David Cronenberg might’ve had the market cornered on body horror back in the 80’s and 90’s, but it’s not like Stephen King didn’t have a few horrific twists and turns up his macabre sleeves. He might not ever have gotten the chance to write a Twilight Zone episode, but if he had, I imagine it would’ve turned out an awful lot like the 1996 adaptation of his book Thinner.
Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) thinks he’s got it all. He’s got a beautiful life Heidi (Lucinda Jenney) and a sweet daughter. His law practice is doing quite well, and will likely continue to grow after his ability to get criminal boss Richie “The Hammer” Ginelli (Joe Mantegna) off. For a criminal attorney, he’s even got friends on the local police force and the judge treats him like he can do no wrong.
Of course, being the White Man from Town that he is, Billy does all kinds of wrong. While driving home from a fancy dinner with his friends, Billy gets distracted by his wife and accidentally runs over the elderly daughter of an even more elderly traveller. (I’m not going to use the G word) For those of you who say nothing good ever comes from road head, take a bow because the old woman dies while Billy gets his jollies. However, thanks to his connections, he doesn’t face a trial or even a serious inquisition into his vehicular homicide. But he certainly doesn’t get away with it. The traveller has a justice system of his own, and with the mere whisper of the word “thinner,” Billy is a curse man.
The thought of a man quickly losing weight, especially when he was morbidly obese to begin with, might not seem like the most serious of curses, but as the pounds melt away, Billy’s life begins to deteriorate as well. His lovely wife might not be the most faithful, and her friend the doctor might not have his best interests at heart. And as Billy becomes more desperate to remove the curse, he resorts to asking for help from his friend “The Hammer.”
Thinner doesn’t have to be taken too seriously. It’s famously the last book that King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym before someone figured it out, and he used that cover name to usually write books that were a bit more pulpy and mean. Thinner is no different and the adaptation by writer/director Tom Holland leans into that meanness. We’re meant to side with the man who on the surface seems rather despicable, who has done nothing but benefit from his privileged status. Although he might not loathe the travellers with the same fervor as the judge, he certainly doesn’t stand up for them or admit his wrongdoing, even when doing so might save him. Billy has no issue hiring a murderer to solve his problems when admitting his fault might help more. As the old traveller says at one point, “You never see us,” and if that isn’t an encapsulation of American race relations in one sentence then I don’t know what is.
For a movie that feels slight and silly at points, it definitely has a message to share, and it doesn’t shy away from giving people exactly what they deserve. Rich white dudes might have gotten off in the past, but Thinner has their just desserts waiting for them in a slice of strawberry pie.
Rated 3 out of 5
