Heavyweights

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heavy Weights
They don't run the fastest. They don't jump the highest. But they sure are getting the last laugh. Heavyweights. They never met a hot dog they didn't like... until now.
Directed by	Steven Brill
Produced by	Joe Roth
Written by	Judd Apatow, Steven Brill
Starring	Ben Stiller, Tom McGowan, Aaron Schwartz, Cody Burger, Kenan Thompson
Music by	J.A.C. Redford
Cinematography	Victor Hammer
Editing by	Carroll Timothy O'Meara
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	February 17, 1995
Running time	97 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

Heavyweights is a 1995 comedy film about a fat camp for kids that is taken over by a fitness guru named Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller, who would later play a similar role in 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story).

[edit] Plot

As school ends for the Summer, Gerry Gardner (Aaron Schwartz) is sent by his parents to Camp Hope, a weight loss camp for boys. Gerry makes friends easily at camp and discovers that enough junk food has been smuggled in to easily stave off weight loss.

That night the boys learn that Camp Hope has been bought by fitness entrepreneur Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller), who announces his plan to make the camp's new exercise regime into the top weight loss infomercial in the country.

Tony cleanses the cabins of the campers' food caches, cuts off their contact with the outside world, and installs an exercise outline of trendy fitness techniques that downplay fun to the point of humiliation.

The campers discover the counselors' secret food store and when they gain weight, Tony forces them on a twenty mile hike. On the hike, the campers trick Tony into falling into a deep pit, severely injuring him. The boys bring Tony back to camp and imprison him in a make-shift cell of chicken wire electrified with a bug zapper.

After an orgy of binge eating, the boys begin following a more healthy regime.

On parent's visiting day, Tony escapes and exchanges blows with Gerry's father. Tony then attempts a series of backflips, stumbles, and incapacitates himself.

In the grand finale Camp Hope wins the annual Apache Relay race against the rival sports camp for the first time.

[edit] Cast

• David Goldman .... Nicholas
• Joseph Wayne Miller .... Sam
• Cody Burger .... Cody
• Allen Covert .... Kenny
• Tim Blake Nelson .... Roger Johnson
• Nancy Ringham .... Mrs. Maury Garner
• Seth St. Laurent .... Camp MVP Racer
• Bobby Fain .... Camp MVP Pitcher
• Tom McGowan .... Pat Finley
• Aaron Schwartz .... Gerald 'Gerry' Garner
• Shaun Weiss .... Josh Burnbaum
• Tom Hodges .... Lars
• Leah Lail .... Julie
• Paul Feig .... Tim
• Kenan Thompson .... Roy
• David Bowe .... Chris Donelly
• Max Goldblatt .... Phillip Grubenov
• Robert Zalkind .... Simms
• Patrick LaBrecque .... Dawson (as Patrick La Brecque)
• Jeffrey Tambor .... Maury Garner
• Jerry Stiller .... Harvey Bushkin
• Anne Meara .... Alice Bushkin
• Ben Stiller .... Tony Perkis/Tony Perkis Sr.
• Robert E. Spencer III .... Soccer Goalie
• Dustin Greer .... Blob Master
• Matthew R. Zboyovski .... Hope Wall Climber
• J.T. Alessi .... Balloon Shaver
• Chris Snyder .... Baseball Scorekeeper
• Aubrey Dollar .... Camp Magnolia Girl
• Mary Holt Fickes .... Camp Magnolia Girl
• Jamie Olson .... Camp Magnolia Girl
• Lauren Hill .... Angelic Girl
• Landry M. Constantino .... Kissing Girl
• Lois Yaroshefsky .... Camp Magnolia Counselor
• Mathew Bradley King .... Gerrys School Buddy
• Deena Dill .... Stewardess
• Tom Kelley .... Man on Plane
• Lars Clark .... Jack Garner
• Judd Apatow .... Homer

[edit] Trivia

• The movie was filmed entirely in North Carolina. [1] at a real summer camp Camp Pinnacle [2]. The Blob was, and still is used by campers.
• This is the reason that some of the kids and staff wear Carolina Panthers apparel throughout the film, the team's PR people gave the cast the merchandise to help promote the team which was to begin its first season of play as the 29th National Football League franchise that September.
• Ben Stiller's real life parents play the Bushkins, the first owners of Camp Hope.
• Besides the similarities between Tony Perkis and White Goodman, Ben Stiller may have made a more direct nod to one of his Heavyweights characters in the 2004 film, "Starsky & Hutch". In Heavyweights, Stiller also plays Tony Perkis, Sr., the fitness guru's father. As David Starsky in Starsky & Hutch, he puts on a diguise and calls himself Maury Finkel for a scene in the movie. Besides both being older men and talking in the same voice, Finkel claims to be the "founder of Finkel Fixtures, biggest lighting fixture chain in the southland." In Heavyweights, Tony Perkis, Sr. is the "Lighting Fixture King" of Western Pennsylvania.
• Many of the actors in Heavyweights also appeared in The Mighty Ducks films[3]

[edit] Memorable quotes

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since September 2006.

