Summary Capsule
Shallow player gets a mind-change and only sees the inner beauty of women and pork products
Justin's Rating: Hollywood Fashion Trend: The Fat Suit
Justin's Review: Trust me, if you're thinking about seeing this movie, you probably have very little idea of what you're getting yourself into. Not an inkling, neither a nagging notion, my friend! I mean, you see "From the directors of There's Something About Mary" and you think painful zippers and earmuffs and hair gel. Then you see Gweneth Paltrow in a fat suit, and you think The Nutty Professor, or Big Momma's House, or even (shudder) American Sweethearts. It's become so vogue in Hollywood to wear fat suits that I wouldn't be shocked if Arnold didn't don one for a chubby Terminator in the third installment. But really, none of these preconceptions are even close to what you're going to get - but I almost don't care what you expect, because if you do see Shallow Hal, you're going to get a good experience.
My mom, who saw this with me and my dad, kept calling it "The Fat Movie." As in, "Do we have to see The Fat Movie?" and "Yeah, Lora, I'm taking Justin to see The Fat Movie." In an ironic twist, we saw it at a movie theater where we could also eat dinner. So as we're chowing down on burgers and buffalo wings, we're watching The Fat Movie. Ah, I love this country.
Shallow Hal stars Jack "brought to you by the letter D" Black as Hal, a somewhat average-looking player on the love scene who always dates way out of his range. His (and his friend's) sole standard for women come from their looks, which makes the moral point of the movie about two minutes in. Let me recap for those out there without a Jimminy Cricket within: "Don't judge a DVD by its packaging." Hal gets locked into an elevator with motivational speaker Tony Robbins (who looks like a freakish version of Ben Affleck - just try not to stare at his deformed head!), who promptly hypnotizes Hal into seeing the "inner beauty" of women instead of their outside. This is the gimmick of the film. Nod your head so I know I haven't lost you yet.
So naturally Hal starts hitting on all these women he thinks are beautiful, but who are in fact ugly/deformed/fat girls with good souls. The whole gimmick of him seeing inner beauty doesn't hold up well under close examination. I mean, he's still liking a girl for how she looks, it's just that they've been artificially raised to a beautiful look. In other words, HE'S STILL SHALLOW; his standards haven't changed, just his perception. Also, the film doesn't really allow for the possibility that a pretty or handsome person could be good inside, and vice versa. But oh well, this is all lubrication in the plot combustion engine so that Hal falls in love with Rosemary (Gweneth "the polar opposite of fat" Paltrow), the most beautiful woman in the world. Who weighs about 500 pounds.
Now if you've seen Me, Myself and Irene or Dumb and Dumber, you might be really bracing for the onslaught of fat jokes from here on out. And there are some, but what is utterly surprising is that scarcely any joke is made at the mean expense of the fat or ugly or deformed person. As Hal becomes a very likable character, who woos the grossly obese Rosemary (who for the most part we see as her slimmer version), The Fat Movie becomes a really warm-hearted story about the need to be loved and to accept people for who they truly are. It celebrates in the strange-looking in our society and their charming natures.
Now, you may laugh at me for saying this, but this would make an *excellent* date movie. Really. It's all about sensative feelings and introspection and other happy junk that girls like to read about in Cosmo. And yet, it still has a few gags and plot devices to appeal to men. Plus, Shallow Hal contains one of the most Webster moments captured on film this past year. For those of you unfamiliar with the Webster TV show, it had an audience "awwwwww" track that played every time the too-cute kid Webster did something too cute. I really can't spoil this moment for you, but it about breaks your heart when it gets there.
The Fat Movie is good. Justin has proclaimed it to be, and therefore it is. May you live happily ever after with a 76HH bra.
 2001 Rated PG-13 Romance Comedy Director
Starring
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During the end credits, pictures of the crew are shown as their names appear. We also see scenes of a deleted horseback sequence.
After the credits, Walt prepares to go skiing.
Little known fact about the Farrelly brothers that I picked up from Ebert's review, they both are very much involved with working with the mentally retarted in a non-movie sense
The Movie Store!
Shallow Hal: Soundtrack [CD]
Intermission!
Here's something I don't get that seems to be happening a lot lately in comedy movies. Comedians show up for bit parts (nothing unusual about that), but the roles end up being completely serious and non-funny. Check out Molly Shannon in the opening scene here as Hal's mom, or Chevy Chase in Orange County, or John Cleese in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Is their mere presence supposed to send us so much into stitches that no joke is necessary?
If you liked this movie, try these:
There's Something About Mary
Dumb and Dumber
Dogfight
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