Synopsis
Victor is a cook who works in a greasy roadside restaurant owned by his mother, Dolly. It's just the two of them, a waitress named Delores, and a heavy drinking regular, Leo. But things change when Callie, a beautiful college dropout, shows up as a new waitress and steals Victor's heart. But Victor is too shy to do anything about it, and too self-consciously overweight to dream of winning Callie away.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Pruitt Taylor VinceVictor Modino
- Shelley WintersDolly Modino
- Liv TylerCallie
- Debbie HarryDelores
- Joe GrifasiLeo
- Evan DandoJeff
- David Patrick KellyGrey Man in Hospital
- Marian QuinnDarlene
- Meg HartigDonna
- Zandy HartigJean
Recommendations
- 90
Los Angeles Times
In his feature debut, writer-director John Mangold brings remarkably sensitive powers of observation to bear upon ordinary people living ordinary lives. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
You don't guess the true horror of the place, which is that there are no secrets, because everyone here knows all about everyone else, inside and out, top to bottom, and has for years. - 88
ReelViews
Writer/director Mangold never compromises the integrity of his painfully-intense script. There isn't one crowd-pleasing moment in the entire movie, except perhaps the last scene, which offers a flicker of hope. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
Mangold, who also wrote the script, has made a modern-day "Marty", a kitchen-sink drama that doesn't condescend to its characters. - 80
Chicago Reader
The performances are strong (my favorite is Deborah Harry as an older waitress) and the sense of eroded as well as barely articulated lives is palpable. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mangold's sympathy is genuine and his refusal to mock or condescend to his characters -- indeed, that may be the point of the film -- is a pleasure. - 75
San Francisco Examiner
Mangold's vision is bold. There is nothing cutesy or gimmicky about Heavy, which may be why something in its grimness recalls the work of Ingmar Bergman. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
Written and directed with uncommon sensitivity by James Mangold, a strikingly talented newcomer.
