BABYCAKES

US, 1989, 100 minutes, Colour.
Rikki Lake, Craig Sheffer, Betty Buckley.
Directed by Paul Schneider.

Babycakes is a cheerful telemovie capitalising on the literally large talent of Ricki Lake, the star of John Waters' Hairspray. It is based on the successful German film, Sugar Baby, written and directed by Percy Adlon.

The film focuses on Grace who works in a mortuary, her girlfriend, her desire for a relationship ignoring the fact that she is large. Craig Sheffer (That Was Then, This Is Now) is the object of her admiration. There are emotional tangles, commitment and infidelity and Grace's having to learn how to cope.

1. Enjoyable comedy? Focus on youth? Problems?

2. American telemovie style: the city, the funeral parlour, the family? Subway sequences? The ordinariness? Musical score?

3. The title and the German Sugar Baby?

4. The focus on Grace as a personality, her cheerfulness, size? Sharing with her friend? Her work at the funeral parlour, the various corpses and preparing them? The relatives? The manager and getting time off? Her relationship with her father, clash with her stepmother? The children? Preparations for the wedding, her not being allowed to be a bridesmaid? Trying on clothes and being moved off? Seeing Rob and the skating, contriving to meet him, her pushiness? The date, his drinking and her taking care of him, his forgetting? The beginning of the affair, the bonds between the two? Sharing? His failure? Grace's girlfriend being jealous? Rob's girlfriend coming back? Grace's friend betraying her? The confrontation? Grace as sad but more realistic? Meeting Rob in the subway?

5. Ricki Lake and her personality, comedy about her size, nice and pleasant? Appearances not mattering?

6. Her friend, sharing friendship with her, confidences, the funeral parlour, excited about the date? With Rob? Jealousy of Grace? Telling Rob's girlfriend?

7. Rob and his appearance, charm, skating, work, buddies? Chance meeting of Grace? The date? Passing out and Grace looking after him? The affair, the effect on him? his girlfriend and her return, her demands? Fight, seeing Grace again?

8. Rob's girlfriend, relationship, being away, the return, the confrontation?

9. The funeral parlour, the bodies being prepared? Relatives? The boss?

10. Grace's father and his relationship to her? Marrying the stepmother? The shunning of Grace, the wedding and the insult? Grace taking Rob for a meal and their attention?

11. Sketch of society, expectations? Relationships and love? Commitment, hurt, having to cope?