Fat Actress: The Complete First Season (review)

Multiple Emmy winner Kirstie Alley breaks one of the last taboos in Hollywood: she's fat, and she's on TV, in a delicious guilty pleasure that's all about how fat she is, and how Hollywood wants nothing to do with her as a result. Hilariously catty and supremely mean, this hybrid reality show/sitcom is based on Alley's real-life experiences as a large woman in a town that values tiny, with dialogue mostly improvised on the fly by the talented and very funny cast. Hollywood's obsessions with weight, sex, and social climbing suffer relentless prodding, and a slew of big-name guest stars -- including John Travolta, Kid Rock, Carmen Electra, and others -- poke fun at their own public personas. Alley, of course, is the biggest butt of the mean-spirited humor -- pun intended. Her weight isn't the joke; her fictional version's self-centeredness is. And that's the most refreshing thing about these seven perfect episodes: they're a wakeup call to an industry that thinks its most unpleasant quality is its best feature... not that anyone who needs the reminder will appreciate it. Extras include cast commentaries, behind-the-scene features, and more.