Normally I don’t do movie reviews, because let’s face it, everyone’s opinion is different. Give me any movie & I’ll give you 50 reasons to watch it, then turn around & give you 50 more not to watch it. Besides, I’m no good at reviewing what a movie was about. I either give too much information, or not enough. But every once in a while, a movie comes along that really gets me. Not because of the effects or storyline or the big names, but because of the message behind it.
Tonight I wandered through the movie store, looking for something entertaining to watch. Extreme Home Makeover has been replace by the high school musical tryout show, & I wasn’t in the mood for Big Brother. And when you only have rabbit ears, your choice of shows is limited. Anyway, wandering through the movie store, this one caught my eye: disFIGURED. The back sounded interesting enough; not $15 for a ticket, popcorn & soda interesting, but interesting enough for a Sunday night rental.
The story revolves around two women: Lydia and Darcy, who are polar opposites who share a lot of similarities. Darcy is a recovering anorexic; Lydia is morbidly obese. Darcy is praised and admired by her friends; Lydia is mocked and humiliated by homeless men as she walks by. Both suffer from different ends of the eating disorder spectrum, both are struggling with acceptance and reconciling how they see themselves to how the world sees them. Despite their differences, or probably because of them, they strike up a friendship that is brutally honest & full of insecurities. At one point, Lydia asks Darcy what she thinks of her body. “I think it’s disgusting,” Darcy replies.
Lydia finally reaches the breaking point in her struggle, and asks Darcy for anorexia lessons. What a horrible thing to say, what kind of sick person would even joke about something like that? At first Darcy seems to share my opinion, then reluctantly agrees to help. She helps Lydia clean out her cupboards, starts her on a food journal, instructs her in some tricks to keep from using food as a crutch.
Tying all of this together are scenes of the group meetings, where members talk about their experiences and share their daily struggles. Instead of coming off as a typical b—- session (this is a pg-rated blog, so you can fill in the blanks yourself), there’s an underlying thread of optimism and hope running through these meetings. While they share about the stares and whispers, they also confide in their joys and hopes. As touching as the story was, these sessions were so much more meaningful to me, probably because it was so honest & heartfelt.
The movie ends without an ending; Lydia doesn’t wake up a size 5, Darcy doesn’t sit down to a dinner table & start eating, neither one finds a man that declares his love is genuine & true, nor do they go off arm-in-arm singing to the world about how much they love themselves. Instead, it ends on a hopeful note.
The whole message of the movie is learning to accept who we are no matter who that is. Fat, thin, short, tall, black, white, purple or polka dotted, you have to love yourself. And as someone who’s struggled with that for as long as I can remember, I can attest to how difficult that can be.
So next time you’re in the movie store, take a look at disFIGURED. It’s not a lighthearted romance, and I wouldn’t advise it for when you’re wanting something airy & fun. But for anyone who has ever struggled with her appearance (which includes about 99.475% of the female population), it’s a great look at the struggles and milestones that we all face.
