Gordos

♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Enrique (Antonio de la Torre) is the endorser of KiloAway, a series of weight loss products which he proclaims on TV as some sort of wonder drug that got rid of his obesity. Months later, he is fat again and has been sued by his business partner because of the negative effect this has had on their product. In an effort to get back into shape, he joins a therapy session group headed by Abel (Roberto Enriquez), a fit therapist married to a PE teacher who is also fit. Three more heavyweights join their sessions: Andres (Fernando Albizu), overweight, the father of two kids, and almost reaching 50, an age his relatives never reached because of complications of their obesity; Leonor (María Morales), a work at home engineer whose temporary separation from her 12-year live in partner has left her depressed and fat; and Sofia (Leticia Herrero), who is about to get married to her boyfriend Alex (Raúl Arévalo) who would not touch her “because it is a sin”.

The lives of these people in the therapy session are presented through a plot that mimics a self-help weight loss program. The movie is divided into parts which are introduced by titles that are actually steps in motivating someone to lose weight. As their weight go up and down every time they step on the weighing scale, important events happen in their lives that lead them to rethink if their weight is actually the problem, or their outlook in life.

This movie is a good comedy. It does make fun of obesity but more than that, the dialogue and the acting should also be credited. Everyone in the cast is commendable but special mention goes to the ex-KiloAway endorser who is really fun to watch as the gay guy who ends up sleeping with his partner's wife. The soon to be married couple also draw lots of laughs for being Jesus freaks and how it affects their level of intimacy. The other woman in the therapy session disappears halfway through the movie but reappears to give a conclusion to her story arc, her own version of success.

In terms of contrast, the life of the therapist has to be the best example. He "treats" people but could not do himself the same favor and ends up even more screwed up than them, pun intended. Actually, it is quite ironic. The ones who got thinner were the ones who went back to being fat and somehow contented, while the one who ended up thin in the end is the one with unresolved issues. In the end they just got comfortable in their own skin, which is perhaps the message of the movie both in a literal and figurative sense. In spite of that the presentation is not at all preachy, but rather funny and enjoyable.

I just found out that the film took eleven months to produce because they shot everything in chronological order. Wow. Kudos to the cast for managing to gain and drop weight like that. I guess this makes the movie more inspirational for people with weight problems out there. If you think losing weight is harder, tell that to people like me, us who have tried over and over again to battle our being underweight, to no avail. Maybe the director should also do a movie called Flacos. It’s the same problem about weight, just from the opposite side of the fence!

Anyway, this movie works well as a comedy because it gives a funny presentation of an issue in society that is always en vogue. The issue of weight. This is where the movie draws its universal appeal.