Melissa McCarthy “Tractor Sized” and a “Hippo” Says Film Critic Rex Reed
Rex Reed, a movie critic at the New York Observer traveled well outside of the job description while giving his opinion on Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman’s new film, Identity Theft. Reed is notably a trusted a source for providing opinionated reviews on new releases, but did he go over the line with personal jabs at Melissa McCarthy’s weight? Readers who left comments on the wordy piece seem to think so.
Reed starts off by providing a synopsis of the film and taking his first shot at McCarthy by comparing her figure to that of construction machinery, calling her “tractor sized.”
“Jason Bateman is a Denver accountant named Sandy Patterson—another in a long line of victims of the increasingly dangerous world of cyber-crime—whose credit card has been hacked and copied by a felonious thief in Miami (cacophonous, tractor-sized Melissa McCarthy), " he wrote.
In his harsh critique of the film he calls a trashy, stupefying screenplay by Craig Mazin, Reed continued his attack on McCarthy’s physical appearance by dishing out a handful of insults. In one portion of the excruciating review, Reed calls McCarthy Mr. Bateman’s female hippo.
“The snafus in the worst road movie since The Guilt Trip plunge Mr. Bateman and his female hippo into a motel with only a double bed, a grotesque sex scene with a pickled reprobate she picks up in a bar who demands a threesome, a violent bar fight that bloodies his nose, a kidnapping, a multi-car collision going the wrong way on the freeway.”
The review has over 280 comments, many of which trash Reed for being so hard on McCarthy’s size.
“Wow, this review is seriously offensive. Calling McCarthy a tractor-sized hippo? Remind me never to read The Observer again,” one reader wrote.
There were also comments that suggest Reed’s position came from a sexist standpoint. Would McCarthy’s weight issues have been a talking point if she were male?
“I’d be interested to know if Mr. Reed has referred to John Goodman as a "hippo" or "tractor sized" in his reviews of that male actor's movies?”, one commenter asked.
“Identity Theif” is currently showing in theaters.
