Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:53 - Released 11/9/01
SHALLOW HAL
Rated PG-13 - Running Time: 1:53 - Released 11/9/01
I saw one of those half-hour promo shows about Shallow Hal
last week (you know, the ones where they show practically the
whole movie?), and watched Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, and several
others sit there straight-faced and pretend it's a deep, thoughtful
treatise on the nature of society. Well...... Although this latest
film from the Farrelly brothers tries to have a social
conscience, it struggles greatly to keep its head above water
from a P.C. standpoint. That's not to say it doesn't have its
moments. But trying to make a movie about fat people that doesn't
make fun of fat people, using thin people in fat makeup instead
of real fat people, is a tricky business. Of course, it doesn't
help that this film is written and directed by Bobby and Peter
Farrelly, who have become internationally famous for being intentionally
offensive, from their debut Dumb & Dumber through There's Something About Mary,
all the way up to and including this summer's cartoon offering
Osmosis Jones. Now
these guys are trying to have a conscience? Right.
The story involves Hal (Black), a guy who goes out to clubs
with his best friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander), scoping out babes
who are clearly "out of his league," and enduring numerous
brush-offs by beautiful women every night of his life. When he
is stranded in an elevator with famous motivational speaker Anthony
Robbins (playing himself), the guru hypnotizes him into seeing
only the inner beauty in people. So when he meets Rosemary
Shanahan, a friendly, personable, intelligent social worker who
has to weigh over 300 pounds without a stitch of clothing on,
he sees a girl that looks exactly like Gwyneth Paltrow. The thing
is, Hal doesn't know he's been brain-washed, so he thinks
Mauricio is crazy when he refers to Rosemary as a "rhino";
meanwhile, Mauricio (and everyone else, including Rosemary and
her parents) doesn't understand why Hal is so thankful to be dating
such an incredible hottie. Eventually, of course, Hal's spell
is broken, and he must decide whether he can still love a woman
who can't fit comfortably in a phone booth.
This movie suffers from a split personality regarding its attitude
toward fat/ugly people. While its overall tone and its inevitable
final resolution bear the "aren't we all beautiful just the
way we are" message, its use of makeup and the campy predilection
of its directors often push it overboard into the well-established,
offensive Farrelly territory. What's more, it's brought down by
the poor performances of many supporting cast members, such as
Black's girlfriend, SNL alum and comedian Laura Kightlinger,
and his Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass, who play a married couple
with no reason to be in the film other than being friends of Black's,
and mob movie regular Joe Viterelli, inexplicably donning an Irish
accent he apparently learned from watching Lucky Charms commercials,
as Rosemary's protective father. I guess this is the only way
he can manage to appear not-Italian.
Regardless of its conflicted tone and other shortcomings, the film does further illustrate not only the humorously intense charm of Jack Black, but the Oscar-winning thespian abilities of Gwyneth Paltrow, who says that in this film she tried not to differentiate stylistically between the "thin Rosemary" and the "heavy Rosemary." And indeed, even when she is appearing as herself without the padding, Paltrow is seen struggling to get out of car seats, walking slowly and tiring easily, etc., and even when endowed with pounds of foam rubber, she lets the spark of her character's likable personality shine through, obviously putting some thought into a part she could easily have dismissed as a throwaway. ***½