They say critics are just failed actors/writers/artists. Well, when the New York Observer's film critic Rex Reed decried Mike & Molly actor Melissa McCarthy's weight, he really punched below the belt.
Fair play that he doesn't enjoy McCarthy's brand of humour or have a taste for her latest Hollywood offering, Identity Thief. Did he then have to go and describe the Emmy Award winner star as "cacophonous," "tractor-sized," a "humongous creep" and a "hippo" in the reviewing process? Methinks it lacks imagination and intelligence to criticize the person instead of the art, no?
"Melissa McCarthy is a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success," Reed wrote. "Poor Jason Bateman. How did an actor so charming, talented, attractive and versatile get stuck in so much dreck."
"Though the actress often uses her plus size as a punch line in the movie, it serves even better for her character's emotional arc," wrote L.A. Times' reviewer, Betsy Sharkey, who called the movie a gem. "Like John Candy in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' [her character is] the outsider looking with envy at everyone else's happily ever afters, and McCarthy is masterful at telegraphing that pain."
I guess bullies exist in every playground and skyscraper. Fortunately for McCarthy, she has a lot of friends in the business. Albeit it is a business that has yet to treat size as irrelevant when it comes to acting ability. Without a doubt, it is she who will have the last laugh.
For more about how McCarthy's weight woes aren't a laughing matter.
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