Wes McGee Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

A woman becomes violently obsessed over her roommate in Excess Flesh. Jill (Bethany Orr) is a somewhat overweight and introverted person, who lives with her anorexic model roommate Jennifer (Mary Loveless). Jill is unemployed and quietly pines for a man named Rob (Wes McGee), while Jennifer parties it up and has constant one night stands. When Jennifer apparently sleeps with Rob at a party, Jill become obsessively jealous and proceeds to chain Jennifer up and torture her in various ways. In some ways, Excess Flesh can be seen as a commentary on the way society perceives females, particularly in regards to bodytype. This is demonstrated in one of the few scenes the action leaves Jill's apartment and the two come across two police officers. Despite something obviously not being right, the male officer lets them go, with the explanation of "You know how females are." At the same time, throughout the course of the film, Jill goes from a completely sympathetic individual to a psychotic bipolar sicko. To be completely honest, I have no idea how I should be responding to Excess Flesh. If it was the filmmaker's intention to leave me feeling completely disgusted, the film succeeded big time. Whether it's constant vomiting, icky sound design, or reality show dreams involving rape, there is much within Excess Flesh that will turn off viewers. In fact, I would argue that any message about the perception of females is somewhat lost in the subversive nature of the plot. Altogether, Excess Flesh is far from a pleasant viewing experience. ★ ★ 1/2 | INDIFFERENT Screenings: Sat, Aug 1, 11:55 PM - Concordia Hall Theatre