THAT being said, I am aware this gives Neil LaBute too much credit as a playwrite. Given his previous works, he does take a misogynistic tone within the 1950s heirarchical stance of “OH SILLY IRRATIONAL WOMAN, DONT YOU KNOW YOU ONLY EXIST FOR MY PLEASURE?!”

I too thought it was infuriating that it took the angle of “oh poor me, i have to choose between a woman i love and a society/woman i hate but can't part from because that might actually give me some depth.” GEE LIFE'S HARD WHEN YOU'RE A THIN WHITE UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS MAN.

Again i'm in two minds about Jeanie. Queenslanders in particular, and Australia as a whole tends to exaggerate many characters in the dramatic arts for comedic effect. It's a way to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and as part of that group I did enjoy her performance. Did it give realism/depth to a play that could really shake people's core regarding size? No. The fact of the matter is that all the characters in this play are one side or another, which just isn't reality. Even Tom had the depth of a paddling pool, despite the actor's excellent job with what he had to work with.

All in all i enjoyed it, especially the final gut-wrenching scene (that has actually happened to me). I teared up, but this play isn't going to change the way most people think, sadly. I think parts of it were spot on and others need improvement.

Despite meeting all her requirements and becoming deeply emotionally entangled with Weisz's character, Weisz remains emotionally distant from Ruud's character. Ruud eventually turns to his female friend, played by Gretchen Mol in the movie, the long-time girlfriend of one of his male friends. In the movie, Mol's character is a slender, sporty California blonde with a sweet personality, very different from Weisz's more 'shrewish,' demanding character.

In LaBute's world, it seems women can be one of two types: passive aggressive 'shrews,' like Weisz's character, or sweet, non-demanding characters, like Mol. It sounds like he's done it again in “Fat Pig,” with the demanding, 'shrewish' slender woman, and the sweet-tempered fat woman.

I live in Los Angeles, and grew up in Southern California. I'm single, in my 40s and have been part of the dating scene off and on here since I was in my 20s. My years of experience in SoCal have shown that while men here will sometimes date and maintain a relationship with a fat girl, most of them draw the line when you appear “too fat” to them. This is largely true for more disproprotionally-shaped fat women. If you have more of an hourglass shape as a fat woman, you tend to stand a better chance in the dating scene in SoCal than if you don't.

I've had the experience several times of meeting a guy online or out at a dance club, dated him for a brief period of time, get dumped or never hear from him again… only to see him out on the town later with a thinner woman. I can't comment on the personality of these other women since I've never met any of them. Maybe they're great people; maybe they're a better emotional match for the guy than I was. I have no way of knowing. But the point still stands that in SoCal, most guys seem to prefer the thinner woman, when judging purely on looks.

Ally – http://iamoffendedbecause.blogspot.com/

In any case, you looked fabulous and red is most definitely your color.

http://bargainfatshionista.blogspot.com

Your outfit is lovely, though! xx

I really believe that a lot of the power of the message was lost because of Jeannie's portrayal. Had LaBute written her as a more nuanced character, or even just a little less deranged, it would have been much more interesting.

Acting-wise, I liked Amy Ingham's Helen and didn't mind Christopher Sommer's Tom, but did think that both characters of Tom and Jeannie were a mix of OTT and self-conscious. Whether that's an acting choice/character choice/whatever, I don't really know.

Overall, I did enjoy it though!