Rating: 
Summary: What happens after Gwyneth takes off her fat suit?
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Offensive
Review: The Farrelly brothers are known for tasteless comedy. No problem with that. But they too often revel in pure stupidity, which has merits alone, and THEN throw in moments of reflection, vomit-inducing happy songs, and a "deep" meaning so that we feel better after laughing at fat people, handicapped people, etc.This film is offensive to your intelligence. Cheap audience manipulation at its worst. It forces you to stare at only one of the most beautiful actresses in film in Paltrow, but then be reminded that she is a 400 lb. porker who, and let's face it, most men wouldn't give the time of day in terms of a relationship. And of course our protagonist falls for her, despite her weighing in just under Connecticut. Let's face it, if Jack Black was YOUR friend (and thank God he isn't) you would have him committed before he hooked this one. This is yet another Farrelly contribution to the laughing at... handicapped, disfigured people, fat people, etc. Hey, you wanna make a movie about that, fine. People will watch it, because sometimes EVERYONE is a jerk. But when they try to throw in a good lesson, and any kind of mush involving FEELINGS after we've watched a 5th grade-level joke, it's offensive to any thinking adult. Go and rent Kingpin instead. At least that had the least amount of mush in it and plenty of laugh-out-loud dumb jokes. Otherwise, stay far, far away from this thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, but the best part about Shallow Hal is the drama.
Review: "Shallow Hal" (2001) I will admit the rumours are true. The Farrelly's are going a little softer. Me, Myself and Irene and There's Something About Mary were quite sickening, but Shallow Hal comes a little more from the heart. While I enjoyed the Farrelly brothers' gross-out phase very much, I am immensely enjoy seeing them become less crude and try something new. The performances in this movie are the best thing in Shallow Hall, even though the Farrelly's directing is fabulous (their directing may be a result of the performances though). Jack Black gets his first full-on leading role and makes his character seem both shallow and sensitive. Jason Alexander doesn't do his best with this performance, and one of his twists in the story is probably the worst aspect of the film, but he still manages to make us chuckle a little. Gwyneth Paltrow is the magic in the movie. Paltrow embodies her amazingly nice and ferociously fat character with warmth and depth. When she smiles, I smile. When she cries...well, I almost cried. And come on, this is from the Farrelly brothers! Not the response you think of when you hear the phrase "from the directors of Dumb & Dumber and There's Something About Mary", but this movie's performances work wonders thank to its dedicated cast and directing efforts. The script in the film is of constant high quality. The idea was very original and the lead characters quite developed. The laughs in this movie were very funny and give the movie its crude humour. I actually preferred the romance in the movie. It felt less forced and not as fast as the jokes, the romance was very built up in the film. However the comedy was an important aspect of the film and the movie wouldn't have worked just as a romantic drama. Shallow Hal's message comes across wonderfully. This movie is all about seeing the inner-beauty in people and not just looking on the outside for their personalities. This moral is given across very cleverly and clearly, and if you come out of the film and you see an overweight person you might have second thoughts about judging them on their appearance. I thought it was wonderful how this movie brought this point across, and it worked for me on a personal level. Despite the excellence of the performances and message in the movie, there were flaws. As I mentioned earlier in this review, Jason Alexander's twist (won't ruin it in here) was just stupid, although it did make me fall on the ground with laughter, it was just silly. Some of the movie is quite predictable, and the hypnosis story could've been done better. Possible spoilers - After saying 5 words, a person wouldn't just click back into reality. Apart from that, the hypnotism idea did bring the point of the film across nicely sometimes, but the way Hal started seeing things normally again after Alexander's character saying 5 words to him over a cell phone is a little disappointing. The thing that puts Shallow Hal's flaws aside is its touching story. With some flat faults, I would usually give a film a B, but this movie will get higher than that because it showed the true feelings of loneliness and depression when obesity is involved. This movie is truly touching, uproariously funny and one of the best comedies of 2001. Oh, and did I mention Gwyneth Paltrow wears nothing more than a thong in one scene? Now, tell me, how could you possibly resist? MY GRADE: B+
Rating:
Summary: Enough with the hurt feelings, watch this sweet movie.
Review: Great movie for everyone. Shallow Hal follows his father's deathbed advice on only seeking the companionship of hot chicks until an encounter with Tony Robbins allows him to experience inner virtue manifest as external beauty (and vice versa) instead. When his best friend discovers what has happened and urges Robbins to help him remove the binders to get the old Hal back, will Hal be able to reconcile the conflict of inner virtue versus external appearence? Great perfomances from Jack Black, Gwenyth Paltrow and Robbins(!) make up for the contemptable little monster Jason Alexander portrays. Very much like the Costanza character from Seinfeld but even more selfish. There are some very touching scenes in this movie when Hal discovers what has happened to him and struggles to reconcile the experience with what his life was like before. The message is delivered a little bluntly, but I still give it my highest recommendation as a must see; just shy of five stars though, for some of the overkill.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: THis is indeed a funny movie, trying also to give a message about prejudiced and shallow people who only cares about beauty and fashion (a common thing in our days). But, in paradox, Gwyneth is so marvellous and beautiful here, that the only thing you wish is to be with someone as wonderful as Gwyneth!!! Just joking... THe movie is very good, enjoyable to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Jack Black reveals he is a real actor.
