Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Fantastic!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The life of an overweight, unhappy cook is changed after a kind, beautiful college drop-out comes to work as a waitress at his and his mother's road-side restaurant.James Mangold wrote the script for the film in 1991, while attending filmmaking seminars at Columbia University under the instruction of director Miloš Forman. In making the movie, Mangold was very focused on expression versus dialogue; Mangold stated that he was striving to create a "silent film, with sound" This film was a career launch for Mangold, and to some extent Liv Tyler, too. Mangold has since gone on to make one hit after another, if you forget about "Knight and Day" (though, to be fair, I have not seen it). This is very much a 1990s indie film with that 1990s indie feel, but let us be honest -- those were really good movies. Some of the best directors working today (Mangold included) came out of the 90s indie scene.

The fact that "Cosmopolitan" magazine wrote this movie was "terrific" should have warned me to stay away but, like a sap, I gave it a look. What a waste of a trip to the rental store back in the late '90s. "Horrible" would have been a better one-word description of this profane-laden soap opera about a bunch of losers at a diner. Well, if you are a loser and like to watch people moping around like the main character in this movie - a fat momma's boy - watching a story that really has little plot or substance, this is your cup of tea. It does one thing, though: it will depress you, and a lot of sickos out there like movies that depress them. Go figure. They can relate to this "realistic" story, sad to say.I would have more compassion, but the characters in here, almost all of them, are nothing but annoying. No wonder "Cosmo" loved it.

Solemn, but terrific mood piece about a shy, chubby cook in a rivertown restaurant who fantasizes about getting to know the new waitress who just hired on, a perky young thing with long brunette hair and a big charming smile. Graceful film never goes the commercial route, neither injecting shady characters into the mix nor throwing in blatant jokes to give the film comedic uplift. The picture is all on one level, which may drive some viewers batty with impatience, but I found the whole thing quietly invigorating. The lead character, Victor (Pruitt Taylor Vince), daydreams, watches airplanes, has secret hopes; he's a loner, and the filmmakers are careful not to flood the screen with potential conquests. There's Debbie Harry as a loose waitress with weary eyes and Liv Tyler, the new hire, who brings fantasy into Victor's life, but, as with all fantasies, the advent of reality diffuses the passionate tension. Everyone is sad in this film, and I imagine some audiences won't get with it, but I admire director James Mangold for putting this story on film so eloquently. It's a new "Marty". *** from ****

Life in small town America has been explored in many movies, but James Mangold's 'Heavy' has in its favour some distinctive characters, a subtle, low-key plot and fine acting from, among others, former glamour girl Debbie Harry who oddly seems to play only embittered old crones in the movies (see also 'My Life Without Me'). It's a pity, then, that the pace is so slow (the movie never really goes anywhere surprising from the original premise) and is laden down with heavy-handed symbolism, even when there's very little to symbolise. And for a film that is trying so hard to mean something, it's a bit disappointing that it makes some elementary errors (the bar, which never seems to contain more than one customer, is meant to be supporting the livelihoods of 4 people; while Liv Tyler's beautiful teenager is deep, enigmatic and troubled for reasons that are useful to the story but never otherwise explained). It's a shame, as there's a great short film somewhere in among the flabby tedium; but 'Heavy' is more the representation of an idea than a closely-observed vision of life, and at feature length feels self-important and overweight. The mere absence of flashiness does not itself make a film profound.