The accompanying PowerPoint presentation for my MPCA paper on fat actors and actresses in romantic comedies.

1. “They’re Always Gonna Need a Fat Best Friend”: The Subjugation of Fat Actors & Actresses in Romantic Comedies Jessica Haight-Angelo; Grand Canyon University Fat Studies: Pedagogically and Creatively Fat Midwest Pop Culture Conference 2010; Minneapolis, MN 1 October 2010 1 Haight-Angelo

2. A La Carte: Table of Contents Introduction: “They’re always gonna need a fat best friend.” The Rom-Com Formula The Best Friend in a Romantic Comedy is Always There For You The Fat Best Friend Fat, etc. Exceptions, Parallels & Controversies Evaluating the Fat Best Friend in a Rom-Com Conclusion – “Trying to Fuck” 2 Haight-Angelo

3. Abstract Patton Oswalt, on his second comedy album, “Werewolves & Lollipops”: “[Hollywood movies are] always gonna need a fat best friend. That’s never gonna go out of style.” Characters in romantic comedies, unless they are thin and, usually, White, are relegated to the sidelines. As the “best friend,” the roles of fat actors and actresses are rarely affixed with any emotional depth. Race, gender and sexuality also keep overweight characters and those who play them stuck as comic relief archetypes. 3 Haight-Angelo

4. Formula for a Hollywood Romance Though Cracked.com’s article, “How to Write a Nicholas Sparks” movie focuses purely onromance films without a comedic component, it presents some interesting parallels to the romantic comedy genre: "Start with two pretty white people ('A Walk to Remember'; 'The Notebook'; 'Dear John')"; "Include an obstacle that makes love between them seem impossible (social status, her parents, 9/11)"; "They fall in love anyway"; "Throw in a completely-out-of-left-field, exploitative, awful disaster that only serves to jerk tears and turn an otherwise forgettable romance into a tragedy (leukemia, Alzheimer's, cancer)"; "Go to the only poster designer you knew"; "Count your money" (Newz is Newz). 4 Haight-Angelo

5. The Romantic Comedy Formula As in a romance movie, the typical ‘rom-com’ includes characters who are more archetypes than people. In addition, the plot of a romantic comedy is similar: The two leads must fall in love, fall out of love, and then get back together again. Along the way, however, comedic elements are infused by the "kooky friends" of the romantic leads, who guide them to realize the errors of their respective ways. 5 Haight-Angelo

6. Enter the Fat Best Friend From Branwen66: "Best Friends elicit background information, explore motivations, and move the story forward." They "usually have next to no character arcs. When they do, their transformation exists primarily to highlight some important aspect of the protagonists' characterization, predicament, or breakthrough, as well as underscore the thematic infrastructure of the story." Once the hero has "matured enough to take charge of his life," the Best Friend "provides little more than comedic interval" once again. Often, this slim chance for screen-time in a depthless romantic comedy is where the 'fat best friend' is shoehorned. Haight-Angelo 6

7. Wayne: “"C'mon, Louise, whenever you have guy problems, you always watch classic movies and pig out on Ben & Jerry's, even though your willowy frame suggests that you subsist on celery and laxatives. It's one of your charming quirks that distinguish you from the other successful, attractive women in their 30s I'm friends with who inexplicably can't hold on to a man.” "Hey, what if the [male romantic lead's "vaguely Italian”] best friend and I began a relationship that thematically informed your and Jake's?" the best friend asks. "Like, what if we got together and then broke up, it might make you rethink your long-term commitment to Jake. Or, if we got married, it might make you rethink your lack of a long-term commitment to Jake. Either way, our relationship will make you contemplate yourself and Jake.” "I've got a feeling everything will work out just fine for you, you effortlessly thin blonde. Well, I'm going back to my apartment now to cry myself to sleep. Coffee tomorrow?" I’ll Be There For You Haight-Angelo 7

8. The Fat Problem Arguably, the fat best friend is the most 'othered' version of the kooky friend, his or her body type a physical representation of everything that the romantic lead wishes to avoid being. Lynne Murray: “"We see very few fat people in film and television because the implicit assumption is that we are suffering from a willful, self-imposed sickness, as evidenced by our very appearance. Fat is seen as a visible manifestation of an abnormal state (and our Puritanical roots tend to suggest to us that we must have gotten to this awful condition through gluttony, sloth or some other horrendous sin).” Haight-Angelo 8

