Fatso (1980)

Dominick DiNapoli. You with the way you smile with your chipmunk cheeks. The way you wave your hands as you butter a slice of perfectly crusted bread. So kind and so pleasant. You feel the pain and joys of your neighbors as they search for the ideal sentiment in your little card shop. A friendlier face in the neighborhood couldn't be found. You were born a good boy and your mama loved you.

Your cousin Sal, your favorite cousin, is on his way to heaven. Just 39. There wasn't a slice of pizza that he didn't love and you're the same way. Even at Sal's funeral you couldn't avoid that large pot of sauce bubbling away on the stove. Your sister Antoinette is inconsolable. "You son of a bitch! Where are you my sweet cousin? Where the hell are you?" "The good people are the fat people and the fat people die young." 😔 Is it hitting home yet, Dominick?

Dom Deluise as Dominick

Ann Bancroft as Antoinette

Antoinette will not let this happen to her brother. Dominick will be visiting Dr. Schwartzman, the diet doctor. It's time for a change in the way you live, Dom. But pleasure and comfort... will they prevail?

Like many old school Italian families in NY, the siblings share the old family home. Antoinette lives downstairs with her husband and kids, while Dom and his "baby brother" share the upstairs. Oh, the delicious food that Dom cooks for Frankie Jr., but please... not so much bread. Frankie Jr. likes bread, he doesn't love it.

Ron Carey as Frankie Jr.

What's to hurt? A tiny snack before opening the shop and that hot dog cart is right on the way. Just as Dominick is about to take that first bite, he looks up to see a vision before him. Lydia. He hesitates. Does he want this golden angel to see him take that big bite? Well, he did it anyway, turned and continued on. Mrs. Goodman, a faithful customer, is waiting for the shop to open. She mentions that perhaps Sal should have joined Chubby Checkers. No, not the singer, the diet group. Mrs. Goodman says the first step is to admit that he is fat. Personally, all I know is that I really need a nice crumb cake after watching Dom stop into an authentic NY bakery. I haven't had a decent kaiser roll since I left NY. Schwartzman gives Dom a short list of food to eat and a long list of food not to eat. No sauce, no lasagna, no bread.

Candice Azzara as Lydia

Well anyway, this is about mismatched couples. That's just a little background. Dom runs into Lydia on occasion, but he always turns just enough to avoid eye contact. So self-conscious and insecure about his worthiness. But the inevitable happens. Lydia comes into the shop. Dom perks up and graciously helps the lovely Lydia. "Nice cup of coffee?" "No thanks, I don't drink coffee." "Nice fresh milk?" "Yeah, thank you." "Cookie?" "No, thank you. I don't eat sweets. They make me a little nauseous."

Dom soon discovers that Lydia is very conscious of her diet, her grandma died from diabetes. He admits he doesn't take as much care as he should. He's "stocky." Lydia really connects with Dom, but they both are so genteel and polite. They hold back and of course being a good Catholic girl, Lydia doesn't make any bold moves. "Are you Catholic?" Lydia asked. "Yeah, are you?" "Definitely." She takes her Sacred Heart of Jesus pendant and asks Dom if he would like to kiss it. "Yeah." Perhaps there is a chance, even though these two have never run into each other over a pepperoni slice.

Dom delivers a large order of wrapping paper to the antique gift shop she works at a few days later. "You're Polish?" Dom asks. He lovingly explains "I'm Italian." Back in those days, from firsthand experience, identifying your ethnicity was part of being a New Yorker. Dom almost brings himself to ask Lydia something. He can't do it. He just couldn't take the rejection and leaves with his head down.

On with the Chubby Checkers. He's going to try. They all admit they're fat at the meeting. Dominick gets sponsors to help him when his will power falters. He proceeds with the program and the entire kitchen is locked up with heavy chains. He's struggling but trying. DO NOT EAT!

Dominick can't even sleep. Tossing and turning, he switches on the TV. Remember when you stayed home from school because you were honestly sick to your stomach? And every commercial was food. (What happened with that?) Well, it has an opposite effect in this situation. Dominick lets food control his life, he can no longer try to veer from that course. This is the obstacle Dom must overcome to win the heart of Lydia and he is failing. He threatens the life of Frankie Jr, and he is beyond reason. Plain out of his mind. Time to call Chubby Checkers. "Gimme those keys or I'll cut your throat down to your balls."

Help arrives. Sonny and Oscar been through it before. Let's settle down and talk about this. Maybe a nice cup of hot water. Dominick is torn to pieces, he feels a flop. He just couldn't bring himself to ask Lydia out. "Food I can have, but not this girl." He stopped for a pizza, an entire pizza. His helpers ask for details. "Mmmmngh." Dom explains Lydia has everything he could possibly want. She is blonde, she is Catholic, half Italian. This old time Catholicism is a major deal in this movie. That a would be a whole other long, drawn out blog thing.

Yes, Sal died. The only relationship he could handle was with food. Any food, of any kind. The way Dom says "corn on the cob" you could feel the love. The group discusses Sal's fascination with corn, cold corn. No... Dom does not like cold food, except for a nice cold apple. Visions ensue. Description after description. It's true love. What can they do, except to ask for lemon in their hot water. The scene that follows is hilarious, huge men in great need of food. The cabinet doors come down. A great release. Everything denied is now theirs with wild abandon. "Why do they want me to be skinny?" The three suffer an emotional roller coaster and it's not so funny now. It culminates in a state of regret and severe discomfort for all three.

Aw yes. Brioschi. I know because I've seen it. Pouring back and forth between glasses. Dominick cannot face the world. Antionette goes to Lydia in hopes she could provide her brother with emotional support. Wow, dreadfully embarrassing for Dom. Lydia visits him in his bedroom as he lays there in shame. She offers a gift and simple kindness. He cannot believe she witnesses this lack of inner strength, but isn't repulsed by his gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins. Lydia counteracts with heavenly virtue. "Oh. Don't feel bad. Everybody falls." "Christ fell three times and he was Christ." 😄She's seen him at his worst, what the heck. How about going to the St. Anthony Bazaar?

Life is good for Lydia and Dominick. Winning at the bazaar, fabulous dancing, sharing sausage and peppers, enjoying a day at the art museum and discovering what they have in common. They find intimacy. "Are you a virgin?" "Almost."

My eyes. Just a little watery at their old fashioned courtship. A little ying, a little yang. Like an oil slick on Reynolds Channel heading out to the Atlantic, making their way together in a cohesive unit. Dom has lost so much weight without even trying, just from sheer happiness. Tonight is the night he presents an engagement ring to her. Apatite and marcasite, Lydia's favorite. But he can't even find a suit to fit.

Something is happening. Dom can't find Lydia, she's gone and there's no way to reach her. All his concerns come back to haunt him. A heavy worry, a deep disappointment. He falls off the Chubby Checkers wagon, a bigtime nosedive into bags full of Chinese takeout earmarked for the weekly card game downstairs.

Dom is depressed and I am too. Jeez, Anne Bancroft's character is a little too authentic. Maybe a little lingering anxiety that should have been packed away a long time ago. Not just a comedy, there's real heartfelt trauma here. "You guys have got to love me. The way I am."

Dominick's epiphany gets through to his family. Sweet Lydia finally calls. She's been in Boston because her brother was in the hospital. She needs Dom. "God bless you for coming. I love you." 

Lydia and Dominick. They made it. We know that in the end their love will remain as true as they are to themselves.

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