After being on her feet at work over a 6-day stretch, my wife and I decided to take most of Sunday off and, as part of that, found ourselves watching a mid-afternoon movie while the kids were occupied with something else. We had originally had planned on watching an independent thriller. But, 15 minutes into the movie, we found we were bored with it and decided to watch something else instead. This ended up being the 1996 film "Thinner."
Even though my wife had seen the movie a couple of times, this was the first time I had watched this film, which is based off of a Stephen King book. Unfortunately, while my wife remembered this as a movie that was somewhat scary, it actually turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment.
The movie, which is about an overweight man (Robert John Burke) who runs over an elderly gypsy woman and is cursed to lose weight until he dies, does have some decent moments. I especially like the psychological part of it that has him going insane, especially when he starts suspecting his wife of being unfaithful. The fact we never really know if she is having an affair adds to that because, while there is some evidence, there's also a really good chance he's just imagining the whole thing.
My problem with this movie is the execution is somewhat weak. This is a film that has the potential to be scary or, at very least, give you some chills. But, it never really reaches that level. This is especially true when he starts to fight back with the help of the local crime boss (Joe Mantegna) because those scenes are almost cartoonish at times (and it doesn't help that he sounds just like his Fat Tony character from The Simpsons).
I also wasn't crazy about the ending. I liked the ironic twist. But, overall, the last several minutes of the movie seem awkward and, as a result, that twist just doesn't have as much of an effect as it should.
Overall, I will say this movie was an upgrade over the one we originally were going to watch. But, at the same time, it definitely failed to live up to our expectations.
My Grade: C
