Shallow Hal (2001)

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

Directors:

Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Writers:

Sean Moynihan, Peter Farrelly,

Stars:

Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, Jason Alexander

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Rosemary
Jack Black	...	Hal
Jason Alexander	...	Mauricio
Joe Viterelli	...	Steve Shanahan
Rene Kirby	...	Walt
Bruce McGill	...	Reverend Larson
Anthony Robbins	...	Himself (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

Storyline

Following the advice of his dying father, Hal dates only women who are physically beautiful. One day, however, he runs into self-help guru Tony Robbins, who hypnotizes him into recognizing only the inner beauty of women. Hal thereafter meets Rosemary, a grossly obese woman whom only he can see as a vision of loveliness. But will their relationship survive when Hal's equally shallow friend undoes the hypnosis?

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Plot Keywords:

inner beauty | friend | hypnosis | love | self help guru | 

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Taglines:

Are You A Shallow Guy?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Fox

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amor ciego

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,277,183 (UK) (1 February 2002)

Gross:

$70,836,296 (USA) (29 March 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Conundrum Entertainment, Shallow Hal Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Rosemary jumps in the pool, the huge splash was created by two wide hoses (which Gwyneth Paltrow had to dive between) which shot off the streams of water on either side of her, simulating a huge splash of water.

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Goofs

After dating Jill, Hal calls Rosemary on a pay phone, although he has a cellphone.

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Quotes

[Hal is sitting in bed and Rosemary tosses her panties at him. He picks them up and they are revealed to be extremely large]
Hal: What the - ? How did - ?
[Rosemary only smiles]
Hal: Get over here, Houdini!

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Crazy Credits

After the credits, Walt prepares to go skiing.

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Connections

References Shrek (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Handsome Guys"
Written by George Leonard
Performed by Elvis Sinatra

User Reviews

Pretty Funny Film With A Good Message

Do you judge a person - particularly a woman - by her outward appearance? If you do, you're "shallow" and that's the message played out in this comedy.

The humor in here is good, very funny in spots. There are plenty of jokes and sight gags. If you are obese and very sensitive, then skip this film because you won't appreciate some of the humor in this film. But, if you can laugh at yourself, you'll enjoy it too - and especially the message this film brings.

Jack Black was pretty much of an unknown actor when this came out, but he's well-known now after School Of Rock, King Kong and other films. Gwyneth Paltrow everyone knows. She looked very pretty in here, maybe the best I've ever seen her. Jason Alexander and Joe Viterelli provide good supporting help. By the way, it was strange hearing Viterelli with an Irish accent. This is a guy who almost always plays Mafia types.

The only thing offensive to me was the beginning with some irreverent humor that was not needed, not part of the story, just a cheap shot against ministers. Also, for a lightweight comedy, the profanity could have been less. Can't someone make a modern-day comedy without language and sex issues? I wish someone would at least try. It can be done - just look at the classics!

Anyway, this is still a pretty funny story with, of course, a good message about judging a book by its cover.