Search - Shallow Hal [UMD for PSP] on UMD for PSP

In Defense of a great film

M. W. Zeininger | New Orleans, LA USA | 11/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Shallow Hal is generating unnecessary controversy. First of all, the performances are all good. Secondly, the Farrelly Brothers don't always have to be outright mean like the savagely funny "There's Something About Mary" in order to make a successfully told comedy such as "Hal". Yes, I think that there are a few lines that don't make me laugh as much as they maybe should. At first, I thought that the movie was saying that inner beauty must look like supermodel. HOWEVER, I realized something: how is the film supposed to represent Hal's changed perception of women from the outside without giving us a contrast of what everyone else sees to what he sees? Key word: he. This is Hal's idea of beauty, so naturally, inner beauty to him is going to be a knockout. If my idea of inner beauty was a woman who looked like Peter Rabbit, then a movie where I saw inner beauty would have me chasing all over after a bunch of rabbits. But most people wouldn't identify with that. They can identify with what society has defined as beautiful. This isn't forcefully perpetuating a negative societal train of thought. It is allowing people to see Hal's changed perceptions visually while still making sense. When Hal sees everyone for how they really look, he doesn't act like he used to. He doesn't need the "beer goggles" anymore. And that is the point the film is making: No one should need them to begin with. As far as the pratfalls taken by a seemingly skinny Paltrow throughout, they are moments of surprised humor followed by immediate identification and sympathy for Rosemary and her self-consciousness, as well as a chance for us to side with Hal and see his chivalrous actions as perfectly just. I loved "Shallow Hal", from sympathizing with Black's endless energy in his predatory dancing at the beginning (I've been that clueless man), to being happy that he was becoming sincere while making Rosemary feel more self-esteem, to the wonderful ending where she finds true love for her true beauty. Everyone lighten up! I've had plenty of experience being cast out from society, darn it, and this movie was one that made me feel happy, that the one who deserves love and happiness finally gets it. Score one for the good guys!"

Some misconceptions

dogeneedtakeship | 07/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've perused some of the less favorable reviews of this film and I believe there are some misconceptions about its humor and message. One misconception is that the movie makes fun of fat people. It doesn't. There isn't one scene where we ever find ourselves laughing AT Gwyneth Paltrow. What we laugh at are the reactions of Jack Black to what she does. For example, when she downs the milk shake she shares with Black, it's not the gulping of the shake that makes us laugh but Black's incredulity when he turns around and sees an empty cup. And when we see the two in the canoe, it's not the canoe we chuckle at, but the sight of the befuddled Black paddling air. So the laughs don't come at Paltrow's expense; they come at Black's.Yes, the movie relies on typical fat-type jokes - ie, overeating and crumpled funiture. But there is a subtle point in these hackneyed images that distinguishes them from your usual fat fare. Paltrow only seems to overeat by the standards society imposes on women. Like Black says, many women when they go out just order "water and a crumppette"; they deny themselves to satisfy society's expectations. But if they were to eat what THEY wanted, how many do you think wouldn't love to order that pizza burger with the fries and milk shake? Or take more than a "little" slice of cake? We all would! That is, we would if we weren't so concerned about what other people would think. Paltrow eats the way she does NOT because she's fat, but because she feels FREE to eat what she wants. Eating less makes no difference so she has no reason not to do what she wants - which is what the rest of us would also do if we were less uptight.And as for the crumpled chairs and the poor little car's suspension, there's a subtle point here, too. It's not that Paltrow is too heavy; it's that these people are not only ignored in the media but they are also forgotten in the design of the most basic artifacts of everyday life (chairs, cars, etc.). In other words, society treats fat people as if they don't exist. Now, is that a comment on fat people? Or on society? Where's the insult here?Another common misconception is that by using a model-like beauty like Paltrow in the lead role, the message of the film is still that "fat is ugly, thin is beautiful". I disagree. I can see why this might be the first impression because Paltrow IS used to represent Black's ideal of beauty, indeed, OUR ideal of beauty. But the reason this is done is because the film has to use a common language of beauty to communicate its ideas to the audience. The only common language everyone speaks is the one we see everyday in the media - ie, the thin, waif-like model ideal. So when we see Paltrow, the message ISN'T "thin is beautiful", the message is "thin REPRESENTS beauty". Because that's the only kind of beauty we RECOGNIZE. In other words, thinness is NOT beauty but a signpost pointing to beauty. And the direction the movie points is inwards: true beauty is NOT thinness at all - in fact, it has nothing to do with what a person looks like on the outside - true beauty is what a person is on the inside.If you still doubt this then just ask yourself this: at the end of the film did you or did you not think the fat Paltrow was beautiful? I did. Not because of the way she looked, fat or thin, but because of who she was.A good movie. Funny and touching AND it made it's point worth making w/o preaching."