Product Description

A hypnotized playboy (Jack Black) who can only see "inner beauty" doesn't realize that his gorgeous girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow) is actually a 300-pound-not-so-hottie. "Heartwarming and hilarious" (WFLD-TV), it's the BIGGEST love story ever told!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12322 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-07-02
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
Coming from the creators of Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary, the sensitivity of Shallow Hal seems like a minor miracle. The codirecting Farrelly brothers haven't forsaken their lowbrow inclinations, but this clever romantic fantasy offers unexpected substance with the same comedic effrontery that made the Farrellys famous. Their antihero is Hal (Jack Black), whose fixation on beautiful women is reversed (after an encounter with self-help guru Tony Robbins) so he can see only the inner beauty of "undesirables" like his new girlfriend Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), now gorgeous in Hal's eyes despite being grossly obese. The movie's handling of this conundrum is sweetly sincere, poking fun at social prejudices while validating those (overweight, homely, disabled) who are often heartbroken by Hal's brand of shallowness. The concept won't hold up to scrutiny (i.e., the movie trades one set of stereotypes for another), but Shallow Hal works as an often hilarious reminder that physical beauty is only skin deep. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The Farrelly brothers try to be sensitive and miss the mark big time. The devilish-looking comedian Jack Black, a sexist loser who wants a physically perfect woman, receives a mystical hypnosis from the (literally) gigantic self-help guru Tony Robbins. While the rest of the world registers an unhappy three-hundred-pound blonde, Black sees a slender Gwyneth Paltrow, and his apparent generosity draws other women to him, too. The Farrelly brothers constantly make the jokes about fat women that they praise Black for not making, thereby reinforcing the very distaste that the movie is ostensibly trying to overthrow. Black is funny when he's dancing or bopping along the street, but the script calls for him to be crass and incapable of noticing anything, and Jason Alexander as his sidekick-an even more hopeless loser-screams and waves his arms endlessly. Paltrow, however, is lovely; when she plays the unhappy big girl (she's encased in layers of padding), her forlorn hopefulness is heartbreaking. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The Bigger The Better!
Being that I am a heavyset person myself, I was able to put that fact aside and appreciate this movie for what it really is. Truthfully, I didn't find this movie funny but I did find a strong message. This movie goes to show that size doesn't have anything to do with the person on the inside. Gwyneth Paltrow's character Rosemary goes to show how underneath all that excess flesh that there is still a person. I think "Shallow Hal" is a movie that helps demolish discrimination against heavyset people. This movie didn't only give examples of heavyset people but of people who were skinny and just not physically attractive to that of one's expectations. Hal is a very shallow character and he is an example of all those people who discriminate against heavyset men and women and people who are not attractive. Like Hal in the movie, people can change and widen their horizons for something more beautiful. "Shallow Hal" is less of a comedy and more of a motivational, moving story about life. I think this is a family friendly movie, something that kids would like as long as the situation is explained to them. Let this movie touch you on several different levels and check it out.

Shallow Hal Shines!
Be prepared . . . this IS a controversial film! Why? The film confronts touchy, personal topics such as being overweight and not being beautiful. It also confronts the topics of being supermodel thin and being incredibly beautiful. Most people don't fall into the Gwyneth Paltrow-looking category, so some may feel uncomfortable, especially if insecure about their own appearance. In short, I firmly believe that Shallow Hal is not aimed at poking fun at the unattractive or the obese. Instead, it bravely attempts to showcase certain issues, while giving it a comedic twist to ease any uncomfortable sentiments by viewers.

Hal is superficial (and note, he himself isn't considered to be attractive by the script), and he centers his actions and even his life around dating beautiful women. When he is hypnotized, Hal starts to only see the inner beauty of women. Thus, when 350 lbs Rosemary, a geniune, caring, and giving woman, crosses Hal's path, he now sees a beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. A love interest pursues . . . Overall, the film conveys some wonderful themes and moral messages about inner beauty, the true beauty.

Some may be disappointed that this film doesn't include the gross humor of There's Something About Mary, but this film is different. Believe it or not, it's a serious flick with serious issues. Go see it today and make your own opinion. :-)

What happens after Gwyneth takes off her fat suit?
This movie has a feel-good message, making it enjoyable enough for three stars. It says that we all deserve to be loved even if we're not physically attractive (in what it considers the "conventional" sense). But will it really change anything of what it deems mere "convention"? Will Gwyneth Paltrow go on being an advocate for the inner beauty of obese people and others "conventionally" unattractive? I kind of think not. Her performance here is significant and may display genuine talent. But most likely her future roles will reflect a sense of glamour in slimness as much as ever, meaning nothing was really changed by the movie. Similarly, will Jack Black, after his similarly impressive performance be any more inclined than before to accept an obese woman as a girlfriend? I similarly doubt that. For all its feel-good message, SHALLOW HAL builds us up for a let-down when we realize its lack of realism. Many of us will go on with our inner beauty as underappreciated as ever because of outer appearances, and will still find hard to swallow that suggestion that prevalent standards of beauty run no deeper than convention.