The premise was originally for a guy who gets his identity stolen by another guy, and it was written for Bateman and another actor. That changed after Bateman saw McCarthy’s scene stealing role in the summer hit Universal comedy Bridesmaids and he pushed for her to be the identity thief.

I have no desire at all to see The Change-Up, which stars Bateman opposite Ryan Reynolds. But McCarthy as an identity thief? This I totally want to see.

Via Monkey See.

Character: Megan, played by Melissa McCarthy

Credits: Before Bridesmaids, probably best known for Gilmore Girls and Mike & Molly, though she started off in the Groundlings. As far as her reputation among comics goes, this interview is worth reading.

Plot points: Megan is one of the eponymous bridesmaids in this female-centric, Kristin Wiig-centric comedy. At first you might think she’s the obligatory token fat bridesmaid that is going to be the butt of a lot of fat jokes, but she is really an astonishing character who basically steals the movie. (Or she would, if Kristin Wiig weren’t also so good in it.)

Stereotypes: The trailer had me worried. She’s the one most excited about the food at the Brazilian restaurant, and the first one to have gastrointestinal distress (though it eventually strikes everyone, her “I’m not confident which end that came out of” line is the one in the trailer). But ultimately, the character defies stereotypes: she’s smart, she’s independent, she’s rich, she’s brave, and she’s sensible. She is the character who (literally and figuratively) knocks some sense into our mopey heroine, Kristin Wiig, in one of the movie’s best scenes. She is honestly a joy to watch.

Sex/Romance/Attractiveness: In the sequence on the plane, she’s shown aggressively hitting on her seatmate (played by her real-life husband) and this sexual aggressiveness is played for laughs. There’s also a joke in which sex involves a sandwich, although by the time this joke comes up, my sense is that the audience is totally on Team Megan, and you’re laughing with her, not at her.

Fat jokes: There are a few (like “I naturally just don’t bloat” at the restaurant, which is meant to be ironic). Again, the reason I found them forgivable is because fat is not the be-all and end-all of this character, and most of the jokes involving her (and there are a lot) don’t involve fat at all. (My favorite one is probably her driving past Annie after the bridal shower, which I won’t spoil.) Admittedly it’s been a while since I saw the movie, so if I’m forgetting anything, hit me up in the comments.

The bottom line: McCarthy is basically playing the Zach Galafinakis part in this movie, and she does it brilliantly. There are a few jokes involving size or food, but Megan never, ever feels like a generic “fat girl” character. She feels like a real comedic creation. In that same interview, Rose Byrne says, “Melissa is nothing at all like Megan. That’s not hiring someone to do what they do; that’s a real performance. Melissa’s beautiful and feminine, but Megan’s tone—it’s almost like she’s a coach. There’s no doubt in her voice. For me a lot of the comedy comes from the tension between the wildness of her ideas and the way she would say them with such authority and confidence and speed.”

Rating on the offense-o-meter (10 being Norbit): 2

But how’s the movie?: You can probably already tell that I enjoyed it. In fact, I laughed so hard my water broke! (Okay, that’s probably not true, but my water did break in the parking lot right after we saw the movie. I was really glad we’d made it all the way through; it would have sucked to miss it.) Really hilarious, and a terrific rejoinder to the “women aren’t funny” trope. I can’t wait to see Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids 2. And congratulations to her on her Emmy nomination! Now that I know what McCarthy can do, I almost want to watch Mike & Molly.

Wilhelmina Anne was born at 11:43 pm on May 17th. (She was born via C-section, 50 hours after my water broke in the parking lot of a movie theater after seeing Bridesmaids.) (Which totally reminds me to write about Melissa McCarthy’s character in Bridesmaids.) She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 20.87 inches long. She is, of course, perfect! And that’s where I’ve been. Thanks for your patience!

You’ll love the title.

Without further delay, I give you the official trailer for Blubberella.

(Safe for work but probably not safe for potential body image triggers)

Io9 called it “ridiculously offensive fatsploitation” and judging from its tagline (“She will kick major ass – with her major ass”) it’s hard to disagree.

