Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)

Number Rolled: 93

Movie Name/Year: Fat Kid Rules the World (2012)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 99 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Matthew Lillard

Writer: Jacob Wysocki

Actors: Dylan Arnold, Billy Campbell, Megan Day, Sean Donavan, Jeffrey Doornbos, Vivan Dugre, Julian Gavilanes, Russell Hodgkinson, Heidi Korndorffer, Matt O’Leary, Lili Simmons, Brian Sutherland

Troy is an overweight, self-conscious, depressed, high-school student. So depressed, in fact, that he’s decided to walk in front of a bus and end his life. Out of nowhere comes Marcus, an out-there drop out who takes an interest in him. He convinces Troy that they are going to start a punk band, but several things stand in their way. Not the least of which is Troy’s father’s growing suspicion about his son’s new friend.

Matthew Lillard is one of my all-time favorite actors, so when I had the option of seeing a movie he’d directed, I added it to my Instant Queue immediately. This is Lillard’s first directed full length movie, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a mix of “Angus” and “SLC Punk!;” maybe I should be annoyed at that, but I loved both movies and this one still managed to have a brand new creative feel to it.

All that aside, it’s easy to tell that this is Lillard’s first time. There were some minor continuity issues with the scenes among other things. However, I also think it was a highly successful first. I’ve seen the first works of some much more well known directors and been left with the feeling I was mislead by seeing their name credited. I feel that even after Lillard’s directorial talent is honed and smoothed out, I’ll still be able to look back at this movie without those negative feelings.

It was quick to start, then slowed down, then picked up speed again. I feel as though perhaps there were scenes cut from the book that might have been helpful. I don’t know for certain because I haven’t read it. It’s possible the parts I felt were missing something, stem from there.

Just an off-note? I recognize that people could watch this movie and think of the story as one they couldn’t relate to or was way too out there. I had a friend in high school, though, that was JUST like Marcus. And the ending of the movie was pretty damn close to how it happened in real life. So when I was reading the other reviews and seeing people say how fake it seemed I was just like, “Look, that dipshit called my life fake. I kind of want to flip him off.”

Overall Opinion – 3.5/5