How can an Ontario boy like me forget the hoopla surrounding our province’s banning of this film in 2001… and the eventual lifting of that ban in 2003? Anytime censorship is involved, my interest is on high alert. That was a lot of hype for this film to live up to.

I missed seeing it in the theatre but scooped up Criterion’s DVD the week of release and was pretty well floored. Not by the elements that caused the local ratings board to temporarily ban the film, but rather by that single 3 seconds of film near the end. Since I’m sure all who are reading this have seen the film, I’ll come right out and say “the windshield scene”. Easily one of the best shock moments in cinema history. The highway scenes certainly built the tension leading up to it, but I was still well stung by this spark of violence in an otherwise slower-paced film. Seeing it a couple times since, I always manage to get caught off guard by it, not knowing exactly when to expect it.

All those words for only a few seconds of the film. All-in-all Fat Girl is a very strong film on the nature of sexuality that doesn’t hold it’s opinions back at all. It’s not perfect, but it did live up to my high expectations and remains a solid choice for Criterion’s catalog.