9. Fat, et cetera While race and body type occasionally intersect, fat discrimination runs rampant and unchecked across all demographics. In essence, when it comes to romantic comedies, being overweight disallows the fat best friend from being recognized as fully human, more so than any other singular factor. When a fat character in a romantic comedy is also ethnic, female (or anything other than a cisgendered male), and/or gay, the bisection of such ‘othered’ factors - among them, race, gender, and sexuality - are worth considering. Haight-Angelo 9

10. Fat & Male Perhaps the most obvious additional minority portrayal is that of a fat female character. The context surrounding a fat male character appears on a much different level than that surrounding a fat female character. As Michael Cieply points out in 2009 article for the New York Times, several male Hollywood stars have "packed on the pounds" for various leading man film roles, prestigious roles which they continue to achieve in spite of their weight. In contrast, he notes, "Kathleen Turner, 54 and the onetime seductress of 'Body Heat,' last December put in a rare film performance as Ms. Kornblut, the plus-size dog trainer in 'Marley & Me.'" Fat women in Hollywood are pretty much invisible. Haight-Angelo 10

11. Imaginary Fat People Wendy at Pound: "Imaginary fat people['s] actions are stereotypical, certainly, but they come off quite differently than those of an overweight actor who performs fat-person clichés ... Imaginary fat people can be fat without the distractions of 'character.' Fat is the character and imaginary fat people breathe themselves into life. They have nobody to blame but themselves." In “America’s Sweethearts,” Julia Roberts stuffs herself into a fat suit to give off the illusion of a 180-pound woman, Hollywood's version of morbidly obese: “At first, she was just the Julia Roberts character with a fuller face and belly. She acted the same way and she dressed pretty much the same way.” Later in the movie, however, Roberts' character is shown "stuffing her face," at which point, the performance became all about the fat suit. Haight-Angelo 11

12. Comedy is a Man’s Game The “bromance,” “brom-com”, and/or “dick flick” ensures that the gender discrepancy between fat actors and actresses will continue to exist. Jonah Hill’s character in “Funny People”: “'There's nothing funny about a physically fit man ... No one wants to see Lance Armstrong do comedy.’” Though it’s far from a perfect world that they inhabit, in the realm of overweight thespians, the fat male holds considerable sway over his chubby female counterpart. Haight-Angelo 12

13. Fat & Black The aforementioned Murray likens seeing a fat actor on television [and by extension, in a movie] to hearing a Black actress in a documentary discuss how, "in the 1950s and 60s when a black person appeared on television someone in the family would say, 'Come look!' and they would gather round to observe this rarity - actual recognition of their existence on network television." Imagine the double-rarity of a character who is both overweight and a racial minority; never mind if it’s a positive one or not. Haight-Angelo 13

14. The Trouble with “Norbit” As one might already expect, the fat, Black male is more casually regarded than the fat, Black female, whose overweight body must inevitably be a shtick enhanced by her flamboyant personality. Eddie Murphy's portrayal of Rasputia, the overweight character he plays in the movie "Norbit" is a stockpile of every negative stereotype of fat, Black women. As Tracy Rose writes, "Rasputia is a dominating, manly, opinionated, loud, obnoxious, annoying, shrill and poorly-dressed obese woman. In the story, Rasputia saves Norbit [also played by Eddie Murphy] from playground bullies and makes him her boyfriend. Years later she is still dominating him. They are married, but when she is caught cheating on him, she tells him it never happened and threatens him. She is a controlling hypocrite." Haight-Angelo 14

15. Fat & Ethnic Naturally, race and weight do not only bisect in the realms of Black and White. Still, like a fat woman in general, other minority characters being overweight are rom-com anomalies – trying to think of specific ones on the spot is near-impossible. Latoya Peterson describes for the blog Racialicious the stereotypical representation of not only the Fat Black Woman, but also the Hot Asian Chick in trailers for the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You," based on a self-help book written for women by a White male and starring nominally White, thin actors and actresses. In the same vein, had the Hot Asian Girl not been skinny, she would not have been considered "hot" and thus, would likely not have been cast in the movie at all, even in a bit role. Haight-Angelo 15

16. Fat & Gay The likelihood of seeing an overweight character in a movie that is also gay is rare. When considered alongside gender, the gay best friend must work to be funny and sexually non-threatening. When paired with an overweight frame, the character is almost certainly the polar opposite of the romantic leads. Examples: Jack Black’s character in “Saving Silverman”; Damian in “Mean Girls” Haight-Angelo 16

