Heavyweights

"Who wants to tell us the lesson we learned here?"

"Don't put Twinkies on your pizza!"

Gerry Garner's (Schwartz) parents (Jeffrey Tambor, Nancy Ringham) send him to Camp Hope for the summer.  Camp Hope is a fat camp for teenage boys and is run by the kindly Bushkins (Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara).  Despite being a fat camp, everyone loves Camp Hope.  Most of the campers come back each summer, and some even become coun but this summer is different: the Bushkins have sold the camp to fitness guru Tony Perkins (Stiller).

Tony wants to use the camp as an infomercial for his new fitness program.  He is followed by cameraman Kenny (Covert), who is filming the infomercial.  He also changes the staff, replacing long-time counselor Pat Finley (McGowan) with strict fitness nut Lars (Hodges).  He gets rid of the fun events and forces the campers to diet, despite the reservations of nurse Julie (Lail).  They raid the secret candy stashes of the boys and try to shame them into losing the pounds.  Can the boys find a way to beat Tony and enjoy their summer?


This is Disney's take on summer camp in the 1990s.  The story was written by Steven Brill (who also directed the film) and Judd Apatow (who also served as a producer), and it was the first film to have Ben Stiller take a comedic role.  The film has developed a following over the years, even though it wasn't a huge hit when it debuted.

Stiller is hilariously menacing as Tony.  He is intense and over the top and it works well here.  The success of this performance inspired his character in Dodgeball (where he plays very similar characters).  He also plays the role of Tony Sr.  His parents, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, play the Bushkins... funny but too brief.  Several stars of Disney's Mighty Ducks franchise had roles in this film: Kenan Thompson was Russ in the 2nd and 3rd films, Shaun Weiss was Goldberg in all 3 films, and Aaron Schwartz was Karp in the 1st film.  The boys give it their all and keep the film entertaining.  The film also features director Paul Feig as Tim.

The film is still funny 20+ years later.  Some things have not aged well, but the humor is still there.  You laugh, you cheer, and you have a good time.  Definitely worth checking out, especially for Stiller's performance.

Heavyweights (1995) 100 minutes
Director: Steven Brill
Starring: Aaron Schwartz as Gerry Garner
Ben Stiller as Tony Perkis
Tom McGowan as Pat Finley
Shaun Weiss as Josh Birnbaum
Kenan Thompson as Roy
Leah Lail as Julie
Paul Feig as Tim
Tom Hodges as Lars
Allen Covert as Kenny
Cody Burger as Cody
David Goldman as Nicholas