Fatso 1980

As the DiNapoli siblings – Antoinette, Anne Bancroft, Dominic, Dom DeLuise, and Frank Jr., Ron Carey – grow up, the film traces how love, comfort, and food become the glue that binds a family together. Dom’s childhood memory of his mother soothing him with a bite of buttered Italian bread during a diaper mishap involving his infant brother helps explain his lifelong passion for nourishment, a trait he shares with his overweight cousin Salvatore, Sal Viscuso. That early image of tenderness through a plate of food sets a tone of warmth and humor that threads through every setback and reconciliation to come.

When Salvatore dies at 39, the family grieves deeply, and Antoinette urges Dom to see a diet doctor to avoid following his cousin’s fate. He agrees, hoping a formal plan might save him from the cycle of cravings and guilt that haunted him. The new diet book is stringent, full of foods to avoid, and Dom feels swallowed by restrictions that seem to strip away pleasure. The diet’s rocky start inches toward failure, and Dom’s escalating frustration begins to spill over into the rest of the household, testing the patience of the people who love him most. Eventually, Antoinette—tired of watching her brother struggle—enrolls him in the Chubby Checkers support group, hoping the circle of accountability and shared experience will offer him real footing.

Into this fragile balance steps Lydia, Candice Azzara, a thin, diabetic antique shop owner who instantly connects with Dom on more than just a shared appetite. They discover common ground beyond food, a glimmer of possibility that makes Dom dream of a life where affection isn’t bound to meals. Yet his self-consciousness about his body keeps him hesitant to ask Lydia out, even as she clearly shows interest. The relationship teeters on a knife-edge between longing and fear, as Dom negotiates vulnerability in a world that has long measured him by his weight.

Crises mount at home too. Dom asks Frankie to padlock the fridge and larder, but cravings strike in the dead of night, and Dom demands the keys from his brother, even threatening him at times. The struggle intensifies his isolation, driving a wedge between him and the family he wishes to protect. Feeling more defeated, Dom retreats to the Chubby Checkers meetings, where Sonny and Oscar recount favorite desserts, turning the intervention into a temptingly delicious trap rather than a lifeline. The group’s attempt to help paradoxically becomes a celebration of indulgence, revealing how difficult it is to separate comfort from compulsion when food has always been a language of love.

Seeing their brother at a breaking point, Antoinette and Frankie orchestrate a bridge between Dom and Lydia. As they begin dating, Dom experiences a surprising, almost unnoticeable shift: his clothes grow looser, and he realizes he’s been losing weight without meaning to. The moment is bittersweet, wrapped in relief and newfound hope, but Dom remains haunted by a fear of rejection and the pressure to conform to a body image that once defined him.

Moved by his affection for Lydia, Dom resolves to propose. A wrenching detour arrives when he visits Lydia’s apartment to find she’s gone. In a panic, he returns home with a mountain of Chinese takeout for the family party, a desperate attempt to salvage something familiar and comforting in the wake of heartbreak. Antoinette confronts him with the truth of his actions, using a doll on a stick to illustrate how his food-driven choices are hurting the family. Dom breaks down, openly acknowledging the lifelong pattern her mother’s comforting gestures had helped create. In that moment, he also blames her for teaching him to seek solace in food, a revelation that shocks Antoinette and leaves her to confront her own complicity in his pain.

Yet from the wreckage comes a vow to heal together. Dom’s confession and the family’s willingness to accept him as he is mark a turning point: he commits to loving himself, and his siblings pledge to do the same. With a renewed sense of self-worth, Dom reconnects with Lydia, who is visiting her younger brother in a Boston hospital after a finger injury accident. The couple takes a quiet walk through the hospital, peering into the cradle of new life, and Dom whispers his marriage proposal into Lydia’s ear; she answers yes, sealing their bond in love rather than appetite.

The credits roll on a warm, affectionate montage that follows Dom and Lydia after they marry, watching their family grow with each newborn. Throughout, Dom’s weight fluctuates, sometimes casting a shadow over his happiness, but it never eclipses the happiness of the family he has learned to embrace—one built not on perfect bodies, but on steadfast support, mutual acceptance, and the courage to love oneself and others just as they are.