Thinner (1996)

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Michael McDowell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Let The Curse Fit The Crime.

Plot:

A lawyer is cursed by a gypsy to lose weight...and lose weight...and lose weight...

Plot Keywords:

Sex In Car | Oral Sex | Weight Loss | Curse | Fair

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert John Burke	...	Billy Halleck
Joe Mantegna	...	Richie Ginelli
Lucinda Jenney	...	Heidi Halleck
Michael Constantine	...	Tadzu Lempke
Kari Wuhrer	...	Gina Lempke
Bethany Joy Galeotti	...	Linda Halleck (as Joie Lenz)
Time Winters	...	Prosecutor
Howard Erskine	...	Judge Phillips
Terrence Garmey	...	Bailiff
Randy Jurgensen	...	Court Clerk
Jeff Ware	...	Max Duggenfield
Antonette Schwartzberg	...	Mama Ginelli
Terence Kava	...	Gabe Lempke
Adriana Delphine	...	Gypsy Woman
Ruth Miller	...	Billy's Secretary

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Thinner

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Italy:VM14 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Appleton, Maine, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Cameo: [Stephen King]the author appears as Dr. Bangor. (Bangor, Maine is where King lives.)

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the Gypsy after she is hit by the car.

Quotes:

Henry Halliwell: This diet you're on, what is it? I've tried all the others, I might as well try this one.
Billy Halleck: I don't think you'd like it Henry. In fact, I don't think you'd like it at all.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000)

Not the worst King adaption, but definitely not the best either

From what I've heard, this is a fairly faithful adaption of the Stephen King story of the same name, but I've never read the book myself. The plot is decent, but somewhat ridiculous... and the pacing is awful. I was bored for most of the other half of this movie, despite it only being about 90 minutes long. The acting varies, but it's mostly bad... Kari Wuhrer displays a particularly obvious lack of talent, and Robert John Burke proves that he doesn't have the charisma or talent to carry a movie. Actually, Joe Mantegna pretty much steals the show, and every scene that doesn't involve him has you bored and wanting to see him again. The humor in the film is actually surprisingly good. There are some pretty good exchanges of dialog, and, as a nice variation from the typical King film-adaption, most of the laughs are intentional(though there are a few parts which still seem lame and make you laugh, as opposed to seeming scary and frighten you). The special effects vary, but for the most part, they are quite good. The films gore and violence may be a little over the top, and is definitely extreme, though there isn't terribly much of it in the film(but when there is, it's very graphic), but it didn't bother me as much as I had expected, from hearing it described by someone who has seen the film. Since I haven't really seen any other films by the director, Tom Holland, I can't say if fans of him will like this film. One thing that the fans of King will surely enjoy is that he himself has a role in this, and a pretty easily recognizable one, at that(not the typical somewhere-in-the-immediate-background cameo that writers/directors typically have). All in all, fairly enjoyable horror, but not something that you'll want to see many times. I recommend it to big fans of Stephen King, huge fans of the various actors, and people who just enjoy watching somewhat uneven films just for the heck of it. 5/10