Last night I saw the premier of the film “Fat Kid Rules The World” at the Seattle International Film Festival. The audience loved it and so did I.
This is the first directorial effort by Matthew Lillard, whose Hollywood career to this point has been that of an actor. That’s a big change, but there is something very consistent about Lillard’s interests: he has tended to portray people in their teens or twenties who undergo some sort of traumatic experience. Fat Kid is no exception to that rule. And, it is a thoughtful examination of the troubles that bedevil everyone at that age, some more so than others. The lead characters of this film are two rather screwed up individuals: Troy, whose serious weight problems and social ostracism have led him to the brink of suicide, and Marcus, whose expulsion from school and his mother’s home as well, have led him to life as a street kid.
This is not a mainstream Hollywood movie about beautiful teens who fall in love with vampires, nor a mega-hit stoked up on glittering superheroes. It’s a much grittier movie, and one that takes a sometimes painfully-honest look into the hearts and minds of high school kids and their parents. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not short on action. It won’t bore anyone. It’s got some pretty hair-raising moments in it as well as some good laughs along the way.
That’s all fine and dandy but the greatest value of this film lies deep in its heart. Can two misfits team up to overcome impossible problems? Or will the capacity of people around them to be crass and cruel overcome their gains and cast them back into the depths of despair they are trying to emerge from? Will Troy’s ultra-strict father destroy his own son while trying to help him? Can one troubled family tolerate another soul in need of help? Where can it all lead?
I don’t have space here to go into all the details of what makes this movie great, but I should point out that the cast, comprising veterans of the stage and newcomers as well, has outdone itself in providing riveting portrayals of characters with big problems, whose attempts to find redemption are heart rending to behold and inspiring as well. Young people who suffer from bad self-esteem should watch this film, not so much to take solace in watching a fellow sufferer, but rather to recognize that there is no hole so deep that a determined person can’t climb out of it.
One last thing. I mentioned that this is not a mainstream Hollywood film. After the premier showing, Matthew Lillard got on the theater stage himself along with some cast members to ask the help of us moviegoers with their plan to bring this movie to audiences around the world who need to see this sort of touching and positive film. They haven’t been able to get the financial backing of the big movie distributors, so they intend to spread the word without big corporate influence peddlers. They’re going directly to the people! In much the same way that I publish my stories without need of corporate financing, they’re hoping to get regular moviegoers to help them get this worthy story out there to the audiences who ought to see it: they’ve started a funding drive with small contributions by people like you and me, using the crowd-funding site, Kickstarter. If you’d like to help bring a thoughtful, touching, uplifting film to a wide audience, then check out the movie’s web pages, and then go make a small (or large) donation to the film on their Kickstarter Project page. I know I will.