• "Oh look, a deli meat!" -Tony Perkis after finding salami in a camper's bunk

• "I did not send you to GoKart Camp!" -Gerry's father (on the phone with Gerry)

• "Come here, you devil log!" - Tony Perkis while jogging

• "I'm feeling skinny, Tony!" - Lars

• "This is the 18th level of the Perkis system, you'll all be doing this by labour day. Now do it to it Lars."

• "Right on Tony." as Lars breaks an ice block over Tony while he lays on a bed on nails.

• "Oh, that was wonderful! So entertaining! The cinematography, the editing techniques, but I must say the villain was a bit over the top," Tony saying about the movie about Camp Hell.

• "Nobody's seen more butts than you, Uncle Tony!" -Josh's response to Tony's "Who's Seymour Butts?"

• "Attention campers. Lunch has been cancelled today due to lack of hustle. Deal with it." - Tony Perkis, meting out punishment on his campers.

• "First I went to the Sizzler, got that all-you-can-eat meal. I closed the place." -Josh describing his meal in the outside world after returning to camp.

• "Jeez, get a room or something" -Gerry, commenting on two students making out, on the last day of school.

• Tony Perkis-"Mmm. Can you smell it? There's a life force in here tonight. Do you feel it, hmm? I look around this room and I see...potential!

(At Gerry)

I see the chairman of a Fortune 500 Company.

(At Roy)

I see a famous rap artist.

(At Nicholas)

The President of the United States. Josh response-He's from England.

• Tony Perkis-"Now many of you from western Pennsylvania may know my father, Tony Perkis Sr., The lighting fixture king. All the lights you see here in this room have been donated by him. But I'm gonna do old dad one better. I'm not just going to give you a light- I'm going to show you the light!"

• Tony Perkis- "When I was 12 years old, I weighed 319 pounds. I had bad skin, low self-esteem, and no self-respect. But now I eat success for breakfast- with skim milk. Pounds are gonna fly, and fat is...outta here, mister! And we are gonna do it, together!"

• "Repulse the monkey. Part the wild horses mane." -Tony Perkis

• "Tony Perkis is a man dedicated to saying things like Yes, and You Better Believe it. Motivater and entrepreneur." How Lars announces Tony's arrival.

• "Only film the ones that are standing, Kenneth." Tony perkis says to the camera man as most of the children fall while sliding.

• "Uh oh. Looks like London Bridge is falling down!" Tony says to Nicholas after he tricks him into helping him escape.

• "Hey, don't pee in the water! Don't drink the water. He peed in it!" Lars

• "Let me make something very clear: the Perkisystem does not work with cheaters like Gerald Garner! Okay?! How can I sell an infomercial about fat kids who can't keep their piggy little snouts shut? Hmm? Who's gonna buy that? Huh?" - Tony Perkis

• "All right, fine. Fine. I blame myself. You know what? I don't blame myself. No. Not this time, Tony! Excuse me one second. How are you doing, Tony? Bad. Why do you feel bad? Because everything's falling apart and I can't do anything about it. It's not your fault. I know it's not my fault, but whose fault is it if it's not my fault? It's their fault. That's right. It's their fault. It's their fault! It's their fault!! YOU HAVE FAILED AND YOU WILL PAY!!! Tomorrow morning at 0600, everyone who has not met my weight loss goal will accompany me on a 20-mile hike. Pack light, boys. The party's over." - Tony Perkis

• "Good morning campers, today is evaluation day, the keyword here is value. Do you have any? Not yet, but by the end of the summer this camp will be filled with skinny winners!" -Tony Perkins on the camp's PA system.

"Skinny weinners? You hear that guys?" - Roy

• "You think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. I just believe in you! (turns to camera) And I believe in you. Call and order now." - Tony Perkis on the PA system.
• "All you need is Mother Earth, Father Sky, and your dear old Uncle Tony." -Tony Perkis
• " Leave him, he's a straggler.Stragglers are left to fend for themselves, I was." - Tony Perkis

[edit] External links

• Heavyweights at the Internet Movie Database
• The Official Cody Burger Fan Club