In case you’re wondering who the cute-as-sin actor is in the title role, it’s Lindsay Hollister who you may remember from Joan of Arcaia and the dance scene in Get Smart

It’s important to note that she is still listing the film on her resume as “Untitled Spoof Movie”.  She had this to say in an interview over on Big Fat Blog:

What challenges have you faced in your career due to your size?

I am definitely bigger than a size 10 and have lost out on several big parts because I’ve been too fat to play the “fat woman”. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful. My career began because of my size (playing an overweight student on Boston Public), and I’ve been able to play some amazing roles because I am a character actress. But I’ve also hit a lot of walls because compared to the average size of an actress in Hollywood (size 0/2), I’m gigantic! It’s a double edge sword and I think that networks/producers just don’t want to take the chance on me. Like casting me as a love interest for example. Again, they play it safe with an actress who is a size 10 or 12. It’s frustrating because I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to shake it up a little bit. Make a statement. I think people would watch. And love it!

Blubberella is definitely a statement, Lindsay. As is that hot corset number. I’m going to focus on that instead of the food jokes, m’kay?

But this brings about another question: Boll is claiming to have the first supersize superhero (which, no). I somehow doubt that Blubberella will represent the hope of the fatosphere quite the same as the X-Men’s Storm or John Stewart from the Green Lantern are role models as black superheroes.  In fact, I think if I had to pick from the options offered, I’d exchange Blubberella for Fat Momma, doughnuts and all.

…One in four female characters was depicted in “sexy, tight, or alluring attire,” compared with one in 25 male characters. The female characters were also more likely than men to be beautiful, and one in five were “portrayed with some exposed skin between the mid-chest and upper thigh regions.” Because you wouldn’t want to take on the world without baring your midriff—girl power! (Another study found, troublingly, that women in G-rated films wear the same amount of skimpy clothing as women in R-rated films.) One in four women was shown with a waist so small that, the authors concluded, it left “little room for a womb or any other internal organs.” Maybe we could carry them in our purses?

No wonder young girls are reporting body image issues earlier and earlier.  Not only are fat females treated by the filmmakers as lesser or non-sexual grandmothers, but the girls we’re supposed to emulate are hyper-sexualized with giant Hentai eyes and Angelina Jolie pouts. And to think we all blamed Bratz dolls!

You know, I honestly cannot think of a sympathetic fat female human character in an animated kid’s movie.  There were fat people in Wall-E, of course, but it was pretty offensive stereotyping.  I think Mrs. Potts eventually turns into a fat human, but for the majority of Beauty and the Beast, she’s tableware.  Arguably, one of Sleeping Beauty’s fairy friends is a plus-sized fairy, but that movie is old than my grandmother. Likewise, Hyacinth the Hippo. Dora the Explorer isn’t a svelte lass, but she’s also like six. And there are never fat princesses.

Then there’s Ursula the Sea Witch. Love her.

You know, she’s the first fat villian who really has some power. The other fat girls in Disney movies are either fairy godmothers (who twitter a lot) or singing teapots. Up until Ursula, the female villians were all tall, angular women with pinched faces (Cruella DeVille; the Wicked StepMother in Snow White; the aunt with the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp; Maleficient, who is also awesome for rocking that head gear) and she ends up embodying ultimate power (and, you know, getting stabbed by a boat, but whatevs).

But the fact remains that Ursula is still evil, and definitely not sympathetic. In fact, the only plus-sized female main character in recent memory is Princess Fiona, who is introduced to us first as being thin and Cameron Diaz-y and then her plus-size state is explained by her having been cursed. Seriously. Cursed! And the only reason she ends up being ok with her state is the fact that her man loves her best when she’s all green and belchy.

Let’s discuss in the comments!

How did you feel about The Devil Wears Prada? Did it bug you that the main character walked away from a good job at the end, to go back to her boyfriend — like that was the only way she could be happy?
I felt like they tried to buy it back by saying what she really wanted was to write political pieces at her temp job. That was a hokey part of the story. At least she wasn’t a klutz. So many comedies and TV shows make pretty, skinny women klutzes — they have no discernible flaws, so let’s make them a klutz!

Like Liz Lemon.
Debra Messing was always doing that on Will & Grace. (Ed note–Also, basically any character played by Michelle Pfeiffer, J.Lo and more recently, Kristen Bell)

It’s such an old trope.
The other one is actresses who clearly starve themselves playing characters who get picked on by the guy for eating too much.

