SHALLOW HAL
Released: November 9, 2001
When "Osmosis Jones" came out during the summer of 2001 I have to admit I wanted to see the film in the theatre. After all, it's a Farrelly brothers movie - you know going in it will be a smartly written and entertaining fart and vomit movie. Well, I will have to catch up with "Osmosis Jones" on the rental shelf but keeping up with directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly is getting harder and harder since they just keep releasing movies in quick succession. A mere few months later and we're given "Shallow Hal". In the vein of previous Farrelly brothers movies like "Dumb And Dumber", "Kingpin", "There's Something About Mary" and "Me, Myself And Irene", the duo tackle another serious topic - how we percieve others - and laminates it with their trademark sense of humor. Now, some will find a movie of this subject matter offensive. After all, it's wrong to poke fun at overweight people. Those who are quick to condemn "Shallow Hal" as an all-out attack on ugly and/or fat people are missing point. In actuality, "Shallow Hal" is attacking the stereotypical attitudes of many of us who do the hurtful jabs at those who may not be the definitive supermodel perfect package. In his first starring role, Jack Black is Hal, a not altogether attractive guy himself, who bases his dating challenges simply on the woman's appearance. Black, who has been making a career playing quirky characters in movies like "High Fidelity" and "Saving Silverman", does Hal justice and proves he can carry a movie. Playing the 300 lb. woman of his rose colored glasses dreams is Gwyneth Paltrow. I give Paltrow credit for taking on a Farrelly brothers flick and she does a super job, especially when decked out in the "fat suit" and make up. Jason Alexander, struggling to keep in the public eye after TV's "Seinfeld" wrapped, is Hal's buddy who also astonishingly bases his female dating methodology on the woman's looks. He even has the nerve to dump a beautiful girlfriend simply because one of her toes is a little longer than the ones on either side. Another thing that makes a Farrelly brothers movie fun to watch is that you can tell how obvious it is that they enjoyed making it. The end credits are a tribute to the many crew members who do the behind the scenes tasks but are not merely "crew" but are actually friends of Peter and Bobby Farrelly. The results are an entertaining movie, and I'll be checking out "Osmosis Jones" soon to make sure I'm caught up on the Farrelly series of movies...
113 Minutes
20th Century Fox