Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie Review

Before they were stars, they went to fat camp.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 12, 2012

When �Heavyweights� opened in 1995, it bombed. It was an unsurprising fate for the feature, which was cursed with a ridiculous poster, a flaccid trailer, and a February release date, keeping the summer camp adventure away from more appreciative summer audiences. I caught the film during its initial theatrical release and was left a tad puzzled by the effort, watching the production stitch together a traditional Disney-style family film experience with an edgier comedic aim, keeping what should�ve been a forgettable matinee distraction interesting, dusted with a few sizable laughs. In the time since the multiplex release of �Heavyweights,� the picture has developed a cult following, with years of home video rentals and basic cable showings allowing younger viewers multiple opportunities to figure out the mechanics of the bizarre picture, embracing the details of the work. Of course, �Heavyweights� also has the benefit of being a Judd Apatow production before he was the mighty JUDD APATOW, while �Bridesmaids� director Paul Feig claims a supporting role, and Ben Stiller stars as the villain. In 1995, these ingredients were a little too difficult to properly identify and value. However, time has been kind to the discarded fat camp movie, finding �Heavyweights� more digestible these days, after years spent processing the askew sense of humor shared by Apatow and Company.

A bullied kid struggling with his weight, Gerry (Aaron Schwartz) is shocked to discover his parents (including Jeffrey Tambor) have signed him up for a summertime stay at Camp Hope, a weight loss facility run by loving couple, Harvey (Jerry Stiller) and Alice Bushkin (Anne Meara). At first unwilling to take the plunge, Gerry soon finds a legion of kids just like him at the camp, befriending Josh (Shaun Weiss) and Roy (Kenan Thompson), while counselors Tim (Paul Feig) and lifer Pat (Tom McGowan) hope to comfort the boy in his new surroundings. However, before the season kicks off, Harvey and Alice announce they�ve sold the camp to Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller), a determined businessman hoping to turn the success stories of Camp Hope into a weight loss infomercial empire. Using extreme methods of motivation and training, Tony turns the camp into a prison for the staff, including Nurse Julie (Leah Lail), and kids, forcing the boys to figure out a way to disrupt the crippling, humiliating daily grind before it kills them.

Making a fat camp movie isn�t an easy endeavor, especially when sensitivities surrounding such a subject are volatile. The screenplay for �Heavyweights,� by Apatow and director Steven Brill, largely avoids the high-wire act of compassion, turning the obesity woes of the Camp Hope Kids into a celebration of consumption, without the drag of personal responsibility. Actually, the fat camp concept is rarely confronted beyond comedic intentions, with any genuine inspection of weight loss and medical challenges avoided to throw a sleepaway party, trying to match �Meatballs� in terms of anarchic merriment, staff tomfoolery, and activity participation. Not that anyone wants to see a movie where beefy kids slowly kill themselves with relentless snacking, but I have to wonder how the movie made it all the way to the screen (especially under the watchful eyes of Disney) without any real confrontation of the issue. The film�s mandate is to have fun and celebrate outsider heroism, and that�s all there is, keeping reality in the rear-view as the supersized campers declare war on their overzealous, highly tanned warden.

Shedding any inclinations to preach, �Heavyweights� manages to produce a great number of laughs with the oddity of Tony Perkis and his plans to infomercial himself into a multimillionaire, with help from cameraman Kenny (Alan Covert) and enforcer Lars (Tom Hodges), who�s vaguely European origin adds a Nazi-ish touch to the prison camp setting. While the child stars are agreeably animated, with extremes of personality cleanly defined by Brill, the film belongs to Stiller, who makes the most out of this unusual villain turn. Tony is a madman in spandex, with an uncomfortably hairless, impossibly fit body and a desire to contort a camp of memories and friendships into a machine of fitness, failing to recognize the considerable challenge in front of him. It�s a wild performance from an actor at a transitional stage in his career, with much of �Heavyweights� resembling a sketch from his masterful comedy program, �The Ben Stiller Show.� In fact, the actor even revives a character from the series to play Tony�s dad in the finale (the �Do it!� celebrity hounder). Stiller�s energy and commitment to the extremes of the faux fitness guru are uproarious, nicely balancing out the conventional kiddie antics, while supplying an interesting sense of menace to the story, keeping Tony a memorable, flip-happy creep when most actors would be content to coast through the role.

Also surfacing throughout the picture are moments of weirdness, from a �One Flew Over the Cuckoo�s Nest� homage to a legitimate food orgy, staged by Camp Hope when Tony is temporarily detained. �Heavyweights� is filled with throwaway gags that work amazingly well, with a full imagination trying to lift formulaic moments off the ground. I especially enjoyed a beat where Tony �disarms� a camper�s contraband Pez dispenser, with Brill employing the sound of bullets dropping as the candy pellets hit the floor. Little moments like that make all the difference, showing that Apatow isn�t merely interested is surviving the picture, but striving to give nondescript material a personality worth paying attention to. The funky nonsense also helps to ease the pain of unappetizing fart jokes and lame �Seymour Butts� put-downs that litter the script.

Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation keeps in line with other Disney catalog titles, with minimal effort provided to bring the movie to life on Blu-ray. A mild amount of filtering is detected along with solidified blacks, making evening sequences unnecessarily impenetrable, while the general muted quality of the transfer prevents the effort from looking fresh and cinematic. Skintones come across inconsistent, with a few overly hot moments causing concern. The illuminating power of daylight brings out the best in the presentation, with a good read of primaries, finding costuming a particular delight to study, while foresty hues also make a positive impression. Fine detail is acceptable, with the reasonably crisp image keeping food fight particulars and sweat sharp, while camp interior are easily surveyed. Print is fine shape, with little noticeable debris.

Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix is a stable listening event with limited surround activity. Scoring is perhaps the only element that reaches around the viewer, and while it lacks a truly immersive quality, the music is crisply defined and full. Soundtrack cuts also sound satisfactory, carrying an adequate low-end to bring some depth to the mix, while soaring without distortion when time calls for montages or party sequences. Dialogue exchanges are cleanly presented with a secure front stage, with a swell of pubescent voices easily managed. Potential for clutter is avoided though a simplistic aural design, yet the overall chaos of the track is never harsh. Sound effects are sharply defined for comedic effect.

Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with co-writer/producer Judd Apatow, co-writer/director Steven Brill, and actors Allen Covert, Aaron Schwartz, Shaun Weiss, and Tom Hodges is the rare track that actually rewards a full listen, with the participants happily dissecting the �Heavyweights� production experience. Apatow knows exactly what to do here, asking reasonably interesting questions of his guests, and while the conversation remains lighthearted, there�s enough candor and backstage secrets shared to forgive a lack of true technical insight. The highlights are numerous, but anything concerning the wayward tone of the effort, going from �Meatballs� to something more sinister, is highly interesting, spotlighting young creative types with a sense of humor Disney didn�t know what to do with. Actor Paul Feig joins the track near the end, providing his thoughts over a phone line.

• �The Making of �Heavyweights�� (24:36, SD) is a 2012 featurette using footage from the 1994 shoot, displaying an alarmingly youthful Apatow and Brill, who run through the story, casting choices, and the general comedic aim of the effort. Time with the cast is also offered, including Ben Stiller, who weaves in and out of character without much explanation. The featurette is great as a time capsule, while a few glimpses of on-set camaraderie are most welcome.

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (94:32, SD) provides a motherload of snipped moments, detailing more of Gerry�s school life, camp mischief and campfire time, invasions into Tony�s lair, the full �Camp Hope or Hell?� video, longer looks at Apache Relay events, and a general sense of the kids as they work to wiggle out from under the camp�s control. Also on view are cameos from Apatow and Peter Berg as camp cooks. It�s an enormous collection of scenes, providing a full sense of what the production had to cut to get �Heavyweights� into shape.

• �Where Are They Now?" (14:41, HD) catches up with Aaron Schwartz, Shaun Weiss, and a few of other Camp Hope members to see how everyone is fairing after the glow of child stardom fades. The men recall specific experiences on the set of the film, where food was plentiful and girls were just beginning to lose their cooties. Everyone seems cheery and enthusiastic about their �Heavyweights� journey. Interestingly, most of these interviews are conducted through cruddy smartphones and webcams, hinting at a grim supplementary future where little money is spent to fly in talent for featurettes.

• �Video Chat: Judd & Kenan� (8:21, HD) returns to the world of laptop conversations, with Apatow grilling Thompson early one morning to celebrate the Blu-ray release of the film. Thompson is engaged, recounting the manic atmosphere of the set and his memories of Stiller�s intense commitment to character. It�s a breezy talk, but it�s nice to have Thompson�s participation in the supplements.

• �Super 8� (8:59, HD) is an unexplained reel of BTS footage, highlighting on-set interactions and daily business with the cast and crew, handed a slightly retro look on grainy film stock. There�s no audio, leaving the score to set the mood.

• �Judd�s Art Project� (1:53, HD) is a series of Polaroids featuring cast and crew, making up �The Angry Man,� an idea from Apatow where he makes a furious face in every photo.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:03, SD) is included.

Heavyweights Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The conclusion takes on the Apache Relay, an annual contest against the wicked overachievers at Camp MVP, though it arrives after the resolution of the Tony subplot, leaving the emphatic ending superfluous, as though the production had a few more clich�s they were determined to work through. The soft ending doesn�t dilute the �Heavyweights� viewing experience, which remains surprisingly entertaining and interestingly barbed. It�s fun to see how our collective sense of humor has caught up to the feature. What was once a peculiar Disney release the studio was almost embarrassed to put in theaters has found its place in the future, where kids and adults can finally appreciate Camp Hope�s wild side with a little more working knowledge of its creative origins.