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A BIG ‘PHAT’ DOSE OF MO’NIQUE: Comedian talks about weight, acceptance, plastic surgery and dealing with haters.
*“Sixty percent of the women in this country look like me, so imagine,” comedian Mo’Nique says of her new film “Phat Girlz,” this is our story.”
Fox Searchlight slips the comedy into theaters today after refusing to screen it for film critics. The strategic move is usually a sign that the studio has little-to-no faith in any of the reviews being positive. Their action could also serve as a metaphor for the low expectations of women in general who carry around extra weight.
“I think that fat women have more trouble in everything, because we live in a society that says we should have trouble,” says Mo’Nique, who stars in the film as one of a crew of plus-sized friends searching for love and acceptance in a culture that prefers women be thin.
“I thought [the script] was brilliant because it tells a true story,” she says. “It hits it on the nail what our walk is. Often times, Hollywood was afraid of that story, because we don’t like to look at what we’re really doing. We often do a fat girl character and we make fun of her so bad, that when she walks out of that theater, she’s sick in her stomach. When [fat girls] walk away, even when we’re out in that theater lobby, people are still pointing, saying, ‘Look at her. She's getting some popcorn and she's getting some extra butter. She’s getting snickers.’ This story will make people walk away saying, ‘Let me treat them a little nicer when I go to work Monday morning, because I didn’t know we were doing that kind of damage.’”
Mo’Nique and her phat girlz in the film – Joyful M’Chelle Drake and Kendra C. Johnson – are thrown for a loop when they meet men from an African culture that celebrates a woman’s thickness – the thicker, the better.
Mo’Nique’s own blinding self-confidence is rooted in similar unconditional acceptance experienced from her family throughout her entire 39 years.
“I have a very strong mom and dad,” she explains. “If I said, ‘Mommy, I wanna be a modern dancer,’ she’d be like, ‘Okay, let’s go get you the stuff.’ Or ‘Mommy, I wanna be a cheerleader.’ She’d say, ‘Okay, let me help you with your tryouts.’ I mean, they never told me no because I was fat. And my grandmother Minnie, who still thinks I’m a virgin - I just had twins. How is that possible? – she believes that I’m just her angel. And even to this day when I see her, she says, ‘You’re just the prettiest child.’ I had a really solid foundation.”
Armed with that foundation, Mo’Nique was always ready, willing and able to shut down any hater's attempt to use the extra pounds as a weapon against her.
“I was never one to tolerate you trying to hurt my feelings,” she laughs. “I just wasn’t that girl. They knew, don’t bring that to me. I used to wanna be a fighter, but then I was like, ‘Okay, I’m fat. Now what?’”
Mo’Nique says she quickly figured out how to throw psychology at her tormenters by agreeing with their taunts.
“It would kill them to take the power from them,” she said. “[I’d say] ‘You’re right, I’m fat. Now what? You have nothing else to say.’ That got to be my mentality as a teenager. As a little kid, you could call me fat in the sandbox if you wanted to. You gonna get a fat-ass whuppin. It was like saying nig**r.” (Story continues below photo.)
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Joyful Drake, Kendra C. Johnson and Mo'Nique star in 'Phat Girlz'
The Baltimore native is careful not to suggest that toting around excess weight is the healthiest way to live.
“You know what I like to tell people? Dedicate one hour to yourself everyday for your health,” she says. “Go for a walk, go jogging, go to the gym, put on some music and dance, do jumping jacks.”
Any physical activity, she says, is better than going under the knife for plastic surgery.
“I’m not saying go out there and let them cut on you, and nip you and tuck you. That is the most violent thing I’ve ever seen,” she says. “I’ve seen somebody get liposuction. That’s violent. And that’s so unnatural, and no one’s saying that. They’re saying, come on, it’s the hottest fad. They’re not telling you how many people are dying. All they’re saying is, ‘Look at how she turned out.’ But they’re not saying, ‘She had to go back for 20 surgeries,’ and ‘oops, we’re sorry about the 21st surgery, she didn’t make it.’
“So in reference to your health, just start going for walks. If they tell you you have high blood pressure, you have sugar diabetes, okay. What can I do to make this better? You have to eat in moderation? Okay. You have to start exercising? Okay. Should I start hating myself? No. Will I die if I start doing these things? No. Will I die if you suck something out of me? It’s a possibility.”
For MORE, visit: www.phatgirlzmovie.com
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