Shallow Hal (2001)

Directors:

Bobby Farrelly
Peter Farrelly

Writers (WGA):

Sean Moynihan (written by) &
Peter Farrelly (written by) ...

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

The Biggest Love Story Ever Told.

Plot:

A shallow man falls in love with a 300 pound woman because of her "inner beauty".

Plot Keywords:

Inner Beauty | Hypnosis | Love | Swimming Pool | Sick Children

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Rosemary
Jack Black	...	Hal
Jason Alexander	...	Mauricio
Joe Viterelli	...	Steve Shanahan
Rene Kirby	...	Walt
Bruce McGill	...	Reverend Larson
Anthony Robbins	...	Tony Robbins (as Tony Robbins)
Susan Ward	...	Jill
Zen Gesner	...	Ralph
Brooke Burns	...	Katrina
Rob Moran	...	Second Tiffany
Joshua 'Li'iBoy' Shintani	...	Li'iBoy
Kyle Gass	...	Artie
Laura Kightlinger	...	Jen
Nan Martin	...	Nurse Tanya Peeler

Also Known As:

Schwer verliebt (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:Livre | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (NO. 38611)

Filming Locations:

Bank of America World Headquarters Building - 100 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

At McIntosh's, the restaurant where Mauricio (Jason Alexander) calls Hal and makes him stop seeing women's inner beauty, when Hal sees Rosemary as she actually is, he says, "Hey! Now she's eating my clams casino!". In "Seinfeld" (1990), this is the same meal that George Costanza, played by Alexander, orders.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rosemary leaves the restaurant crying after Hal doesn't recognize her, the edge of the "fat suit" is visible under the end of her sleeve.

Quotes:

Tony Robbins: You got a pattern of judging women by their exterior, we can't talk about it, we need to break it, I want you to ask yourself has there ever been a time where you have been increasingly shallow, you just looked at a woman and thought you were better then she was.
Hal: All the time.
[Tony Robbins puts his hands on Hal's head]
Tony Robbins: [yells] DEVILS COME OUT!
Hal: What the hell are you doing banana hands?
Tony Robbins: Just hang on, remember how I told you we just got to jolt your nervous system, not just talking about it, now I want you to relax, I won't do that again.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: Hell Comes to Quahog (#5.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Stan Gets Me

One of the sweetest movies I've ever seen!

No contest, I will say this marks the best of the Farrelly Brothers. Not because this film is laugh-out-loud funny--it's funny, but not hilarious--but because it has a great heart and delivers a beautiful message without any corny Hollywood pretentions. Sure, the premise is funny--a shallow guy gets virtually hypnotized into thinking all the unattractive women he sees are foxes and ends up going out with a 500-pound woman who he also thinks is a fox. It's a great premise, but the Farrellys don't fixate on that premise alone, preventing it from turning it into a lame, one-joke slapstick comedy. This is a comedy with heart--a rare finding. In between laughs, you really get wrapped up in the characters and storyline. The gags flow quite naturally, without the Farrellys forcing any humor onto the screen. If a comic opportunity comes along, they take advantage, but there's no random acts of slapstick.

I am pleasantly surprised with Jack Black, who has proved in this movie that he doesn't only have what it takes as a comic actor, but also as a serious actor and a romantic lead. I've always enjoyed seeing him on screen, but he usually plays the same wound-up, hyperkinetic characters. Basically, he's funny, but you still know you're watching Jack Black on screen. This time he exercises his ability as a method actor, he succeeds well. Gwyneth Paltrow is adorable and sweet, capturing the audience's sympathy with her winning smile. Joe Viterelli is amusing as her overweight Irish father, and actually pulls off a fairly convincing Irish accent. The sizzling hot Brooke Burns makes a few appearances. And Jason Alexander is always a joy to watch.

I think "Shallow Hal" does the best job at conveying the message that beauty is on the inside. It has been conveyed before in films like "The Nutty Professor," but I feel this film conveyed it best. This could've easily been a 105-minute fat joke, but it doesn't travel that route. There are no crude or mean-spirited gags. Could it be that the Farrelly Brothers matured? Even of the films of theirs that I liked (ex.: "Dumb and Dumber," "There's Something About Mary") are a little uneven and contain a few gags that are just plain cruel. Like in "Mary," Cameron Diaz's brother is mentally ill and the butt of a few jokes. Here, we have a character that walks on both his arms and legs, but he's portrayed as a normal character, and not as a gimmick for some cheap laughs. There are moments that really tugged at my heartstrings. The "burn victim" scene brought quite a few tears to my eyes. The story is solid, with no boring lulls. And the soundtrack is pretty good--I have criticized the Farrellys in the past for using crappy music in their sountracks.

If you're looking for a good romantic/date movie with some good laughs and a good message, "Shallow Hal" will be an absolute delight.

My score: 8 (out of 10)