Set in a summer weight-loss camp for teens, Huge was developed for the ABC Family Channel by Winnie Holzman (who created the landmark series My So-Called Life) and is based on the bestselling book by Sasha Paley. Along with storylines related to acceptance, attraction, and romantic anxieties, Huge tackles the subjects of body image, concepts of beauty, and the assumptions people make based on appearances. Nikki Blonsky takes the lead as Will (short for Willamena), an angry teenager who rebels against authority and becomes a hero to many of the kids who've been harassed and shrink from confrontation. Will lives her life loud and proud to fight the feelings of shame her mother and father have heaped upon her. Meanwhile, the usual cliques and cruelty play out in this microcosm, where the least hefty girls, Amber and Chloe (Hayley Hasselhoff, Ashley Holliday), are adored; geeky boys like Alistair (Harvey Guillen) are picked on, and parents cast a long shadow even when they're not around. Huge was cancelled after its initial 10 episodes, leaving many stories unfinished—which is unfortunate, given the show's intelligent and compassionate treatment of issues and anxieties that most young people face, whether overweight or not. Featuring all of the episodes from 2010, DVD extras include episode audio commentaries, promotional featurettes, music videos, a blooper reel, and the faux film Phantasma (the show's dead-on parody of Twilight as a ghost-story romance). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Huge: The Complete Series
Shout! Factory, 3 discs, 870 min., TV-14, DVD: $29.99 Volume 26, Issue 3
Huge: The Complete Series
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