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SHALLOW HAL Send This Review to a Friend
Essentially a one-joke comedy, "Shallow Hal" provides enough gross humor to tap into what young moviegoers seem to like these days. The joke involves making fun of fat women. But the film wants it both ways. It also lets the hero love a fatty even when he realizes how much of a blimp she is. Since this is a film directed by Bobby and Peter
Farrelly, you can bet that the comedy will be irreverent.
The gag is set up when Hal (Jack Black), who can't find a relationship because he only is interested in beautiful women, who in turn reject him, is hypnotized by self-help expert Tony Robbins (playing himself) so that he'll only see the inner beauty of a woman. As a result, when he sees Rosemary, who is obese with legs like tree stumps and a mountainous rear, he views only a very svelte Gwyneth Paltrow. He simply doesn't see the reality. This leads him to innocently make awful remarks complimenting Rosemary on her beauty.
There are some very funny moments, as when Paltrow sits on a restaurant banquette that suddenly collapses or when she takes off her clothes (we get a rear view) and tosses her panties to Hal, eagerly awaiting in bed and bewildered at the enormous undergarment that lands on him. When Paltrow, who only briefly gets into a fat suit, is seen as her usual gorgeous self plunging into a pool, an enormous geyser of water shoots up with a further sight gag to match. You get the idea.
Humor is also added by Jason Alexander, best known as George Costanza in TV's "Seinfeld," as Hal's bewildered, exasperated buddy Mauricio, who finds a way to reverse the hypnotic spell. The Farrellys also daringly mine comedy out of the casting of Rene Kirby as Walt. Kirby in real life has spina bifida and walks on all fours, as does Walt, who hangs out with the guys and attracts good-looking women. Not many directors would be bold enough to place such a character in comic situations, albeit with respect.
But there's a basic problem with "Shallow Hal." One can tire of the gross edge and the humor at times is merely sophomoric, compounded by the consistently over-the-top acting by both Black and Alexander. A 20th Century Fox release.
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