Struggling with Weight Issues

A few weeks ago I attended the premiere of the movie, disFIGURED, at the Silver Screen Theater in West Hollywood. My friend, Staci Lawrence, was one of the female leads. In the olden days, I would have said "leading ladies."

Staci plays struggling anorexic, Darcy, who sees herself as hugely overweight. She was shocked when she's rejected by the members of the Fat Awareness Group, who refuse to believe they can have anything in common with the scrawny girl. But Lydia, gloriously played by Deidra Edwards, the self-help group's founder, realizes they're both wrestling the same demon--weight.

This film takes a thought-provoking look at America's body image issues. Everyone can identify even if weight isn't one's biggest problem. Ryan C. Benson also stars in this film, wonderfully directed by the writer, Glenn Gers (Fracture, Mad Money). All of the actors did a fabulous job of telling this story, which I would recommend to anyone you know who could benefit by the positive messages it conveys. Rex Reed calls it "warm, funny, and touching."

It was particularly interesting during the question and answer session with the writer/director and cast after the film to hear about the challenges Glenn had in getting the movie made. Deidra's patience in waiting one year before she could audition until they exhausted all "names" in order to attract financial backing should be a lesson to us actors. Isn't that the way of the business! Staci had it a little easier, as a friend who had read the script recommended her to the director. Of course, she had to deliver on the audition! And that she did.
I was so proud of her...particularly in the emotional scenes near the end. By the way, Staci isn't anorexic, and I could swear that Deidra looked a whole lot thinner at the premiere. I do believe they also had to be quite patient as post production took almost two years.

The film has won awards in various film festivals around the country, i. e., Grand Jury prize in Oklahoma City, Santa Barbara International, Cinequest San Jose, AFI Dallas International and Florida Film Festivals. Glenn was so anxious for the majority of the population to see this as soon as possible that he made the decision to go straight to dvd, rather than show it in the theaters. I believe the latter option is still open to them, but if you want to see disFIGURED, you can rent or buy it now.