Thinner (1996)

Director:

Tom Holland

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Michael McDowell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Let The Curse Fit The Crime.

Plot:

A lawyer is cursed by a gypsy to lose weight...and lose weight...and lose weight...

Plot Keywords:

Sex In Car | Oral Sex | Weight Loss | Curse | Fair

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert John Burke	...	Billy Halleck
Joe Mantegna	...	Richie Ginelli
Lucinda Jenney	...	Heidi Halleck
Michael Constantine	...	Tadzu Lempke
Kari Wuhrer	...	Gina Lempke
Bethany Joy Galeotti	...	Linda Halleck (as Joie Lenz)
Time Winters	...	Prosecutor
Howard Erskine	...	Judge Phillips
Terrence Garmey	...	Bailiff
Randy Jurgensen	...	Court Clerk
Jeff Ware	...	Max Duggenfield
Antonette Schwartzberg	...	Mama Ginelli
Terence Kava	...	Gabe Lempke
Adriana Delphine	...	Gypsy Woman
Ruth Miller	...	Billy's Secretary

Also Known As:

Stephen King's Thinner

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and gore, language and sexuality.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Italy:VM14 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Appleton, Maine, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Cameo: [Stephen King]the author appears as Dr. Bangor. (Bangor, Maine is where King lives.)

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the Gypsy after she is hit by the car.

Quotes:

Henry Halliwell: This diet you're on, what is it? I've tried all the others, I might as well try this one.
Billy Halleck: I don't think you'd like it Henry. In fact, I don't think you'd like it at all.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000)

Lead Actor made it work...

King adapted movies either work or they don't. Horror type flicks are very hard to do well. This did have a made-for-TV feel about it similar to other King flicks, but imo, the reason this was acceptable was in large part due to the acting and casting of Robert John Burke. Can you imagine seeing this man walk his dog at night? He seems outside the human race somehow…I guess that's why they choose acting as a profession. He so not normal. His voice quality was over the top, Simpson-esq in quality like in a cartoon…but that worked here.

Joe Mantegna and Michael Constantine were excellent. As stated previously, Kari Wuhrer is smokin' hot. Too bad she looks exactly like that Doritos girl who is on a UON stupid sitcom now. I guess you can't have two Doritos girls in Hollyweird.

You gotta love IMDb.com to look up all the work these actors have done. I knew I saw Burke and Wuhrer's face before but couldn't place them. I thought Michael Constantine was James Coco…but only tonight I saw Constantine in The Hustler w/Paul Newman, one of his first roles. IMDb confirmed this.

Even found out Joe's wife owns a pizza place in Burbank...need to stop by.