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Movies / On DVD / Phat Girlz
Phat Girlz

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Phat Girlz (2006)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:10

Rotten:32

Average Rating:3.8/10

Consensus: Although Phat Girlz has good intentions, it is sloppily made and thin on laughs.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: In this feel-good comedy with a positive message, Mo'Nique stands up for all the overweight women given short shrift by society. One of a group of three friends that includes her hot-to-trot thin... In this feel-good comedy with a positive message, Mo'Nique stands up for all the overweight women given short shrift by society. One of a group of three friends that includes her hot-to-trot thin cousin Mia (Joyful Drake) and her frumpy friend Stacey (Kendra C. Johnson), Jazmin dreams of starting her own fashion line for big girls. Meanwhile her crash diets aren't working and she hasn't been with a man in nine months. Then she wins a trip to Palm Springs and meets Tunde (Jimmy Jean-Louis), a Nigerian doctor, for whom big means beautiful. Romance is all set to bloom, but that's where this Cinderella story takes a sudden detour. Jazmin learns there's more to happiness than a gorgeous man, especially when her low self-esteem keeps him at arm's length. With its interesting insights into weight discrimination and its celebratory depiction of African and African American culture, PHAT GIRLZ grows into a "feel good about yourself" movie, no matter what size, gender, or color you may be. Comedy star Mo'Nique proves she's got the heft to carry a leading feature film role, especially during her mannequin-destroying, room-shredding third act meltdown. As her knight in shining armor, Jean-Louis does the beaming-with-African-charm-and-dignity thing very well, and even though she's not phat, Joyful Drake still looks pretty sexy as the petite-sized cousin, letting it all hang out at the Palm Springs poolside. [More]

Starring: Mo'Nique, Eric Roberts, Godfrey, Jack Noseworthy

Starring: Mo'Nique, Eric Roberts, Godfrey, Jack Noseworthy, Joyful Drake, Dayo Ade, Felix Pire, Crystal Rivers, Carrie Southworth, Kendra C. Johnson

Director: Nnegest Likké

Director: Nnegest Likké
Screenwriter: Nnegest Likké
Producer: Bobby Newmyer
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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Reviews for Phat Girlz

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Tom Meek
Tom Meek
Boston Phoenix

It does suffer ... from actually having way too much heart and not enough soul, its identity lost far beneath its ambitions for affirmation.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
09/17/07
Christopher Campbell
Christopher Campbell
Cinematical

Although Phat Girlz...looks to have been made on a shoestring, with muddy, unflattering lighting (by two cinematographers), there is nonetheless something to be commended here.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

Almost stunning in its determination to be the ultimate wish-fulfillment fantasy vehicle for plus-sized African-American women...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
08/11/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
07/01/06
Jam! Movies

Skinny on plot, story, directing and some of the acting.

Full Review Source: 3BlackChicks Review | comment Comment
05/28/06
Kamal  'The Diva' Larsuel
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel
3BlackChicks Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
05/12/06
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
05/06/06
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
05/06/06
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/06/06
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

looks cheap and falls apart after the first act.

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
04/29/06
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

even though this movie is a bit of a mess, it turns out to be unexpectedly sweet and funny. Its very amateurishness gives it freshness and authenticity.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
04/13/06
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

[Mo’Nique's] sassy forte may be talking so straight-up she sounds crazy, but she seems a little advanced to be doing 'yo mama' jokes.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
04/13/06
Mark Olsen
Mark Olsen
L.A. Weekly

While it's a pleasure to watch the likeable Kendra Johnson open up and come out of her shell, Phat Girlz belongs to Mo'Nique, a grating, belligerent woman who alternates self-deprecating fat jokes with drama-queen meltdowns and simpering pleas for

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
04/13/06
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

Uneven but lovable, "Phat Girlz" comes strutting on to the screen. As well it should.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
04/12/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Jazmin's so fat that the movie reduces her to a single discernible characteristic, which is a telltale mark of many a wholly awful comedy.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/12/06
Gregory Kirschling
Gregory Kirschling
Entertainment Weekly

Outrageous comedy? damn right!!! I'm outraged that there's no comedy here AT ALL!!!!

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
04/11/06
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

The first word of the movie's title stands for Pretty Hot and Thick. The second word is never spelled out, but it could mean Good Intentions Ruined by Lousy Zingers.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/11/06
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I'm recommending it, barely, because I think it speaks pretty well to a certain audience and does so from the heart.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
04/10/06
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Just a protracted fat joke.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/10/06
Anne Gilbert
Anne Gilbert
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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