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If you ask someone what they think of Kirstie Alley, many people (especially women) will respond with something like, “Isn’t she the one that got really fat?” before remembering her roles in Cheers , Look Who’s Talking or even Star Trek II – Wrath of Khan in 1982.
American tabloids have been enjoying covering Alley’s weight problem, photographing her from low angles and resorting to Photoshop to make her look ‘even fatter’. Fat and Hollywood are chalk and cheese unless your name is Roseanne Barr, but then she was never really pretty or slim to start with, so it’s less fun to do before and after photos isn’t it?
53-year-old Kirstie however is fighting back by taking the wind out of their sails: she recently approached ‘Showtime’ with a 24-pack of Krispy Kremes and an idea for a comedy series Fat Actress based loosely on her years after Cheers when she ballooned and was spat out by Hollywood despite her great comic talent.
Reactions have been mixed, but I personally applaud her initiative as she apparently doesn’t pretend to love being overweight, but she refuses to accept that it’s the end of the world either. She feels good about herself and is healthier than many anorexic young actresses out there. Despite my admiration, I am a little unsure how the series will work out – after all, it could be terribly sad and unfunny… and I’m sure the tabloids will do all they can to make it fail. But judging by Alley’s previous track record in comedy, she should do fine.
suzero (90 posts)Suzanna Noort - TV/video director/editor and multimedia something. Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Hmm, I find all this a bit sad.
Not only the rabiate attitude of Hollywood towards appearances, but also the fact that she will even use her misery to cash in on it. Don’t forget, she is not only overweight but has also been labelled mentally unstable and depressed. If she would be like this by her own choice, or at least happy with it, that would be different.
Hollywood just loves stars that hit rock bottom, only to see them ressurected after everyone has gloated upon it. Liz Taylor (still going down), Anna-Nicole Smith, Robert Downey, Marlon Brando (r.i.p.) all these people have been used -or allowed themselves to be used- to fill the tabloids.
That’s what I really hate about Hollywood. I would applaud more actresses like Kate Winslet who have a normal, healthy feminine shape. Away with the stick-figures!
Comment by Paco — Fri August 13, 2004 @ 16:11I admire her… I mean: she is fighting these Hollywood plastic doll-mentality… and if she is she might as well earn her lving from it…
So I admire her… she is amazing…
Comment by arjan — Fri August 13, 2004 @ 17:15Paco, I don’t understand your first paragraph, but I do agree with your other two.
“…her misery” – what misery? Does that assume that everyone overweight is a misery? She admits it’s not healthy, but says she is happy.
“…she is not only overweight but has also been labelled mentally unstable and depressed. If she would be like this by her own choice, or at least happy with it, that would be different.”
Comment by suzero — Fri August 13, 2004 @ 17:50But by who has she been labelled mentally unstable and depressed? The tabloids! They don’t want her happy ‘coz happiness doesn’t sell. And why do you assume her depression would neccessarily be associated with her weight? Perhaps she is depressed because she is a Scientologist.
Totally agree with you on this one Suzanna regarding her turning her weight issue around and reclaiming her power, plus on who exactly it is that has labelled her mentally unstable and depressed…
I look forward to seeing Fat Actress one day in uh… widescreen format (chortle…)
Sorry, couldn’t resist…
Comment by PiP — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 0:31Well, Suzanna, I might have to make some assumptions here, but what I remembered reading from some articles (could be gossip) is that she is depressed and mentally unstable, and therefore over-eating. Not an entirely uncommon problem for people who are struggling.
The pressure in Hollywood is immense, and I don’t think Alley wants to be like this. [b]I[/b] have no problem with it, but I guess she has. Being overweight means no work and therefore less attention, which all stars crave. We also see infamous dieters like Oprah and Ricky Lake going up and down, so no-one in Hollywood wants to be full-figured. They all want to be skeletons in order to fit into doll-clothes.
That is why I said she is now trying to cash in on her misery; she tries to opportunistically bend a personally bad situation in a better one.
Comment by Paco — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 1:26I mean, we never heard her advocate for the full-figured woman before she got fat. It’s what we call in Dutch “gelegenheidsexcuus”.
I think that other people don’t want Kirstie to be that fat more than she wants not to be. Let’s face it, she’s not actually fat fat… she is just larger than we are used to Hollywood beauties being. I searched for “before” and “after” photos on the web and couldn’t find any where she looked ‘obese’ until I came across the above tabloid page.
