Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy may have made her name as the bawdy, tomboyish character seen in films like Bridesmaids, The Heat and Tammy, but in her latest film she's diverting to something few of us have seen before from her before.

In biographical drama, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, McCarthy portrays author-turned-literary forger Lee Israel, who had originally made her living in the 60s, 70s and 80s writing biographies about high-powered women, like Estee Lauder and Katharine Hepburn.

Once Israel's more legit work began to dry up in the early 90s, she turned her hand to crime. No longer able to afford her rent and with a poorly cat on her hands, she decided to start selling forged letters that were supposedly written by influential late writers, playwrights and actors. Naturally, things don't end particularly well with that one.

As the plot summary suggests, McCarthy's turn as the down-and-out writer is a far cry from her previous roles, which have seen the actress trying to seduce an air marshall on board a flight, necking shots with Sandra Bullock and raiding a fast food joint with a paper bag on her head.

According to Viral Thread, she's managed to lose a whopping 75lbs (35kg) ahead of her role as Israel, physically marking the deviation from her previous roles. However, her weight loss hasn't been achieved overnight, as McCarthy has previously spoken out about it being a continuous process.

"I'll be up, I'll be down, probably for the rest of my life," she told Refinery29 a few years back. "The thing is, if that is the most interesting thing about me, I need to go have a lavender farm in Minnesota and give this up."

She continued: "If I, off the top of my head, name 20 of the most amazing women in my life, it's all shapes, sizes, ages, colours, jobs. I can only go off my reality. What people pass off as 'normal', I just have to keep in my head that it's bullshit."

McCarthy added: "I know some of those women in those magazines, who get called perfect or whose butt is supposedly better, and often they don't even look like that in person." n

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy may have made her name as the bawdy, tomboyish character seen in films like Bridesmaids, The Heat and Tammy, but in her latest film shes diverting to something few of us have seen before from her before. In biographical drama, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, McCarthy portrays author-turned-literary forger Lee Israel, who had originally made her living in the 60s, 70s and 80s writing biographies about high-powered women, like Estee Lauder and Katharine Hepburn. Once Israels more legit work began to dry up in the early 90s, she turned her hand to crime. No longer able to afford her rent and with a poorly cat on her hands, she decided to start selling forged letters that were supposedly written by influential late writers, playwrights and actors. Naturally, things dont end particularly well with that one. As the plot summary suggests, McCarthys turn as the down-and-out writer is a far cry from her previous roles, which have seen the actress trying to seduce an air marshall on board a flight, necking shots with Sandra Bullock and raiding a fast food joint with a paper bag on her head. According to Viral Thread, shes managed to lose a whopping 75lbs (35kg) ahead of her role as Israel, physically marking the deviation from her previous roles. However, her weight loss hasnt been achieved overnight, as McCarthy has previously spoken out about it being a continuous process. Ill be up, Ill be down, probably for the rest of my life, she told Refinery29 a few years back. The thing is, if that is the most interesting thing about me, I need to go have a lavender farm in Minnesota and give this up. She continued: If I, off the top of my head, name 20 of the most amazing women in my life, its all shapes, sizes, ages, colours, jobs. I can only go off my reality. What people pass off as normal, I just have to keep in my head that its bullshit. McCarthy added: I know some of those women in those magazines, who get called perfect or whose butt is supposedly better, and often they dont even look like that in person. n