Queen Sized
Queen Sized is a Lifetime drama telefilm that premiered on January 12, 2008, starring Nikki Blonsky.[1][2][3] The movie was made in Shreveport, LA.[4]
| Queen Sized | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Written by | Rodney Johnson |
| Directed by | Peter Levin |
| Starring | Nikki Blonsky Annie Potts Kimberly Matula |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Frank von Zerneck |
| Cinematography | Neil Roach |
| Editor(s) | Anita Brandt-Burgoyne |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Von Zerneck/Sertner Films |
| Distributor | Lifetime Movie Network |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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Plot
Maggie Baker (Blonsky) is an overweight 17-year-old girl in a suburban town in South Carolina who suffers being taunted and ridiculed at school and badgered to lose weight by her overbearing mother (Annie Potts) who is worried she will get diabetes like her late father. Maggie and her mother are estranged and do not get along. The movie starts by showing what Maggie goes through every day at school. We discover that her best friend Casey (Lily Holleman) is not as unpopular as Maggie due to her relationship with one of the popular guys. Casey is invited to a party by the boy and accepts the invitation on the premise that Maggie is allowed to come as well. The popular boys cringe but don't say anything. At the party Casey is dragged away by her sort of boyfriend, leaving Maggie alone to be laughed at by the preppy clique, including Liz (Liz McGeever), a very hated but feared girl at school. Liz is the mean girl who bullies Maggie in high school.
Maggie gets food down the front of her shirt and retreats to the kitchen to clean it off (only after being photographed eating in an unflattering manner). From the kitchen she can see Casey and her boyfriend making out in the adjacent hallway before her friend Louis (Fabian C. Moreno) greets her. It is clear that Louis has a thing for Maggie and vice versa. Louis leaves and Casey appears at the same time as Tara (Kim Matula) the sweet Queen Bee at school to wipe food off her shirt as well. Tara asks if Maggie is as klutzy as she is which Maggie confirms that she is, saying "No, my blouse was just hungry."
After she leaves Casey makes a remark about how Tara is only nice so she can win Homecoming Queen to which Maggie replies that it would be nice if she herself were to win Homecoming Queen and not somebody like Tara or her friends.
Maggie was punished by her mother, since she was supposed to baby-sit her brother after she came home. Liz overhears and decides to nominate Maggie as a joke. They would take her off the ballot so her friend Tara will take the crown since she is a shoo in to win. The joke is on her though as many students who are sick of the popular kids get excited about Maggie being the queen, including Tara, who is, of course, nominated herself. Maggie easily collects 150 signatures to put her on the ballot (twice as they are stolen the first time around) and becomes an official nominee. Maggie starts campaigning but gets upset one day when she sees Tara's posters out in the hallway and imagines her mom praising Tara's thinness and beauty. She runs home to find comfort food.
Meanwhile, Liz vandalizes Tara's posters so the principal will think it's Maggie and take her out of the race. The plan does not work and Tara begins to suspect that her best friend is trying to sabotage Maggie. At voting time, Maggie wins Homecoming Queen, and the popular clique is shocked and rudely sit and glare at Maggie, but Tara looks genuinely happy for the plus-sized beauty queen.
It is later revealed that Tara voted for Maggie and not herself. Maggie is bombarded with offers from the press who wish to discuss the experience with her. However, the popular kids are not ready to accept Maggie's win without a fight and plan to get her to resign. Tara's boyfriend Trip (Kyle Russell Clements) and Liz plot to ruin Maggie's homecoming float. When Maggie sits on it the float busts, making it look like Maggie's weight broke it.
Tara is outraged as the prank could have seriously injured Maggie and breaks up with Trip not only because of the prank but because she is also fed up with his shallow ways and his inability to look at life beyond High School popularity. She also discovers that Liz only hangs out with her because she's popular and ends their friendship. The other popular girls stop speaking to Liz as well. Maggie goes on television to discuss her win but comes off sounding rude and ungrateful towards her friends and supporters. She has also been ignoring Casey who has been trying to ask Maggie for advice on whether or not she should consummate her relationship with her now boyfriend.
Angry, Casey spews out some harsh insults and Maggie shoves her into a row of bikes, getting herself suspended. Maggie has alienated from her friends and no longer wishes to be Homecoming Queen although the school tells her she can.
Maggie realizes that she plays the victim and that her harshest critic is herself. She decides to go through being Homecoming Queen even though the reception will most likely be bad and asks Louis to be her King. She reconciles with both her mom and Casey who eagerly cheer her on at the game. Although many people boo her a lot of people cheer for her too. Maggie realizes that she not only won Homecoming Queen but she changed herself as well.
Cast
- Nikki Blonsky as Maggie Baker, an obese 17-year-old girl who hates her body but goes through a self-acceptance process over the course of the movie
- Annie Potts as Joan Baker, Maggie's overbearing mother
- Lily Holleman as Casey, Maggie's best friend
- Fabian C. Moreno as Louis Rodriguez, Maggie's friend and love interest
- Kim Matula as Tara Conner, the school's most popular girl, who hates futility and admires Maggie
- Liz McGeever as Liz McDonavan, Tara's best friend and mean girl. She hates Maggie and envies Tara.
- Jackson Pace as William "Will" Baker, Maggie's younger brother
- Ryan Bartley as Emily Dosik, one of Tara's friends and ball organizer
- Kelsey Schultz as Camille, one of Tara's friends
- Kyle Clements as Trip, Tara's boyfriend
- Philip Searcy as Devon, Casey's boyfriend
- Laurel Whitsett as Principal Zash
- Tiger Sheu as Jared, the school punk
- Jessika Brodosi as Serena, the school gothic
- Cody Linley, one of Devon's best friends
- Jabari Thomas as Dorian, one of Devon's best friends
- Libby Whittemore, Joan's best friend
DVD release
Queen Sized was released on DVD for the first time on August 5, 2008 from Starz Home Entertainment
References
- Lowry, Brian (January 9, 2008). "Queen Sized". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Moss, Marilyn (January 10, 2008). "Queen Sized". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Hinckley, David (January 11, 2008). "Queen Sized' movie offers a trite-and-true lesson on bullying". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- Kahn, Robert (January 11, 2008). "Another weighty role for Blonsky of 'Hairspray'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
External links
- Queen Sized on IMDb