Coming across her on the street you’d probably think she was stunning and curvy. Apparently when people meet her in real life they often ask how she lost all that weight when she didn’t… the tabloid pictures are manipulated to look ten times worse because being 10 kilos overweight is a bigger taboo than being a wife-beating alcoholic actor. And THAT perception is what I personally find ridiculous (as you do too if I read your post correctly) and THAT is what Alley is fighting against and I applaud that.
What you read about her over-eating because of being depressed about her dwindling career due to being overweight is a chicken and egg story. What started first? Her being fat and not getting work or not getting work and resorting to binges? Again it boils down to external perception and judgement. There seems to be no leeway in Hollywood weight. You are either gorgeous and thin or you’re fat and therefore have mental problems. But weighing more than Callista Flockhart does not make you unhealthy by default and needn’t make you unhappy unless others are convincing you that you must be.
When it comes to “gelegenheidsexcuus” (opportunist-excuse), I don’t understand how you can make such a comment if you also claim to find the Hollywood attitude towards weight ridiculous. What would you rather have her do? Lose 20 kilos and THEN it’s OK if she says something about it? Or preferably not mention it at all?
I never saw Christopher Reeve be an advocate for quadraplegics until after his accident – does that make him an opportunistic disabled person?
Comment by suzero — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 11:05No, it’s just that I would like to see more actors against this crazy Hollywood-attitude BEFORE misfortune befalls them.
Everyone knows they can get fat, fall ill or become disabled, but they seem only to become ardent protesters when shit happens to them. If they then try to spin it around and all of the sudden make a pricipal issue out of it (while trying to cash in on it), it then makes it a bit opportunistic to me. Why not protest before this and in larger numbers? I mean, your principles about this subject don’t change like that, do they?
Now she wants to make the best of a (for her) bad situation. To me it sounds more that she’s looking for some kinda ‘loophole’ to get back to work again and hides it under the noble flag of “standing up for the full-figured woman”.
Mark my words, she will pull the same stunt as Anna Nicole Smith, lose weight, cry on nationally televised interviews and write a book on how she made it through her ordeal. Makin’ that dollar… back in the spotlights…
Apparently drugs, (child)abuse and alcohol are the only defaults that are ‘commonly accepted’. Just a month at Betty Ford’s or some other resort and all’s fine and dandy. I’d like to see them take a real stand against this commonly accepted anorexia. But they don’t, so they perpetuate this dismal situation.
Comment by Paco — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 12:22Ah OK, now I understand better what you meant. We agree with eachother then
I would be inclined to give some people the benefit of the doubt though, that they are not always opportunistic but sometimes have their eyes opened by things that happen to them. Unfortunately I don’t know Kirstie Alley personally, so I don’t know if she deserves that benefit of the doubt. You may be right about the Anna Nicole Smith thing happening… we’ll see…
Comment by suzero — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 12:33My heart goes out more to people like Ricky Lake, Oprah of Roseanne Barr, people that openly admit they struggle with their weight but at the same time prove they can be -and are- succesful.
Even better are people like Ellen Degeneres (lesbian) or Rosie O’Donnell (lesbian AND overweight), they really have to swim upstream in homophobic Hollywood. They show real character. You cannot hide it when you’re fat, but you can hide your sexual preference. They don’t.
So, now we all wait on Tom Cruise coming out of the closet
Comment by Paco — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 12:46Oh, and if you look at the pictures of Kirsty Alley, you can see that her problem is not that she has gained weight, but that she looks very unkempt. That’s usually a dead ringer that’s something’s not right.
She always was curvy (which was good), now she looks like a scarecrow, regardless her weight.
Comment by Paco — Sat August 14, 2004 @ 12:52i think kirstie is beautiful and sexy and talented and i hope her show is a hit. fat people are treated like shit on a daily basis and it will never change ( i should say fat women ).
Comment by bonnie — Tue March 8, 2005 @ 21:36i read an editorial one day and it did a survey and it said more people would rather lose a limb then be fat..what does that say people…this world is really messed up.
Comment by bonnie — Tue March 8, 2005 @ 21:39Well, I have always liked Kirstie Alley, especially in “Cheers” and “Look Who’s Talking”.
She is spunky and uncensored and I find that refreshing.
Her weight is irrelevant to her comedy, although I think she is far more attractive as a brunette, her appearance is secondary to her persona.
I really, really wanted to like this show. I tried to like this show.
But …
I did not.
She needs a better writing team and more plot and witticisms. Relying on sight gags will the weight is going to get old. It got old for me in the first show.
I hope she can get it together and assemble some creative talent to make this show a success!
