Fat Albert: 20th Anniversary- There’s A Reason We Can’t Have Nice Things Anymore
Quick Take: Not all anniversary releases are golden, not all are memorable, and not everything with audio description is a good film. This is my second time through this live action adaptation of the classic cartoon series, and something has dramatically shifted since 2004. I just can’t put my Jell-O finger on it.
The refreshing thing about watching this 20 years later starts with the continued growth of Kenan Thompson. We see him 20 years ago, knowing he was a fresh cast member on Saturday Night Live, and the version we have today still feels like that same Kenan we grew up with. He’s never lost his charm, which made him so likeable and famous to begin with. The other thing, that I can compliment the movie for, is that in a time when we are in the darkest timeline, and hate is prevalent on every edge of society, Fat Albert is just trying to bring kindness and optimism. It harkens back to the old cartoon with the junkyard gang, but the adaptation uses Kenan rather well as Albert, who is just the nicest guy in the room. He’s here to help, and we could use that more now than ever.
So, while there remains a BIG factor that is still present, and credited, in this movie, and makes it for a very unfortunate watch, there’s something about “they don’t make them like they used to”, which made this experience not so awful. Sure, it wasn’t a movie I liked the first time, and it is still cheesy. But, I miss the optimism and kindness, and the feeling that films brought like a security blanket. Kenan had that in spades, and still does. This would never get made today, but if you feel like the world is being mean to you, Fat Albert is here.
I suppose, beyond just the aspect of a certain person who served jail time being present, i should address the fact that the character is named Fat Albert. I remember being in a group that banned discussion of The Whale before it even came out, simply because they were afraid of how it would make people feel. When I pointed out, as someone who weighed over 300 lbs at the time, and has been higher, that all the use of the word “fat” in some long post about something being “fat-phobic” was more offensive to me than simply the concept of The Whale. Fat was the word used most to bully and provoke in high school, so it is the more triggering word. I’d love for him to not be named Fat Albert. This is a problem that comes from the 70’s though, when the original cartoon created this entity. I’m not usually bothered by weight things, and I certainly am not here to censor, but if someone wants to know what my opinion is… just like with “Fat Amy”,, I wish he wasn’t named “Fat Albert”. I would never put Fat in front of my name, no matter how many John’s there were. I grew up on a block where there were two of us, and we were referred to as Big and little, which worked, without feeling offensive, because I was taller. I was also older. I don’t know how the other one felt about being Little Jon, but, that’s his truth to speak to. He moved, and I haven’t seen him in over 30 years.
Should you watch Fat Albert? probably not. If you do, make sure it is at least because it has audio description. I support that. Regardless of who is involved, or the messaging, I want everything to be accessible. Films I fundamentally disagree with on every level, I would still fight for access, because while something may not be for me, and I might believe the film itself should not exist, the fact is that it does, and preventing the blind and low vision community from being able to watch the film and formulate their own opinions is not something I want to be a part of. For more, check out my video.
