Phat Girlz star Mo’Nique talks about livin’ large

By Sandra Varner

Referred to as “Mo” by her inner circle of family and friends, I caught up with the warm and engaging film star on the opening day of her new movie, Phat Girlz, while lunching in New York at City Crab Restaurant.

    Here’s what Mo’Nique had to say about life, love and livin’ large.
Sandra Varner (SV): Other than the obvious, why do you think you were chosen for this role?
Mo’Nique (Mo): “I’m a comedian and it’s a comedic love story. And I was very proud to be a fat girl, to be ‘the fat girl’ and that’s not something people like to put their hands in victory together in Hollywood.”
SV: Let’s talk about Hollywood for a minute. Do you watch “American Idol”?
Mo: “Yes.”
SV: Do you think Mandisa (Hundley, a 2006 contestant) was voted off because of her size, her confession of faith in Jesus or both?
Mo: “Oh, most definitely. As fat girls we can’t avoid the obvious. Really, I don’t think America was ready to have an ‘American Idol’ be a fat girl.”
SV: But, A.I. had a fat boy, Reuben? (Reuben Studdard was the 2003 winner).
Mo: “And, where is Reuben…? I mean, I think he’s an incredible singer, but we live in a society that says, ‘Oh, we’re not sure.’And to be a great singer and to be fat, ‘you must be a gospel singer.’ That’s the message being sent. It couldn’t be that fat girls and guys love to party and dance. We’re so not looked at like that. We’re such an invisible group of people.”
SV: In your opinion, what is the most misunderstood aspect of full-figured women?
Mo: “That we’re unhealthy. That’s a myth, it’s a lie. I don’t care what size you are, if you don’t take care of your body, your body won’t take care of you. I don’t care if you’re 50 pounds or 500 pounds. But, because we are overweight by somebody’s standard, and I’m really not sure whose, it’s assumed that we’re unhealthy, unhappy or depressed. I want people to know that as fat girls, we’re not buying that myth anymore.”
SV: Clearly, you are a confident and successful person. What did you learn about yourself by doing this film?
Mo: “Patience. Because Nngeste Likke, the film’s director, was a new director and she was so brilliant in her process. There were times when we would do 40 takes of a scene and I had to learn to be patient. I understood it.”
SV: So you gave her the room to be meticulous in her process.
Mo: “I had to. It would have been unfair if I didn’t, because someone was patient with me. [When I first got started] I didn’t step on the scene and know everything to do. Someone was patient with Mo’Nique.”
SV: Do you think audiences will walk away from this movie being informed, entertained, “pissed off” or something else?
Mo: “I think in the end this movie is going to be so successful that it’s going to shock a lot of people. Because you have some people who feel like, ‘Who would want to go see a movie about fat people?’ But, the people who will want to go see this movie are the people who have been the underdog. As fat girls, we’d always been the underdog and people like to cheer on those who society has said to, ‘You can’t make it.’”
SV: When I’ve interviewed you before and observed you in several settings, I am always amazed by your ability to stay focused while juggling numerous projects, simultaneously. To what do you attribute your ability to stay focused?
Mo: “A great team. I have a great team around me, a great support system and a strong foundation. I have people in my corner that say to me, ‘Pull back, we’re not afraid.’ And, I dig that about my team.”
SV: Last year, I attended your first full-figured beauty contest auditions and was blown away by the response. When you came out to greet everyone, the audience treated you like a rock star. Now, in its second year, how does this year compare?
Mo: “Imagine the response being three times greater than last year’s. It’s amazing.”
SV: With a new love and new babies (Mo’Nique recently expanded her family with the birth of twin boys in 2005), what’s life like these days?
Mo: “When I tell you that I’m in a great place, I am. If today, God would say, ‘Mo’Nique it’s time for you to come home,’ I would close my eyes with a smile and take my last breathe with a smile. Because he’s given me everything I’ve ever asked for… everything. I have no complaints. Everything that I’ve dreamt about, that I’ve prayed about, he’s said, ‘Here you go.’Today, my movie opens and that’s me on those billboards. That’s me on those radio and TV commercials. So, how could I not be grateful and appreciative and thankful? It feels good and I’m enjoying every second of it.”