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Costumes and Makeup
Costumes and Makeup were challenging aspects of
the production for a variety of reasons.
 The make-up personnel, Dan
Wolcott and Ruth Eisner (Jessica’s younger sister), had substantial
experience in theatre and modeling make-up, respectively, but little
experience in film and none in Hi-Def. Numerous lighting, camera and
product tests eventually allayed their worries and they went on to
design each character’s signature look. Ruth Eisner was primarily
responsible for designing the make-up to transform Steve Hodgson
into "Mom" and maintaining the look as he sweated profusely under
the hot studio lights.
Ruth
transforms Steve into 'Mom'
"That’s a whole lotta man!" Ruth
exclaimed, "and when I was finished with his face, I still had a
whole lotta neck!"
The crew agreed that this responsibility was
almost as grueling as maintaining the bloody, leaking, meat clock.
"The thing that drove me was the end result... and a lot of Hope,"
Ruth concluded. "Luckily, Hope (Michelle Porras) had natural beauty
that made my job easier."
Dan and Ruth select make-up for Michelle Porras (Hope)
Costume design, along with many other
responsibilities, fell to the elder Eisner.
The obese cast members’
clothing sizes ranged from a nebulous 3X to an unbelievable 6X.
Eisner scrounged plus-size stores, websites and thrift stores to
obtain clothing suited to each character. She was surprised to find
that getting big, sexy outfits for Pumpkin was the easiest task
since, apparently, the American clothing industry has been among the
early responders to the obesity epidemic.
Angel models one of
Pumpkin’s sexy outfits
Clothing for the 6X-sized T-Bone was the most
difficult to find - hence the decision to keep his character in the
same outfit throughout the film.
There were no small make-up tasks
in the film
"The Muffin Man logo t-shirt supplier couldn’t find
plain red t-shirts in ‘6X’ so I ended up sewing together two 3X
shirts for T-Bone in the tug of war scene," Eisner recalled.
"Actually, I handcrafted several items. I wanted each character to
have a distinctive look and intrigue the repeat viewer. Even the
Japanese kanji on Jack’s headband in the 'snushi' scene has a
message."
 Perhaps the most arduous costuming chore was getting
clothes for the 6'6", 350 lb "Mom". Eisner wanted her to have the
appearance of a stylish and confident older lady, however, actor
Hodgson wasn’t eager to go into women’s shops and try on clothes.
"It was really rough for him," said Eisner, "because he is very
masculine and most sales people assumed he was a giant drag queen."
Nothing could be further from the truth. Hodgson even negotiated
exactly how many eyebrow hairs could be plucked for his
gender-bending role in the production.
Ruth teases Michelle’s hair
for Hope’s disheveled look
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