Fat Slags (film)
| Fat Slags | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Ed Bye |
| Produced by |
Charles Finch Luc Roeg |
| Written by | William Osborne |
| Starring |
Fiona Allen Sophie Thompson Jerry O'Connell Anthony Head Geri Halliwell James Dreyfus Naomi Campbell |
| Music by | David A. Hughes |
| Cinematography | John Sorapure |
| Edited by | Mark Wybourn |
Production company |
Artists Independent Pictures Funny Films |
| Distributed by | Entertainment Film Distributors |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 75 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Fat Slags is a 2004 British gross-out comedy film based on the Viz comic of the same name. The creators had no editorial control over the film.[2] Despite the relative popularity of the comic strip and its celebrity cameos, the film was widely panned.
Plot
The film chronicles the (mis)adventures of Sandra (Fiona Allen) and Tracey (Sophie Thompson), the famously vulgar and crass Fat Slags of the title. The pair leave their home town of Fulchester for London, shagging and boozing their way to fame and fortune. On the day the Fat Slags arrive in London, internationally renowned billionaire Sean Cooley (Jerry O'Connell) suffers a blow to the head, rendering him temporarily insane. When he spots Sandra and Tracey on a daytime chat show he falls for their larger-than-life outlook. A media sensation is brought about when Cooley forces fashion designer Fidor Konstantin (James Dreyfus) to base his upcoming collection on the Fat Slags. In a whirlwind turn of events, Sandra and Tracey take the United Kingdom by storm, hitting #1 in the record charts and inadvertently winning the Turner Prize. As far as the press is concerned, fat is the new black. Throughout their journey into the world of fame, the Slags maintain their unique and endearing vulgarity, coupled with an innocence that draws the British public to their cause. However, in private, jealousy is driving a wedge between Sandra and Tracey as they vie for Cooley's attentions. Only when he regains his mental faculties and turns on the girls do they realise that their friendship is the only real thing they have in the mad world they have become a part of.
Cast
- Fiona Allen as Sandra "San" Burke
- Sophie Thompson as Tracey "Tray" Tunstall
- Jerry O'Connell as Sean Cooley
- Anthony Head as Victor Lange
- Geri Halliwell as Paige
- James Dreyfus as Fidor Ulrich Cosimo Konstantin
- Naomi Campbell as Sales assistant
- Angus Deayton as Maurice the hotel receptionist
- Hugh Dennis as Immigration officer #2
- Les Dennis as MC
- Tom Goodman-Hill as Barry "Baz" Askwith
- Michael Greco as Niarchos
- Eamonn Holmes as himself
- Ralf Little as Milkman
- Dolph Lundgren as Randy[3]
- Alison King as Receptionist
Reception
Fat Slags received near unanimously negative reviews and was widely panned by critics.[4][5] The Sun said "There may still be some diehard Viz aficionados who'll love every second of this film - but I'm one and I didn't,"[6] while The Guardian stated "It has plenty of gross-out stuff, but chucked in with an eerie lack of enjoyment or conviction. Depression seeps out of the screen like carbon monoxide."[7] Graham Dury stated that Rita, Sue and Bob Too was a more accurate live action depiction of the comic book characters. It was also claimed he was so appalled by the film, that he stopped drawing the strips and it was dropped from Viz[8] though that proved unfounded as the strip was never dropped. British film historian I.Q. Hunter, discussing the question "What is the worst British film ever made?", listed Fat Slags as one of the contenders for that title.[9]
References
- ↑ "FAT SLAGS (15)". Entertainment Film Distributors. British Board of Film Classification. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ↑ "Goodbye, Fat Slags". Metro. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ "Goodbye, Fat Slags The Expendables' Dolph Lundgren on his big-screen comeback". Metro. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ "Viz to drop Fat Slags in protest". BBC. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ "Fat Slags". BBC. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ Plunkett, John (19 October 2004). "Viz gives Fat Slags the elbow". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ Plunkett, John (19 October 2004). "Viz gives Fat Slags the elbow". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ "Viz to drop Fat Slags in protest". BBC. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
- ↑ I. Q Hunter, "From Window Cleaner to Potato Man" in British Comedy Cinema, edited by I.Q. Hunter and Laraine Porter. Routledge, 2012. ISBN 0415666678. (p.154)