In Valentine’s Day, the Jessica Biel character does that. When she gets nervous she shoves food into her mouth. Of course, it’s okay for Biel to do that because she’s in the best shape of any woman alive, so shoving food in her mouth isn’t offensive.
It would be so funny if an actual fat woman shoved food in her mouth. People would be horrified! They’d want to kill her! Is that an Onion headline? Actual Fat Woman Shoves Food in her Mouth in Romantic Comedy!

She’s right! When did you last see a fat woman eating in a movie when it wasn’t a fat joke? Even in Shallow Hal (which I watched recently… so close and yet, so fucking far) when they show the fat character eating, it’s Gwyneth Paltrow not Gwyneth-In-A-Fat-Suit-Paltrow. How are we ever supposed to get over the idea of body shame when the very idea of us nourishing our bodies is clearly revolting to the rest of the world?

This is too depressing, so instead, I’ll just leave the rest to you guys in the comments.

PS. Marry me, Mindy Kaling?

In the same way as anorexics may have a distorted self-perception of being fat, some overweight and obese people fail to see their true plus-size selves, believing instead that they are a healthy weight, says British author Sara Bird, whose book documenting her experience with “fatorexia” was published in March… “When I looked in the mirror, I saw a confident thin person, when in fact I was obese,” says Bird,… At 240 pounds, she looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy with a head that appeared much too small for her body, she said.

Oh good. Another self-loathing reformed fat person. Looks like we’ll get more people helpfully informing us that we’re fat! Terrific! THAT’S JUST WHAT WE NEED.

So then movie critic Mick LaSalle “weighs” in on this “excellent” story!

A couple of weeks ago I got some nasty reaction to my review of JUST WRIGHT, the new Queen Latifah movie in which she is the romantic lead. She plays an average woman who becomes the love interest of an extremely desirable man — an NBA superstar who could presumably have absolutely anybody. In the most delicate terms imaginable, I questioned how the movie could present its hero’s attraction for (let’s just say it) an obese woman, without in some way accounting for the unusual nature of that attraction.

Yes, apparently, it’s COMPLETELY FUCKING CRAZY that someone could be attracted to the “obese” Queen Latifah. QUEEN LATIFAH! Who looks like this!

(His original review is actually, to give him credit that I would rather not give him, a bit more nuanced than this would suggest.) Still, he’s no Lindy West (the critic who wrote that scathing takedown of the new Sex and the City movie).

I know that neither Mick LaSalle nor Sara Bird is likely to listen when I say this, but allow me to repeat: FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY’RE FAT. We really don’t need more shaming. A lack of shaming is not the problem here.

And also, Queen Latifah is hot.

I started modeling in 1998, at the age of 19, at 5’11″ (180 cm) and 120 pounds (55 kg). I grew up hating my body. I was always too tall and too thin. I loathed every encounter with the school nurse (she used to ask if my parents fed me), and by the time I was 13, I had acknowledged the fact that I was labeled a freak by the society around me. I can’t even remember how many times I have been asked (sometimes by total strangers on the street) if I had an eating disorder. Both of my parents are tall and thin, as are my siblings, but my body was the freakiest of all. I felt abnormal, and now in hindsight I wonder if I felt like that only because of the mean comments people made. I have a feeling I would have developed a more normal relationship with my body if I had been allowed to be who I was.

2.    The totally reliable Examiner is claiming that Megan Fox was kicked off the Transformers 3 set for being “too skinny.”

Fox and Transformers director Michael Bay had a “huge row” over her weight. The 24-year-old stormed out after the blow-up after Bay called her “unhealthy”.

“[Bay] thinks she has lost too much weight and looks too frail. He wanted her to put on some weight and it all kicked off.”

Bay wasn’t the only one concerned with Megan Fox’s weight loss. Even the crew said she was far from sexy and more a “gaunt, pale image”.

3.    The L.A. Times covers the fat celebrities who make their money (and careers) from their size. (Goddamn it, Kirstie Alley.)

Welcome to the era of the fat celebrity. No longer is it shameful, shocking or a career killer for the famous to make weight struggles the centerpiece of their lives. In fact, they’re making money off of it.

