What's Eating Ralphie May?

Filmmaker Cat Rhinehart sets out to make a weight loss documentary on the beloved comedian Ralphie May, who is planning on having lap band surgery the following summer. As she spends the year filming Ralphie, along with his wife and two young children, it becomes clear the larger than life comedian has no intention of losing weight. Ralphie’s wife, fellow comedian Lahna Turner, slowly begins to realize her husband isn’t going to change, and no amount of pressure from her, nor past health scares he’s had, can compel Ralphie to change. Midway through filming, Ralphie decides not to have his scheduled weight loss surgery; a devastating blow to his wife and loved ones. A compromise is made, and a personal trainer is sent on the road with Ralphie during his nation wide tour in the hopes to help the comedian lose weight in lieu of surgery. Ralphie’s demanding tour schedule and pressure to lose weight puts a heavy strain on his relationship with his wife, forming a powder keg that blows while the family is on tour together. After a particularly bad fight with his wife, Lahna takes the children and flies back to their Los Angeles home. Ralphie eventually files for divorce, leaving Lahna to deal with the aftermath of trying to keep the family together. On October 6, 2017, Ralphie unexpectedly died during his residency in Vegas. The film revisits Lahna and the children two years later in an epilogue. (Nashville Film Festival)