Cow. Slob. Pig. How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus sized-and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, finally he comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks. Neil LaBute's sharply drawn play not only critiques our slavish adherence to Hollywood ideals of beauty but boldy questions our own ability to change what we dislike about ourselves. Neil LaButeis a critically acclaimed writer-director for both the stage and screen. His works include the stage dramasThe Distance from Hereandbash: latterday playsand the filmsIn the Company of Men,Your Friends and Neighbors,Nurse Betty, andPossession, as well as the play and film adaptation ofThe Shape of Things. How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sizedand then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, Tom finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks. Thus LaBute's sharply drawn play not only critiques our slavish adherence to Hollywood ideals of beauty but boldly questions our own ability to change what we dislike about ourselves. "LaBute [is] the dark shining star of stage and film morality."Linda Winer,Newsday "LaBute [is] the dark shining star of stage and film morality."Linda Winer,Newsday "[LaBute's] view of modern men and women is unsparing . . . [He] is holding up a pitiless mirror to ourselves. We may not like what we see, but we can't deny thatif only in some dark corner of our soulsit is there."Jacques Le Sourd,The Journal News(White Plains, New York) "LaBute [is] our American Aesop, a mad moral fabulist serving stiff tonic for our country's sin-sick souls."John Istel,American Theatre "There is no playwright on the planet these days who is writing better than Neil LaBute."John Lahr,The New Yorker