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Shallow Hal

© Courtney Shannon

Director’s Bobby and Peter Farrelly (of “There’s Something About Mary”) have over used the typical third grade boy humor in their most recent comedy film titled “Shallow Hal.” Hal Larson (played by Jack Black) is a pudgy little man with a big ego when it comes to women. As a young boy Larson sat by his dying father’s side as his dad told him to basically only go for the hottest women around so he doesn’t make the same mistake he did by marrying his mediocre mother. As a grown adult Hal takes his dad’s dying last words to heart and cruised night clubs around town trying to dance with the beautiful models on the floor.

A chance encounter on an elevator with real-life self help guru Tony Robbins, Hal begins to learn that looks are not everything when choosing a life partner. In order for Hal to truly comprehend this profound insight Robbins places a self-help spell on Hal. Now, where ever Hal goes he will only see women’s inner beauty, not their exact outer beauty. What Hal doesn’t know is when he sees what he believes to be a gorgeous woman it turns out this is not what they look like to the average person. In the most progressed stages of the spell Hal meets Rosemary, played by rail thin Gwyneth Paltrow.

Rosemary is an overweight Peace Corp. volunteer who has gone through life being ridiculed so much she is unable to bring herself to accept a compliment. On Rosemary and Hal’s first encounter he sees a lithe beauty, but his friends see a very large woman (Gwyneth Paltrow in a ‘fat suit’). When Hal begins showering Rosemary with compliments she tells him to stop ridiculing her. Confused Hal presses on until he convinces her that they should be a couple. It turns out Rosemary is the daughter of Hal’s boss. Hal is up for a big promotion and his fellow colleagues begin accusing him of acting like he cares for Rosemary when they all know how shallow he really is when it comes to women. When Hal’s overly honest friend ( Jason Alexander of Seinfeld) uncovers why Hal is picking out larger women to date he has the spell reversed with the help of Tony Robbins.

Hal’s cover is blown while at a restaurant with Rosemary. When he goes to return to their table that he left momentarily while at dinner with Rosemary he doesn’t recognize the large woman waiting for him. He forgoes Rosemary’s feelings and ‘Shallow Hal’ slips out of the restaurant unnoticed. Of course the film ends happily, Hal figures out for himself the true meaning of unconditional love and wins Rosemary back. All those involved in the making of the film claim they were not making fun of overweight people. However, it was plainly obvious throughout the movie that they, sadly enough, were. Shallow Hal is not a movie for those who are sensitive about weight jokes or for those who don’t like third grade boy humor either.