Main Cast: Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Ron Carey, Candice Azzara, Michael Lombard
Release Year: 1980
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In this dark and sometimes sad comedy, Dominick -- an extremely obese man -- is pushed by his sister Antoinette to shed a few pounds lest he end up dead like his cousin. To do so, she helps him enroll in the fanatical weight-loss group, the Chubby Checkers, who will do anything to keep fellow members from over-eating. Another incentive for Dominick is his love for Lydia, a women whom Dominick fears has deserted him because of his obesity.The process of weight loss is torture, and he is left with a painful choice (one that the naturally thin don't always understand), suffer the pain and lose the weight or somehow learn to live with it. After his initial attempts to lose weight end in failure, and he goes on a gigantic food bender (one of the great binge scenes in movie history), in the end, Dominick learns that Lydia loves him for who he is, and he decides that he should do himself the same favor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Sal Viscuso - Vito; Delia Salvi - Ida Rendino; Robert Costanzo - Johnny; Estelle Reiner - Mrs. Goodman; Richard Karron - Sonny; Argentina Brunetti - Zi Jule; Jinaki - Chubby Checker Member; Ralph Manza - Danny; Peggy Mondo - Tessie; Elsa Raven - Phil's Wife; Natasha Ryan - Ann Marie; Arnold Soboloff - Dr. Schwartzman; Renata Vanni - Zi Marie; Rudy de Luca - Pat Manarino; Dick Balduzzi - Phil; Madeleine Taylor Holmes - Nurse; Bob Curtis - Father Monohan; Merie Earle - Mrs. Maluch; Paul Zegler - Oscar Lapidus
Credit
Jonathan Sanger - Associate Producer, Linda Francis - Casting, Mike Fenton - Casting, Jane Feinberg - Casting, Pat Norris - Costume Designer, Mark Johnson - First Assistant Director, Anne Bancroft - Director, Glenn Farr - Editor, Joe Renzetti - Composer (Music Score), Robert Norin - Makeup, Harold Michelson - Production Designer, Peter W. Wooley - Production Designer, Brianne Murphy - Cinematographer, Linda de Scenna - Set Designer, Al Overton, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer, Anne Bancroft - Screenwriter
For middle-aged bachelor Dominic DiNapoli, food had been the ultimate comfort for him. After his obese cousin Sal dies of a heart attack, Dominick is convinced by his sister Antoinette and brother Frankie that he has a bingeing problem and must go on a diet. He tries attending meetings of a support group called the "Chubby Checkers", but then he meets a woman named Lydia, and the relationship gives him the distraction he needs to stop obsessing about food.
