Reducing (1952)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A rather mean-spirited short from Pete Smith has an overweight woman (Maxine Gates) trying to reduce her waist size without much luck. Being a short from Smith will have you expecting a lot of jokes aimed at the overweight woman but I must admit that I was rather shocked at how mean-spirited the film was. There were countless times Smith, as the narrator, referred to her as "fatso" and I'm sure this was meant to be funny and perhaps it was in 1952 but it's not today. I've been skinny all my life but watching this short made me feel rather uneasy considering some of the terms used to talk about overweight people. Other jokes deal with the woman jumping rope only to have the entire building move. The film gets a few minor laughs but in the end it's just too mean to fully enjoy.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A rather mean-spirited short from Pete Smith has an overweight woman (Maxine Gates) trying to reduce her waist size without much luck. Being a short from Smith will have you expecting a lot of jokes aimed at the overweight woman but I must admit that I was rather shocked at how mean-spirited the film was. There were countless times Smith, as the narrator, referred to her as "fatso" and I'm sure this was meant to be funny and perhaps it was in 1952 but it's not today. I've been skinny all my life but watching this short made me feel rather uneasy considering some of the terms used to talk about overweight people. Other jokes deal with the woman jumping rope only to have the entire building move. The film gets a few minor laughs but in the end it's just too mean to fully enjoy.