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Shallow Hal The Farrelly Brothers are trapped in a rut. After seeing Shallow Hal, it's apparent to me that they want to grow up, but the studio wants them to turn out the same gross out comedies that made them millions. Unfortunately, this is robbing us of a potentially potent filmmaking duo, so I hope the Farrellys get up the courage to make a sweet, dramatic movie because I bet it would be pretty good. Just watch Shallow Hal's best scenes to understand why. Jack Black stars as Hal - a shallow, average looking guy whose life is taking a turn for the worse. He isn't be getting the big promotion he wants at work, and, because he only dates ladies who look like supermodels, he can't find a stable, loving relationship. One fateful day (here we go with that phrase again), Hal shares an elevator ride with Tony Robbins - inspiration guru and millionaire (I bet he owns a mansion and a yacht). After hearing Hal's tale of woe, Tony realizes that this man needs to look for a woman's inner beauty to find true love, so he puts the whammy on our hero. Now, women appear beautiful to Hal if they are beautiful and wonderful on the inside. A couple of sight gags later, Hal meets Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), who looks like, y'know Gwyneth Paltrow to Hal even though she really weighs three hundred pounds. Has Hal found true love? Will the whammy stick or will Hal go back to his shallow ways? Shallow Hal is a sweet, after-school special trying to break free from the tired Farrelly formula of outrageous gags, people with strange physical attributes and inappropriate humor. When the script tears itself away from these cheap sight gags, Shallow Hal can be a sweet, touching morality tale about how we view ourselves and others. When it's not bogged down in an effort to be Seinfeld-ian (the beautiful woman that everyone says is ugly, trying to create silly little catch phrases, the stupid reasons the men dump the women), the dialogue is deep and meaningful. Paltrow is at her best in these dramatic moments, and it's a relief to see Jack Black stop mugging for the camera long enough to deliver his lines. However, the audience is also subjected to the same joke over and over again and the run-of-the-mill toilet humor that has grown tiresome. Finally, I have a bone to pick with Gwyneth. Her performance is good, but she didn't make the ultimate commitment. Robert DeNiro put on somewhere between 80 and 100 pounds for Raging Bull. Renee Zellwegger put on 30 pounds for Bridget Jones's Diary, and Minnie Driver packed on an additional 20 pounds for Circle of Friends. So, how come little Miss Oscar winner decided to wear a fat suit instead of going for the gusto? I say order a pizza and start hanging out with my friends Ben and Jerry (you'll love the peanut butter cup flavor)! If she did that, Gwyneth would cement a place in movie history that no one could have topped. Then again, I am still analyzing the movie to see if I can put the whammy on Gwyneth so she will think I look like Tom Cruise. Overall, Shallow Hal is only half good. Grade: C- Copyright 2001 - WaffleMovies.com
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