wattle under his chin. He's got the head of a man 200lbs heavier. However, compared to SUPERBAD, and looking at the picture in #19, it looks like he's turned a small corner on the moobs predicament.

Posted by Neil Jung at June 4, 2010 6:00 PM

comment #24

Bob Violence says ...

Arbuckle, Hardy and Candy were objectively obese most of their adult lives -- class II for sure. Curly Howard was probably class I. Costello could go either way but no way he wasn't obese.

Posted by Bob Violence at June 4, 2010 9:59 PM

comment #25

Quantrell Bishop says ...

Haha... "I'm not saying all this to be cruel, I'm just saying HUMAN BLOWFISH. You know, in the nicest way possible!"

Posted by Quantrell Bishop at June 4, 2010 10:13 PM

comment #26

frankbooth says ...

What Ashenden said. He's large, yeah, but his face makes him look much bigger.

"If he were to walk down my street, (just as a guy and not a 'movie star') far from being just a fat freak, he'd have as good a shot at the primo p*** in my 'hood as anyone else. It's 2010, you know."

Which means what, exactly? We're in a new, enlightened age of fat-acceptance? Women in 2010 love huge dudes, or at least don't differentiate between them and healthy ones? Please elaborate.

Posted by frankbooth at June 5, 2010 12:08 AM

comment #27

Quantrell Bishop says ...

He forgot to specify that his neighborhood is Candyland.

Posted by Quantrell Bishop at June 5, 2010 1:25 AM

comment #28

cangefilmfest says ...

frankbooth, you're making a Jonah Hill out of a molehill. (Thank you. Thank you very much) In most of the country (maybe not LA) plenty of hot women gravitate (I can't switch it off!) to fat dudes. I don't understand it either. There are a lot of fat dudes. And women. There's lots of fat dudes getting some. Fat and retarded? No. Fat and confident? You'll do alright. Oh, I was indeed in Candyland, but am soberish now.

Posted by cangefilmfest at June 5, 2010 10:03 AM

comment #29

Krazy Eyes says ...

The Horatio Sanz change is really dramatic. I hadn't heard about the weight loss until i saw him on 30 Rock a few weeks ago. He's not completely unrecognizable but we had to rerun the scene 2-3 times to make sure it was really him.

Good for him. I think he looks great and he's probably a lot more healthy.

Posted by Krazy Eyes at June 5, 2010 11:59 AM

comment #30

Snoop Marlo says ...

Jonah Hill losing weight would be the career equivilant of Jennifer Grey getting a nose job, which means ... CAREER SUICIDE!

Posted by Snoop Marlo at June 5, 2010 10:07 PM

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There's lots of fat dudes getting some. Fat and retarded? No. Fat and confident? You'll do alright. Oh, I was indeed in Candyland, but am soberish now.
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