LaBute's 'Fat Pig' Brutally Honest

As an unsuspecting audience chatters amongst itself, Helen (Kirsten Vangness) is already hard at work, stuffing her face, as Neil LaBute's Fat Pig jumps right out of the gate eliciting feelings of overall discomfort.  LaBute is great at saying what most are thinking, yet typically do not have the gumption to vocalize.

In Fat Pig, which is making its West Coast debut at the Geffen Playhouse, LaBute goes deep into the psyche of insecure characters, as the subject of weight is discussed, actually argued over when a good-looking guy becomes attracted to a fat girl.  Though, the variable phrases scattered throughout the play are often quite more demeaning.  What an apropos locale, vanity obsessed Los Angeles, for Fat Pig to run.

For the first 15 minutes of Fat Pig, overweight Helen stands alone on the stage intently eating her lunch and reading an encyclopedic size book as a pretty boy, Tim (Scott Wolf), sidles up next to her in the cafeteria, but not before setting a tone of foot-in-mouth diesease, which Fat Pig is built upon.  After becoming enchanted by the expectation-defying woman, Tim begins secretly dating Helen, mostly alone in their apartments.  Despite Tim's attraction, society at large is not that comfortable seeing a svelte young guy courting an obese type of woman, at least not his extremely cocky co-worker, Carter (Chris Pine), or the scorned office floozy, Jeannie (Andrea Anders).

Wolf, who is probably best remembered from "Party of Five," brings his boyish charm to the production, filling the character with uncertainty in the face of his judging peers.  He is a man torn between real emotions and societal pressures, as he honestly feels a connection with Helen, yet cannot shake off the sneering looks and school-yard taunting going on back at work.  

As the crux of the jokes in Fat Pig, Vangness ("Criminal Minds") wears her weight like a champion, never afraid of what others think or say.  She holds a beauty in her blunt honesty and self-deprecating humor, always able to diffuse the awkward situations thrown her way.  In a heartbreaking moment in the end of the play, when Tim is faced with choosing between the high or low road in terms of their continued dating, Vagness touches on emotions any insecure person battles, which in all honesty can be found in nearly any warm blooded human.

A familiar character in many of LaBute's works, Carter plays the nasty devil perched on Tim's shoulder, with Pine ripping through the always-clever lines with wicked ease.  He is easy to hate, even when revealing an emotional back-story of an overweight mother, yet never too over-the-top.  His character fills his do-gooder buddy with such shame that it swallows up the love between two innocent people.  Anders ("The Class"), with her sexy figure, is right up there with Carter as an ugly commentary on society.  Still infatuated with Tim, after a romantic tryst, she spews a vile rant Helen's way when she finally realizes there is no longer a chance for her own love affair.

Director Jo Bonney, who also helmed the New York premiere, has crafted a fine piece of art in Fat Pig, always pushing forward with the uneasiness LaBute is recognized, and often hailed for.  With little niceties in the book, LaBute has written a fantastic assailment on the unforgiving world in which we live.  Fat Pig is brutally pleasing and thought provoking to the bitter end.

Production includes Louisa Thompson's efficient set along with Lap-Chi Chu's neon obsessed lighting, which is great for capturing the flaws of these four characters.  Tina Haatainen Jones' costume design and Colbert S. Davis' sound round of the look and feel of the show.

Fat Pig plays through June 17 on the Geffen Playhouse's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater stage.  Tickets are $55 and can be purchased by calling 310-208-5454, online at www.GeffenPlayhouse.com or at the box office, located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Westwood.

Photos by Michael Lamont.