Fat Pig Review September 27
On Friday Alicia and I went to the premier of Fat Pig at McKinney Avenue Contemporary (MAC). This is play is written by Neil LaBute who is also a screenwriter & movie director. Check out In The Company of Men and Your Friends And Neighbors for some very good movies he has done. The play is set around an office in a large metropolitan city in the US. There are four main characters actually there are only four characters in the play. The plot revolves around four characters. Three of them work for the same company. The main character (Tom) is a former techie now some sort of manager since he has his own office which is the setting for some of the play’s more interesting scenes. The play opens with Tom in his office and his friend Carter coming to his office. They talk normal guy talk, and then Jeannie, Tom’s ex-girlfriend comes in. They discuss some things and then she leaves. Carter proceeds to talk about home much weight she has gained. This lays the ground work for society’s perception and vilification of overweight people. Tom later meets Helen while eating lunch. She has a much larger body type then Tom. She is eating a lot more than Tom. They share a standup table at a busy restaurant. Helen begins to flirt with Tom. He seems interested. She gives him his phone number. Jump to the day that Tom and Helen are going to go out, Carter wants Tom to go play basketball with the guys. Tom declines the basketball game saying that he has to take out colleagues from the Chicago office. Carter knows that he is dating someone. Jump to that evening, Carter runs into Tom and Helen at the sushi place Tom frequents. Carter is thinking he would be on his date, but upon seeing Helen, Carter figures that he is with the Chicago colleagues. Helen gets up to the bathroom, and Carter proceeds to lambaste Helen’s weight. Once she returns Carter tells her, don’t let him cheap you out of dessert in obvious reference to her weight.
The story continues when Jeannie, under guise of checking his expense for the Chicago dinner, which Tom never submitted since it was a business dinner, calls Chicago and asks if anyone from the Chicago office came to their office. She used the description of fat pig. This scene was laying the basis that even though Jeannie in fact a very thin attractive blonde she is very neurotic and self-conscience about her own self. The story continues when Carter gets that Tom was with the lady he was dating at dinner out of out of him. Then Jeannie demonstrates her utter complete lack of self-esteem when she unloads on him. Her complaint is Tom went from dating her to an overweight lady. This does not sit well with her. In her mind they should be engage at this point instead of broken up.
The final scene of the play is Tom’s company’s beach party. Tom and Helen are sitting off away from everyone. Jeannie has come to the party with Carter which is fitting since they are both so shallow. Helen offers to get weight-loss surgery since he makes her feel so good. Tom ends the relationship with her.
The play presents some interesting characters. Helen is the happiest among the four characters even though she has the least desirable body type according to society. Tom is very lacking in self-esteem and confidence. He has a sensitive side, but he pushes it aside very quickly when he is around his friends. Tom is definitely seeking acceptance with the way he does not tell Carter is out on a date with Helen. Carter is very shallow and childish. He judges women on how they look and degrades Tom on his dating a lady how is overweight. It is fitting Carter and Jeannie end up together. They are both shallow and seek solace in physical appearance.