Fatsuit
A fatsuit is a bodysuit-like undergarment used to thicken the appearance of an actress or actor of light to medium build into a heavy-set or obese character, in conjunction with prosthetic makeup. Other spellings include fat suit and fat-suit.
It is usually supposed to provide comedic effect, as in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video, "Fat" and the video "Keine Lust" by the German band Rammstein.[1]
Fatsuits may be intended to be either deliberately visible, or invisible. Most are intended as unseen body padding beneath a costume (Shallow Hal, Eddie Murphy's Klumps), others appear as realistic flesh and are viewed directly (Fat Bastard in Austin Powers, Tom Cruise's character Les Grossman's hands in Tropic Thunder).
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[edit] Experience of obesity
Fatsuits may also be used to impart the experience of being obese to the wearer, not just the appearance of obesity to their audience. The suit in this case is weighted, as well as padded. Where the intention is to impart the experience of being seen as fat in a community, its appearance must also be realistic and so a fatsuit rather than just a weight belt is needed. Several celebrities noted for their slimness have worn such garments and recorded their, and others', reactions as documentary of social attitudes to weight.[2]
[edit] Fatsuits in media
- An episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has Will wearing a fatsuit when a personal trainer dares him to feel what his overweight uncle feels.
- In three episodes of Monk, the three actors (Adam Arkin, Tim Curry and Ray Porter) who played Dale the Whale wore fat suits to appear extremely overweight.
- An episode of George Lopez features Ernie with a fatsuit and prosthetic makeup.
- The 2007 film version of Hairspray has John Travolta wearing a fatsuit to secure the role of Edna Turnblad.
- The Big Momma's House films have been criticized for being a joke about a transvestite fatsuit, and nothing more than this.[3]
- In the TV show Friends, the fatsuit has recurring appearances. Once in an alternate reality where Joey is married to Monica and morbidly Obese, and several other times where Courteney Cox wears a fatsuit to accommodate Monica's overweight past.
- In the film Click (2006 film) Adam Sandler wears a fat suit to show his character Michael Newman in 7 years time after neglecting his life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Actress Meg Ryan, in and out of character during filming with a fatsuit". The Daily Mail. 25 July 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1038336/Hollywood-sweetheart-Meg-Ryan-gains-stone--donning-fat-suit.html. "Hollywood sweetheart Meg Ryan gains ten stone... after donning a fat suit"
- ^ "Tyra Banks Ex". November 4, 2005. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1280787.
- ^ Stuart Heritage (10 November 2010). "Big Momma's House 3: once, twice, three times a fake lady". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2010/nov/10/big-mommas-house-3-trailer?intcmp=239.
[edit] External links
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