Critic makes few friends calling Melissa McCarthy 'tractor-sized'

Critic makes few friends calling Melissa McCarthy ‘tractor-sized’

By Nardine Saad

Feb. 8, 2013 12 AM PT

Rex Reed, the famed film critic of the New York Observer, is no fan of Melissa McCarthy nor her latest flick, “Identity Thief.”

In his review, Reed trashed the zany comedy that costars Jason Bateman as a victim of McCarthy’s felonious identity-stealing con artist. But the film wasn’t the only thing taking a beating.

Reed went on to describe the Emmy Award-winning “Mike & Molly” star as “cacophonous,” “tractor-sized,” a “humongous creep” and a “hippo” in the review.

REVIEW: Laughs stolen in ‘Identity Thief’

“Melissa McCarthy is a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success,” Reed wrote. “Poor Jason Bateman. How did an actor so charming, talented, attractive and versatile get stuck in so much dreck.”

Ouch.

Readers reciprocated the bashing right back at Reed in comments on his review online, calling his article an unfair personal attack on McCarthy.

Other critics were pretty harsh on the film too, but a few, including the Los Angeles Times’ Betsy Sharkey, called McCarthy a “gem.” Sharkey said that one of the film’s redeeming qualities was the chemistry and humor between McCarthy and Bateman.

“Though the actress often uses her plus size as a punch line in the movie, it serves even better for her character’s emotional arc,” Sharkey wrote. “Like John Candy in ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles,’ [her character is] the outsider looking with envy at everyone else’s happily ever afters, and McCarthy is masterful at telegraphing that pain.” Watch her film review above.

Even though McCarthy has thrown herself into comic characters in “Bridesmaids,” “Mike & Molly” and now “Identify Thief,” she has openly said that her size is something she’s “always working on.”

“Sometimes I wish I were just magically a size 6 and I never had to give it a single thought,” McCarthy said in a November 2012 interview in Good Housekeeping. “But I am weirdly healthy, so I don’t beat myself up about it — it wouldn’t help, and I don’t want to pass that on to my girls.”

She added: “You just have to say, ‘... I am right here at the moment, and I’m OK with it. I’ve got other things to think about.’ ”

We couldn’t agree more. Watch her costars gush about her below.

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