“Fat celebrities are particularly irresistible because in the real culture people are constantly struggling with what’s wrong with their bodies,” says University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, author of “The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obsession With Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health.” “People can identify with that, and this is another way of tapping into the fascination with celebrities as being both unique but somehow just like us.”

4.    iVillage is throwing a contest—who loves themselves the most?

iVillage Beauty & Style is all about making women feel confident. Whether through a perfect manicure, a head-turning dress, or your go-to lipstick, iVillage encourages you to express your personal style with pride.

Upload a photo and sound clip of yourself, talking about how hot you are and why, on IVillage’s fotobabble site and maybe win $500.

5.    Check out Letters to My Body, a very cool community-based body image project that you can join.

The purpose Letters to My Body (LTMB) is to serve as a catalyst for open discussion and free speaking about the positive and negative feelings that we have concerning our bodies.  The hope is that through an anonymous vessel such as a letter, we can begin to heal the wounds that have been cultivated over our lifetimes, and also to praise our bodies and recognize that they are beautiful–no matter what shape, size, or condition.

In addition, I hope that Letters to My Body will bring awareness to the countless women and men who suffer from eating disorders.  I want this silent disease to stop being so silent.

A random sampling:

First Impressions: Kagan looks like a fat drag queen.

Yeash that Elena Kagan is another fat dychy type! Are there just endless fat, short haired woman in the Dem establishment?

no disrespect intended but man is Kagan is a fat, ugly bitch

Yeah, there are plenty more. By far the most popular is calling her a fat version of [dude], including Matthew Broderick, Kevin James, Chris Farley, and “Fat Bastard” from Austin Powers. Also, the data (i.e. me glancing at user pics) would suggest that most of the people spouting this crap are men. No better way to take a powerful woman down than call her fat, right?

Thanks for the people calling this out, for instance:

@shorterstory Come on, @theDailyBeast, why call your #Kagan roundup Big Fat Story except for frat boy smirking? http://bit.ly/daurQV #shameonyou

@SaraLibby Cringing at the first Kagan-is-fat joke to pop up on my Twitter feed.

All I know is, a male nominee would not have all of this knee-jerk patriarchal bullshit directed at them, and it pisses me off. What slams were made on John Roberts’s physical appearance? Yeah, right, none.

“Betty White is going to host SNL. Will she wear a [Product Name] girdle? Been known to wear girdles daily, viewers are predicting she will host Saturday night’s show in one of today’s most scandalous fashions.”

Nice dangling modifier there, PR person. (That being said, girdle or no girdle, I’m going to be watching the hell out of SNL this weekend. And Betty White can do or say or wear whatever she wants! She’s a Golden Girl!)

“[Product Name] will established itself as one of the most sought after web sites that provides live feeds and information for people and the media to discover what the country really thinks about current issues. With the heartbreaking end to Kate Gosselin’s professional dance career on DWTS, many are wondering what will happen to the future of post-Kate Dancing With the Stars!”

It was heartbreaking, you guys. Didn’t your heart just break when Kate and her crappy dancing got voted off? Haven’t you been WONDERING ABOUT THE FUTURE ever since?? (The best part is that the website determined 67% of people thought the show would be fine. Okay then! PHEW! Guess we dodged that bullet, America!)

Parents and celebrities alike are turning to the [Product Name] to comfort their infant. Just look at the pages of this week’s People Magazine where you will find Sandra Bullock watching her new baby, Louis, sleep peacefully in a [Product]!

What does this have to do with my blog, anyway? Oh, apparently Marissa Janet Winkotur also uses [Product]. Okay then. Makes total sense!

[Product Name]‘s “Pick an Idol” promotion may offer a glimpse into who might take the American Idol prize this season! Each week, the Idol with the most votes receives a complimentary bouquet of [Product] in a color selected by the fans. Since the promotion began, Crystal Bowersox has been near or at the top every week with Casey James, Lee Dewyze, Andrew Garcia and Katy Stevens also winning.

Yeah, how’s that working out for you, Andrew and “Katy”?

Weirdly, as rando as these press releases are, they all have one thing in common. I guess it’s true what they say: celebrities sell! Or at least, they try to.