Fat Jokes

Seth MacFarlane has taken a lot of heat for his performance hosting the Oscars on Sunday night, with critics blasting his jokes (e.g. “Zero Dark Thirty” is a “celebration of every woman's innate ability to never, ever let anything go”) as sexist, racist, anti-Semitic and, worst of all, stale. MacFarlane can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief this morning knowing that Joan Rivers has nearly matched him in terms of cruel and retrograde humor. On the “Late Show With David Letterman” Tuesday night, the (alleged)

Seth MacFarlane has taken a lot of heat for his performance hosting the Oscars on Sunday night, with critics blasting his jokes (e.g. “Zero Dark Thirty” is a “celebration of every woman's innate ability to never, ever let anything go”) as sexist, racist, anti-Semitic and, worst of all, stale. MacFarlane can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief this morning knowing that Joan Rivers has nearly matched him in terms of cruel and retrograde humor. On the “Late Show With David Letterman” Tuesday night, the (alleged)

The new Fox comedy series "Babes" is about three rotund sisters. In the premiere (at 8:30 tonight on Channels 11 and 6), Darlene (Susan Peretz) and Charlene (Wendie Jo Sperber) encourage Marlene (Lesley Boone) to get a job as an oversize hosiery model. The actresses are fine, but "Babes" is not, its few glimmers of real humor obliterated by "fat" jokes, one after the other. "Babes" is pioneering, however. It introduces a new ism to TV comedy.

Fresh from being the big man on late night television, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday focused his ire on the National Flood Insurance Program and its slow rate of resolving claims from Superstorm Sandy. Christie, a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016, has taken a hard line in trying to secure federal aid for his state in the wake of the storm that hit the Northeast in October. At a meeting in Union Beach, N.J., Christie criticized the federal program that he said has been too slow and plagued by excessive paperwork and bureaucratic delays.

After Utah and its 300 plus-pound Coach Rick Majerus made the NCAA tournament title game, the Runnin' Utes fans rolled out the red carpet and the media rolled out the fat jokes. This year's NCAA men's basketball championship features a matchup of tubby versus Tubby, Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith who got his nickname because he liked to spend a lot of time in the bathtub as a boy.

Fox's month-old series "Babes," an unlikely comedy about three obese sisters living in a cramped New York apartment, is winning unexpected praise from advocacy groups for overweight people. "It shows three fat sisters who are basically leading productive, happy lives," said Sally Smith, executive director of the Sacramento-based National Assn. to Advance Fat Acceptance.

Meow, the fat cat whose 39-pound girth helped raise awareness about obesity in pets, has died of lung failure. The orange-and-white tabby was turned in to the Santa Fe, N.M., animal shelter last month and quickly made international headlines. At first, his story was played for laughs: The 2-year-old cat apparently favored hot dogs, and was so fat that he got stuck inside things. He barely fit into his animal carrier, and was likened to Puss in Boots from the "Shrek" movies. But Meow's weight underscored a growing problem: Pets in America are getting fatter -- just like their owners -- and all that extra weight can hasten death.

"Shallow Hal" was meant to be funny but enraged some moviegoers who felt its message about the importance of inner beauty was obscured by a lot of tread-worn fat jokes. The film, with Jack Black in the title role, arrives in video stores today.

"Mike & Molly," which premieres Monday on CBS, is a situation comedy about fat people in love, or will be, as soon as the leads have the time to get together. Fat people. In love. This is the Big Idea that animates this show, which under that padding plays most profitably as a simple, sweet romance between a pair of shy Chicagoans. Billy Gardell plays police officer Mike, Melissa McCarthy fourth-grade teacher Molly and, as is the custom in these things, they come packing comic foils: his mouthy friend and partner (Reno Wilson)

So, the Weird Al Yankovic video has lots of great "fat" jokes, and Chris Willman recommends we see it (Sound & Vision, July 31). The last acceptable prejudice. . . . Pass. I'm tired of living in a society that thinks that you can never be too rich or too thin. Well, there are women who are dying to prove that. Adults (especially women) are expected to look like adolescent boys. Too threatening maybe, if we look like adults. Take a look back at pictures of Twiggy. If you didn't know she's supposed to be a model you'd think she was a concentration camp survivor.

