Fat Slags (film)

Fat Slags is a 2004 British independent gross out comedy film based on the Viz comic characters of the same name. The creators had no editorial control over the film.[2] Despite the relative popularity of the comic strip and its celebrity cameos, the film was panned by critics.

Fat Slags
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEd Bye
Produced byCharles Finch
Luc Roeg
Written byWilliam Osborne
Starring
Music byDavid A. Hughes
CinematographyJohn Sorapure
Edited byMark Wybourn
Production
company
Artists Independent Pictures
Funny Films
Distributed byEntertainment Film Distributors
Release date
  • 15 October 2004 (2004-10-15)
Running time
75 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film chronicles the (mis)adventures of Sandra (Fiona Allen) and Tracey (Sophie Thompson), the famously vulgar and crass Fat Slags of the title. The pair leave their hometown of Fulchester for London, shagging and boozing their way to fame and fortune. On the day they arrive in London, internationally-renowned billionaire Sean Cooley (Jerry O'Connell) suffers a blow to the head that renders him temporarily insane. When he spots Sandra and Tracey on a daytime chat-show he falls for their larger-than-life outlook. A media sensation is brought about when Cooley forces fashion designer Fidor Konstantin (James Dreyfus) to base his upcoming collection on the Fat Slags. Sandra and Tracey take the United Kingdom by storm, hitting #1 in the record charts and inadvertently winning the Turner Prize. As far as the press is concerned, fat is the new black. This new trend leads to Cooley's assistant Paige gaining major weight. Throughout their journey into the world of fame, the Slags maintain their unique and endearing vulgarity, coupled with an innocence that draws the British public to their cause. But in private, jealousy drives a wedge between them as they vie for Cooley's attentions. Only when he regains his mental faculties and turns on the girls do they realise that their friendship is the only real thing they have in their mad new world.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Fat Slags received near unanimously negative reviews and was panned by critics.[4] The Sun said "There may still be some diehard Viz aficionados who'll love every second of this film - but I'm one and I didn't,"[5] while The Guardian stated "It has plenty of gross-out stuff, but chucked in with an eerie lack of enjoyment or conviction. Depression seeps out of the screen like carbon monoxide."[5] Graham Dury stated that Rita, Sue and Bob Too was a more accurate live action depiction of the comic book characters. It was also claimed he was so appalled by the film, that he stopped drawing the strips and it was dropped from Viz,[4] though that proved unfounded as the strip was never dropped. British film historian I.Q. Hunter, discussing the question "What is the worst British film ever made?", listed Fat Slags as one of the contenders for that title.[6]

References
  1. "FAT SLAGS (15)". Entertainment Film Distributors. British Board of Film Classification. 8 October 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. "Goodbye, Fat Slags". Metro. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  3. "Goodbye, Fat Slags The Expendables' Dolph Lundgren on his big-screen comeback". Metro. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  4. "Viz to drop Fat Slags in protest". BBC. 19 October 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  5. Plunkett, John (19 October 2004). "Viz gives Fat Slags the elbow". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  6. I. Q Hunter, "From Window Cleaner to Potato Man" in British Comedy Cinema, edited by I.Q. Hunter and Laraine Porter. Routledge, 2012. ISBN 0415666678. (p.154)
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