It’s been hard to miss the advertisements for ABC Family’s new show, “Huge.” After all, the promo shots of a brave Nikki Blonsky baring it all in a swimsuit are definitely eye-catching. But were they attention-grabbing enough to get you to watch last night? I did, and there were plenty of things I liked about the show, which follows a group of teenagers at fat camp for the summer, with Nikki’s tomboy rebel Will at the center of the pack.
First, it was a relief to see such a diverse selection of body types being represented on a scripted TV show, and not a weight-loss reality show. Second, the casting of unknowns (minus Nikki “Hairspray” Blonsky) was a wise choice. Though, is the fact that they’re unknown simply because they’re all overweight? I suspect that has something to do with it, but it was refreshing nonetheless. Even the Hollywood nepotism of casting Hayley “My dad’s David” Hasselhoff didn’t distract.
But the two obvious problems were, well, huge. First — and hopefully this will improve in the upcoming episodes — the plot was chock full of clichés. From Will selling her illicit stash of candy like it’s drugs to the hard-nosed camp leader who turns out to have been a camper herself back in the day, it’s kind of like watching a TV version of the movie “Heavyweights,” with some more teenage hormones thrown into the mix.
Second, and more importantly, it seems the show isn’t sure what message it wants to send. Will is adamant that she doesn’t want to lose weight, professing that she loves her fat. But after running away, she comes back with her tail between her legs and vows that she wants to lose weight after all. So, which is it? Big is beautiful? Or skinny equals healthy? We’ll have to see a couple more episodes to find out.
Did you catch “Huge” last night? What did you think?
** Hollywood Crush Twitter