Ben Stillerscored one of his earliest starring roles in the Disney dark comedyHeavyweights, and although it was a box office bomb on its initial release, it’s since been deservingly reappraised as a cult classic. Throughout the 2000s, Stiller became one of the biggest comedy stars at the box office. As a member of the “Frat Pack” alongside Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson,Stiller played hilarious charactersin such hit comedies asMeet the Parents,The Royal Tenenbaums,Along Came Polly,Starsky & Hutch, andDodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
And Stiller doesn’t just star in great comedies; in some cases, he also writes and directs them. He directed and co-wroteZoolanderandTropic Thunder, which have both become modern classics of the genre. But he’s had his fair share of flops, too:Duplex,Envy,The Watch,Zoolander 2. Just one year after making his feature-length directorial debut withhis relatable, generation-defining hitReality Bites, Stiller starred in a much wackier movie that got panned by critics and bombed at the box office — but it’s not nearly as bad as its reception would suggest.
Ben Stiller’s Heavyweights Deserves Its Cult Classic Status
It’s One Of Disney’s Darkest Comedies
In 1995,The Mighty Ducksscreenwriter Steven Brill made his directorial debut withHeavyweights, based on a script he co-wrote with futureKnocked Updirector Judd Apatow.Heavyweightstakes place at a weight loss camp for boys.Stiller plays the megalomaniacal fitness entrepreneur who takes over the campand sucks all the fun out of it, prompting the kids to stage a coup and overthrow him.
Heavyweightsreceived mixed reviews from critics, with a perfectly polarized 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it bombed at the box office on its original release, grossing just $17,689,177 (viaBox Office Mojo). The box office failure ofHeavyweightscan mostly be attributed to a tonal tug-o’-war between the filmmakers and the studio.
Heavyweightsultimately found an audience through home video and airings on cable TV.
Disney wanted a typical family-friendly comedy they knew how to market, butthe movie Brill and Apatow wrote was much darker and more demented than the average Disney film.Heavyweightshas since been reevaluated as a cult classic, and it’s a must-see for Stiller fans; Tony Perkis is basically a prototype of White Goodman. The humor is definitely a little dated — there are a lot of problematic jokes at the expense of plus-size children — but it’s mostly a fun watch.
Ben Stiller’s Career Wasn’t Hurt By His Disney Box Office Bomb
A Few Years Down The Line, He Would Become A Bona Fide Movie Star
AlthoughHeavyweightsunderperformed at the box office, it wasn’t much of a blow to Stiller’s career. One year later, he directedThe Cable Guy, another pitch-black comedythat would go on to find a cult audience, and despite falling short of its star Jim Carrey’s biggest successes, it still grossed over $100 million (viaBox Office Mojo). Two years after that,Stiller played the lead role in the Farrelly brothers’ delightfully raunchy romantic comedyThere’s Something About Mary, which was a huge box office hitand has been praised as one of the best comedies ever made.
Ben Stiller’s Role In Severance Explained
Though Severance was created by Dan Erickson, Ben Stiller has been a huge driving force as an executive producer, director, and actor on the show.
Another two years after that,Stiller starred inMeet the Parents, which was another massive commercial success, big enough to launch a franchise. By that point, Stiller was a bona fide movie star who could get big crowds to come out to theaters just by having his name on a marquee. In the 25 years since then, Stiller has continued to work steadily.In recent years, he’s focused more on directing— scoring one of the biggest critical hits of his career withSeverance— but he still stars in the occasional comedy movie.
Heavyweights Is An Underrated Ben Stiller Movie - And So Are These
Plenty Of Ben Stiller Movies Deserve More Love
Heavyweightsis an underrated gem, and it’s far from the only underrated gem of Stiller’s career. For every big hit likeDodgeballorMeet the Parents, there’s a great movie that fell by the wayside. Stiller’s remake ofThe Heartbreak Kidisn’t quite as sharp or sophisticated as the Elaine May original, butit has some huge laughs (largely thanks to a scene-stealing Danny McBride). His adaptation ofThe Secret Life of Walter Mittyis a lot more moving and profound than the critics gave it credit for.
For every big hit like Dodgeball or Meet the Parents, there’s a great movie that fell by the wayside.
Stiller’s 2017 movieBrad’s Status, written and directed byThe White Lotuscreator Mike White, is a great little grounded comedy touching on relatable insecurities like jealousy and empty-nest syndrome. Most recently,Ben Stillerstarred in the Christmas dramedyNutcrackers, which received mostly negative reviews from critics. WhileNutcrackersdoes admittedly follow a pretty familiar formula of a grumpy loner reluctantly warming up to the children placed under his care, it’s a really funny, really sweet take on that formulaic story.
