“Phat Girlz” is a film made for a relatively narrow demographic. While heavy women, or any woman unhappy with her body (and that would probably be all of them), can find things to appreciate about “Phat Girlz,” the movie is aimed at the African-American woman.

If you keep this in mind, and don’t expect it to fully appeal to a middle-aged white man like myself, it’s clear that this movie hit its target well. Unfortunately for the box office, this is not a very large demographic. Still, if you are looking for a African-American answer to “Sex in the City,” “Phat Girlz” takes a good stab at it.

The movie tells the story of Jazmin Biltmore (Mo’Nique), a large lady who has been heavy all her life. Over the years she learned to deal with the teasing by taking an attitude. Unfortunately, that’s never helped her get a man, and while she dresses with style, she is still alone.

Jazmin wins a trip to Palm Springs with her skinny cousin Mia (Joyful Drake) and plump friend Stacey (Kendra C. Johnson). While they are at the pool, they meet three Nigerian doctors who are attracted to the “thick madam” look. For the first time, this leaves Mia in the dust with Jazmin and Stacey getting the men.

Jazmin gets sucked into a whirlwind romance with one of the doctors, but eventually her insecurities torpedo the relationship. Ultimately, she has to overcome her own self image problems before she can become accustomed to being admired by anyone.

When “Phat Girlz” came out in the theaters, I was somewhat critical of the film, mostly because it was loosely structured and had an ending that was unnecessarily long. In watching the film again on DVD, I have a similar opinion. However, I give it a little extra points for delivering an unrated cut of the film.

It’s not that the original cut of “Phat Girlz” was anything scandalous. In fact, if you didn’t know it was an unrated version, you could believe it earned the original theatrical PG-13 rating. However, with how much of sticklers the MPAA can be, they insisted on cuts that were actually stingers of jokes in the movie, and the unrated version flows just a little bit smoother.

The film goes through some rough parts, especially when it relies too heavily on Mo’Nique’s antics. These are funny scenes in themselves, and fans of Mo’Nique’s stand-up shows will enjoy them, but they don’t fit terribly well into the structure of the plot. The other big weakness is the fact that it has as many endings as “Return of the King.” Here’s where directors Nnegest Likké could have used her edits more wisely.

The DVD comes with a feature comedy by Likké, which offers some nice insights on why different scenes were cut for the PG-13 rating. There’s also a blooper reel, Nnegest Likké’s video production diary and a making-of featurette.

Ultimately, for all its flaws, “Phat Girlz” does have a lot of heart, and this is very apparent with a special video tribute to producer Bobby Newmyer, who died during the production. He believed in the film and extended his finances in his final days to get it made. At the very least, it’s clear that this movie was well loved by its authors.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Widescreen (1.85:1). Spanish and French language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.