There is no doubt that Brendan Fraser gave an amazing performance here. At the same time I felt extremely uncomfortable watching the movie and cannot see myself ever watching it again.
From the opening masturbation scene (ugh, I couldn;t stop thinking about how he used that same hand to touch other people/things) to the disturbing/disgusting scenes of Charlie stuffing his mouth with greasy fried chicken, candy bars, pizza, and at one point just about anything he could get his hands on or even just going about his day-to-day activities with closeup shots of all his fat, folds, sweat, and rotting flesh I sometimes felt queasy. I am trying not to judge the character or people who suffer from the same medical/psychological problems as Charlie but it is just very unpleasant to watch.
The story itself was quite sad and depressing. I felt really bad for Charlie who was just trying desperately to connect with his angry teenage daughter. I also felt miserable for Liz, Charlie's best friend/caretaker, who was fighting an unwinnable fight to help him. The scenes with the missionary were weird but made sense by the end of the movie. I wish they could have maybe introduced the ex earlier in the film and had a more uplifting resolution of the Charlie/Ellie plotline.
From the opening masturbation scene (ugh, I couldn;t stop thinking about how he used that same hand to touch other people/things) to the disturbing/disgusting scenes of Charlie stuffing his mouth with greasy fried chicken, candy bars, pizza, and at one point just about anything he could get his hands on or even just going about his day-to-day activities with closeup shots of all his fat, folds, sweat, and rotting flesh I sometimes felt queasy. I am trying not to judge the character or people who suffer from the same medical/psychological problems as Charlie but it is just very unpleasant to watch.
The story itself was quite sad and depressing. I felt really bad for Charlie who was just trying desperately to connect with his angry teenage daughter. I also felt miserable for Liz, Charlie's best friend/caretaker, who was fighting an unwinnable fight to help him. The scenes with the missionary were weird but made sense by the end of the movie. I wish they could have maybe introduced the ex earlier in the film and had a more uplifting resolution of the Charlie/Ellie plotline.