Meow, the fat cat whose 39-pound girth helped raise awareness about obesity in pets, has died of lung failure. The orange-and-white tabby was turned in to the Santa Fe, N.M., animal shelter last month and quickly made international headlines. At first, his story was played for laughs: The 2-year-old cat apparently favored hot dogs, and was so fat that he got stuck inside things. He barely fit into his animal carrier, and was likened to Puss in Boots from the "Shrek" movies. But Meow's weight underscored a growing problem: Pets in America are getting fatter -- just like their owners -- and all that extra weight can hasten death.

"Mike & Molly," which premieres Monday on CBS, is a situation comedy about fat people in love, or will be, as soon as the leads have the time to get together. Fat people. In love. This is the Big Idea that animates this show, which under that padding plays most profitably as a simple, sweet romance between a pair of shy Chicagoans. Billy Gardell plays police officer Mike, Melissa McCarthy fourth-grade teacher Molly and, as is the custom in these things, they come packing comic foils: his mouthy friend and partner (Reno Wilson)

"Shallow Hal" was meant to be funny but enraged some moviegoers who felt its message about the importance of inner beauty was obscured by a lot of tread-worn fat jokes. The film, with Jack Black in the title role, arrives in video stores today.

When Marilyn Wann went to see "Shallow Hal" last weekend in San Francisco, she noticed two things. One, the theater was packed. And two, it was packed with thin people. After she saw the comedy, Wann said she understood why. Although the movie purports to celebrate an obese woman's inner beauty, she said it actually feeds on recycled fat jokes and perpetuates the last culturally accepted stereotype: that fat women are pathetic, ugly and safe targets for humor.

Regarding the commentary by Carla Kucinski lamenting the increased use of "fat suits" by actors and comedians ("Hollywood Beefs Up for a Good Laugh," June 27): If any obese people are upset by the humor generated by actors in fat costumes, they should either develop thicker skins or eat less and exercise more. Forgive my callous attitude, but as a short man (5-feet-4), I have always had to put up with Hollywood's endless stereotyping of short men as either buffoons or psychos. From the torrent of short jokes in movies like "Shrek" to a TV show like "ER," in which each male character's level of decency and competency corresponds directly to how tall he is (if you've never noticed this, pay attention the next time you watch)

After Utah and its 300 plus-pound Coach Rick Majerus made the NCAA tournament title game, the Runnin' Utes fans rolled out the red carpet and the media rolled out the fat jokes. This year's NCAA men's basketball championship features a matchup of tubby versus Tubby, Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith who got his nickname because he liked to spend a lot of time in the bathtub as a boy.

Fresh from being the big man on late night television, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday focused his ire on the National Flood Insurance Program and its slow rate of resolving claims from Superstorm Sandy. Christie, a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016, has taken a hard line in trying to secure federal aid for his state in the wake of the storm that hit the Northeast in October. At a meeting in Union Beach, N.J., Christie criticized the federal program that he said has been too slow and plagued by excessive paperwork and bureaucratic delays.

One of Bob Zany's funniest jokes is about being pulled over by a cop, who asks Zany, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Replies Zany: " 'Cause you're lonely and never been with a fat man?" Zany can't do that joke anymore. When Zany weighed 350 pounds, the joke was funny. At 175 pounds, it just doesn't work anymore.

You had to feel for the eight comedians who took the stage for the Johnny Walker National Comedy Search on Wednesday night at the Improv. Playing to a hypercritical industry crowd--including Milton Berle, who sat in the center of the room looking pained by everyone he saw--couldn't have been easy. Still, it offered a chance to look in on what was being said in one of the last and most immediate forms of live cultural address.