Comment by Donna — Wed March 9, 2005 @ 1:59I watched Fat Actress, and as fat person myself, I thought much the show was funny. Lets face it in life if you cannot laugh at yourself, then you might as well pack it up.
Comment by heffa — Wed March 9, 2005 @ 17:44Statistics say that 2/3 of the american population is over weight… so get over yourself. Yes, its not healthy, that does not mean you should roll over and die. Just keep your self healthy and fit and above all else be happy.
I think the one thing that annoyed me most about her Fat Actress, was how annoyed other people were that she was trying to maintain her status in a very very superfical community. There is no denying that Kirsty Alley is a beautiful woman. wether she was a skinny bitch or a heffa.
As far as psychological problems, mm go figure, 92 percent of the population is bipolar. …………Welcome to the real world of heffas with attitudes.
I would rate this show a 7
Fat Actress wasn’t what I expected out of Kirstie. Overall, it just wasn’t very funny. Moreover, I thought it was embarrassing for her. The jokes were forced, the plot was dental floss thin, and when my TiVo cut off the last minute of this show, I was relieved! I’m very happy that Kirstie Alley is able to make fun of her own weight. And I’m glad that she appears to be on the road to getting down to a more “comfortable” weight. But the show really missed the boat on what makes her story interesting.
Honestly, I think a reality show about her battle with losing weight would have been a HECK of a lot more interesting than a fictional comedy about the same topic.
Comment by Blue Sandson — Thu March 10, 2005 @ 1:47Kirstie is talented – She should look at the lame jokes and realize there is much, much more to explore with this premise in a comedy.
Hope it improves as it goes along.
Here’s hoping some writing talent jumps on board to save her show.
donna
Comment by Donna — Thu March 10, 2005 @ 2:40I think “Fat Actress” is hysterical and very entertaining! Bravo Kristie and cast for creating a great show. Critics need to lighten up and accept it for what it is, a fun comedy! What is with the reviews that are saying “Fat Actress is going to make Women fat!” ???
Lisa
Comment by Lisa — Sat March 12, 2005 @ 20:26So how was the second episode?
Comment by Donna — Sat March 19, 2005 @ 14:21I agree with Blue, the show just wasn’t good. I think you can make size a self empowerment issue (in the way that Roseanne did) without resorting to trite stereotypes. The comedy was flat, tired and bordering on offensive … not just to women but people of color.
If you aren’t a Hollywood insider or obsessed with all things behind the scenes in Hollywood … every character just comes off as totally unsympathetic, self abosorbed and shallow.
In the same way that other under-represented groups in the media would like to see lead characters whose whole comic identity isn’t centered around being black, gay, asian, handicapped or whatever … can’t we just have some funny shows where the lead just happens to be outisde of the plastic Hollywood norm? Roseanne broke ground on the weight issue. Kirstie is just selling out … and it isn’t even entertaining.
Comment by marisa — Tue March 22, 2005 @ 15:40where can I see this show?!!
Comment by snoops — Thu April 21, 2005 @ 23:42Just came across this page.
Re: the way she looks….
People look a lot different when they’re off the stage than when they’re on. If you’re seeing photos of her where she looks bad (like those stupid tabloid pix), she’s gonna look way different because she’s not all made up to be onscreen. She’s not expecting a camera in her face at 5 in the morning.
Re: Fat Actress….
I love the show. (Which is available on On-Demand, Showtime.)
Re: Her depression….
At one point, she lost her baby, so I imagine she was very depressed over that. From what she says, that’s actually when she started eating (during hr pregnancy and continued even though she was no longer pregnant). She continued eating and had a blast doing so, but then she realized she couldn’t do things as easily as she could before, and since she leads a fast-paced lifestyle, she knew she had to lose some weight. She’d rather be thinner, but she did have fun gaining weight.
If she wants to cash in on her appearance, more power to her. The tabloids lie about her and make money off her, so what’s wrong with her getting somethign back? She’s using humour, what SHE thinks is funny and how SHE sees things from a fat person’s point of view. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but not everything will be.
Comment by Lisa Hansen — Tue May 3, 2005 @ 7:01omg wot a heffa i think she needs 2 loose weight or die
Comment by laura — Wed February 8, 2006 @ 0:46I came across this while looking for info on weight loss.
Thank God he doesn’t judge us like others.
Just a thought.
Comment by Zem — Wed May 2, 2007 @ 7:23talking about being fat, whats up with eminem??
Comment by danica — Fri January 11, 2008 @ 3:14Fat Actress has come and gone…..I think…..
Comment by Bobby Capps — Tue January 22, 2008 @ 3:01