17. The Fat Lead Character In the movie “Shallow Hal,” Black epitomizes an exception to fat best friend casting when he plays an overweight man who must overcome the horror of Gwyneth Paltrow in a fat suit to recognize that she is, in fact, human. Like Julia Roberts' fat suit in "America's Sweethearts," such a portrayal is problematic because the focus is still on how Gwyneth's character is different, ‘othered,’ alien, abnormal, and how Jack Black’s character must learn to love her in spite of that. Eric Jost from Amplify: "I'm sure that made a lot of [fat] women feel great about themselves." Haight-Angelo 17

18. Fat Monica Jokes on “Friends” Fat-phobia is rampant across all aspects of American media, a fact enhanced by the aforementioned Wendy-of-Pound’s recollection of “fat Monica” jokes on the ‘90s sitcom, “Friends”: "For a while it was enough to make verbal references to Monica’s past life as a fat person, sort of an inside joke. Skinny Monica would respond with little more than an exasperated look — oh, you guys! - whenever Ross and Rachel and Chandler made jabs at her phantom fat. The jokes were on nobody. But at some point it seemed everyone wanted to see the nobody, so the show’s writers put Monica in the fat suit, they wrote flashback sequences and alternate-reality episodes in which she would appear. They made the joke bigger and brought us all inside of it." Haight-Angelo 18

19. Invisible Fat People If it is no longer appropriate to laugh at fat people, it follows that they will either be written more conscientiously and respectfully into movie and TV roles, or they will be removed from the face of media altogether. Unfortunately, the latter is an easier solution, one which already seems to be in occurrence. Murray: "Although the statistics are that over 51% of Americans are over the insurance companies' suggested weights for their height, if you were to look at television, motion pictures, and magazines you would conclude that most of us are either lean or outright skinny with only an occasional slightly heavyset person." Haight-Angelo 19

20. The Kooky, Skinny Best Friend In recent years, perhaps beginning in the early 2000s, the role of the kooky friend has increasingly been given to a skinny actor or actress; one whose personality is off-putting or over-the-top enough to be able to sustain his/her role as a wise-cracking supporter of the romantic leads in the movie. Nonetheless, s/he is as skinny (and often, shorter) than the lead actor/actress. Examples: “Failure to Launch,” “When in Rome”. Haight-Angelo 20

21. Exceptions to Fat Phobia In “Get Him to the Greek,” Hill’s lead character is responsible for getting Brand’s character to, naturally, the Greek, a concert hall in Los Angeles, so that he can perform at a sold-out event to revitalize his stagnant career. Notably, Hill retains the charm that earned him recurring bit roles in other Apatow flicks, with the addition of his character being in a romantic relationship. Though the couple has its issues, and though Hill’s opposite is a thin, conventionally pretty young lady, the relationship is portrayed as stable, the focus rarely, if ever, on Hill’s corpulence. At the movie’s climax, Brand’s character tries to initiate a three-way with Hill’s character and his girlfriend, owing to tension between them all. Still, Brand’s barbs at Hill are never size-oriented. In the end, Hill is just another dude trying to do his job. Though he is still noticeably fat in a leading role, the visual automatically making him ‘different,’ the movie does not focus solely on this. Haight-Angelo 21

22. Evaluating the Fat Best Friend Archetype in a Rom-Com Evaluate the Fat Best Friend archetype for the following: The Set-Up: What is the relationship between the FBF and the main character? The Emotional Depth: How is the character manifested? Idealism: How close is the FBF to the thin, White, straight, male ‘ideal’? Rating Scale: 1: Emotionally emaciated 2: Characterization is a little on the thin side 3: Not tipping the scales either way 4: Husky portrayal 5: Very well-rounded character Haight-Angelo 22

23. Conclusion At his September 18, 2010 comedy show at the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, the aforementioned Patton Oswalt describes being contacted about playing a gay best friend in an upcoming romantic comedy, which he ultimately turned down, put off by what he considered worn stereotypes all leading up to the skinny romantic leads “Trying to Fuck,” which he decided should be the name of all romantic comedies. While it does not speak for all of the issues within the romantic comedy genre, Oswalt’s point is well-taken: Few characters in a romantic comedy are more than shallow archetypes, with particular umbrage to be taken at the supporting cast. While all characters deserve better, the fat actors and actresses who continue to hold onto the ever-slimming margin of best friend roles are particularly due for more flattering characterization, one overhauling the worn stereotype of the fat supporting character as an asexual blob living vicariously through his/her skinny friend. In short, the role of the fat best friend in romantic comedies direly needs to be fleshed out. Haight-Angelo 23