Review: Cute&funny. G.Paltrow.....who cares! Jack Black is finally a romantic lead..and well deserved. The only problem is Jason Alexander still playing George C. AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Stick to the stage Jason. Jack....deserving praises...be careful not to be type-casted! You are a great actor! G Platrow, and J. Alexander costed this movie 1 star.....Jack you rule!
Rating:
Summary: Shallow Hal ***1/2
Review: Shallow Hal, is a film about Hal a 20 something guy who after his father's death is a very shallow person, one day a famous hypnotist,hypnotizes him so he can see the inner beauty of people, then he falls in love with Rosemary and obesssed girl, well Shallow Hal is a funny comedy, it does have a lot of laughs, but it sometimes dull, here is my review
PLOT:A very good plot...
SCREENPLAY:Well, the storyline is excellent and the dialouge is too...
ACTING:Well, Jack Black does not have much of a charm, but Jason Alexander and Gwyneth Paltrow steal the film, ****
LAUGHS: A lot, but when you laugh, it sort of a guilty pleasure, because you can't stop thinking if someone would be offended. ****1/2
ENTERTAINMENT...1/2, the film made me laugh, but sometimes it was dull.
INTELLIGENCE:Well, is not a stupid comedy, if it wasn't for a thing that one of the characters has, it would have been really smart.... 1/2
Shallow Hal is a funny, smart, well acted comedy, but as i have told before, is a bit dull, but i enjoyed it, but i don't think i will add it to my DVD collection
Rating:
Summary: Strangely subtle, scarcely offensive
Review: Subtle is not a word one usually thinks of when you see the phrase 'from the directors of Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary...' or when you see that the two members of Tenacious D are starring in a movie by the Farrelly brothers. Oddly enough, it's the only word I can think of to describe the humor in Shallow Hal. That just makes me feel all weird inside. Here's the spoiler-free synopsis of the movie... Hal (Black) and Mauricio (Alexander) are best friends, and both of them are unlucky in love. Mauricio is very, very neurotic. (Then again, this is they guy who played George in Seinfeld. Ever hear of that show?). Crazy neurotic. He's trying to ditch his latest girlfriend because her 'index' toe is longer than her big toe. Hal aims far, far too high. `That Britney Spears girl is good, but she's too muscular.' He's completely fixated on how a woman looks. This doesn't apply to his male friends, however. Mauricio has a very bad toupee, and another of his friends, Walt (Rene Kirby)... I won't ruin that surprise. So, Hal has earned a shallow reputation, hence the title of the movie. Everything changes when his perceptions are altered by self-help guru Tony Robbins (played by Tony Robbins). Hal is now able to see inner beauty, which leads him to Rosemary (Paltrow). Rosemary is gorgeous, at least in Hal's eyes. For the rest of the world, however, it's a different story. How is any of this subtle? You'll just have to trust me on this. Don't go into Shallow Hal expecting the sort of gross-out gags that the Farrelly brothers are known for. There are some cartoonish exaggerations in some scenes, but it's not nearly as over-the-top as their previous films. The tone of the film is almost philisophical. That's right ' I used the P word in a review of a movie by the guys who wrote and filmed the 'hair gel' gag. Shallow Hal seems almost mature. I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing or not, but it works in this movie. 'Do looks matter?' It's a tough question, and even tougher to base a romantic comedy around. In some ways, no, looks don't matter. It's what's inside that counts. On the other hand, if looks didn't matter, I wouldn't be reviewing this movie in the first place. It's a tough issue, and I'm not about to go into it, or divulge details about one of the best scenes in the movie. As far as the acting goes, Jack Black is only beginning to be recognized by the general public. He's been big in the undergournd for years, both with his band Tenacious D (which includes Shallow Hal co-star Kyle Gass), and as a bit player in movies like The Jackal, The Cable Guy, Mars Attacks!, and Bob Roberts.. Black should have won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar (R) for his roleas Barry in High Fidelity. He's an amazing character actor, but I'm not sure he's meant to be in the lead. Unless it's in a Tenacious D movie. (If you know The D, you'll understand.) Gwyneth Paltrow is flat-out adorable in this movie, and does some very good physical acting as well. Most of the time, we see Rosemary through Hal's eyes, yet she's able to act 300 lbs. quite well. Watch how she sits. Also watch her eyes. She has an amazingly expressive face. Jason Alexander seems to have become typecast as a neurotic little man. That's ok, however, because he plays the role well. It's a short review because some of the things I'm trying to convey really need to be seen to be understood, and trying to describe some of the scenes will ruin the impact.
Rating:
Summary: Another romantic comedy.
Review: If you've seen Jack Black in High Fidelity, and you liked him there. Then you'll probably enjoy this film as well. If a person's looks matched their personalities, then a lot of the people you see wouldn't look the same at all. Sometimes, the average looking person carries a heart of gold. We've all heard the saying it's what's inside that counts, but it really takes a lot of courage to say "looks don't matter." That's what this film explores. It's fun to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: A Touching Movie With Depth
Review: I saw this movie 3 times because I liked it so much. When I saw the previews, it was on my list of movies to see, but I didn't expect to like it very much and I wasn't in a hurry to see it. When I saw it I was surprised by how good it was and it is now one of my favorite movies.I have been overweight and have felt not very pretty, so I could really identify with what some of the characters felt and how they acted. I was fascinated by the way the movie showed how differently things can be seen and how unimportant outer beauty is. I think that people with depth will love this movie and shallow people will probably not enjoy it very much. If you are a person who likes movies that stimulate your mind and make you think differently or a person who likes to look at the deeper side of life, this is a great movie to see.
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