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Shallow Hal

Shallow Hal

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An unusual comedy promise.
Review: When a young boy (Sasha Neulinger) sees his father (Bruce McGill) dies on his death bed in the hospital & the boy promises to his father that he will do better for himself to find the most attractive woman. When he becomes a man (Jack Black), he becomes Shallow and too picky to find himself a relationship. When he gets Hypnotizes by a T.V. Guru (Tony Roberts) to see a Woman better at the Heart. Then later, He falls for an attractive lady (Oscar-Winner:Gwyneth Paltrow) to his mind, who has a soft heart but he doesn't really how she really looks like outside, beside his Cruel Best Friend (Jason Alexander).

Directed by Bobby & Peter Farrelly (Stuck on You, Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin) made an unusual likeable fantasy romantic comedy. Paltrow & Black are amusing in this film, which the film silly plot make almost no sense what so ever but it's genuine touching at times. DVD's has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer & an fine-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has an commentary track by the Farrelly's Brothers, Deleted/Extended Scenes, Outtakes & more. It's a strange comedy but in one way, the film works pretty well. Written by Sean Mognihan, Peter & Bobby Farrelly. Molly Shannon appears Unbilled. Grade:A-.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: worst farrelly brothers movie ever
Review: this is a not so great film. 2 hours of just not the farrelly brothers movie i was expecting.i gave it a 3 because the only funny person in it is george from seinfeld. by the way the seinfeld season dvd's better come out, cause if they dont(me shaking my fist). this movie isnt so bad, but really its the type of movie you take your girlfriend to.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: another really funny movie
Review: Okay I admit it between this , Saving Silverman , and Orange County i'm a big fan of Jack Blacks work. He's really funny. This movie is also really funny but it's got allot of heart also. Hal is a relatively shallow guy. He only dates really beautiful women. Well he meets Tony Robbins in an elevator and Tony hypnotizes Hal so he will only see the inner beauty of women and even really ugly women will seem beautiful to him. He meets Rosemarie who he sees as a knockout but she's really a 300 pound women and Mauricio his best friend notices that first thing. He goes on a search trying to find Tony and get the spell undone for Hal can see the real Rosemarie. Hal does see the real Rosemarie but he's still in love with her. This has a really sweet ending and it's a great date movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: True Love is worth the "weight"!!!
Review: Jack Black is "Shallow Hal", a superficial skirt chaser who, after a mind-altering experience with a self-help guru, doesn't realize that his gorgeous girlfriend is actually a 300-pound not-so-hottie. Meanwhile, Hal's playboy pal Mauricio is determined to break the spell before someone gets...squashed! This movie is packed with loads of laughs and non stop fun. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves comedies and a good laugh!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "You gotta wonder, where does she put it all?"
Review: Jack Black makes this film a success. A short, pudgy, Pillsbury doughboy with an arsenal of maniacal facial expressions, Black is absolutely perfect as "Shallow Hal" Larson, an average guy looking for love in all the wrong places (namely, gorgeous women out of his league). And when Hal is "tricked" by motivational icon Tony Robbins to only see the "inner beauty" of people, the stage is set for a hilarious romp, courtesy of the Farrelly brothers.

And indeed, Hal's new perspective does bring romance, a heart-pounding love with blonde knockout Rosemary Shanahan (a stunning Gwyneth Paltrow). Problem is, Hal sees a supermodel--everyone else sees the "real" Rosemary, a profoundly obese woman. Oblivious to the incredulity of those around him--including Rosemary--Hal falls even more in love, treating his lady like a goddess. Only when the "spell" is broken does Hal realize it's time to do some soul searching, to challenge his built-in bias for physical beauty. His subsequent epiphany is funny; it's also quite poignant.

Jason Alexander as Hal's equally shallow best friend Mauricio is hysterical; and be sure to keep watching through the closing credits for an extra treat from Rene Kirby, a physically disabled actor who puts a whole new dimension into snow skiing. No, SHALLOW HAL will not be revered as a cinematic masterpiece generations from now. . .or will it? You never know: the "Jack Black" look may come in vogue.
--D. Mikels

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: sweet
Review: This is unbelieveably a Farrelly Brothers movie. Most of the movies they do are very offensive. This however is a very sweet romantic comedy. Great.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of a kind.
Review: When "Dumb and Dumber" got so much publicity I, foolishly, decided to watch it. I never knew going to the movies could be so anguishingly boring and embarrassing at the same time. I actually walked out.
After that I naturally despised those directors. But something about the trailer of this film made me go see it.

And it really touched my heart. It's a good movie about good people, but at the same time the most opposite thing to "The Sound of Music" imaginable. It's a movie that makes you feel good about rooting for the actual good guys of real life - not super-heroes or Mad-Max kind of cops, but those who volunteer to go to hospitals and visit children who have sustained severe burns, people who don't care how much money you have, people who need to see your inner beauty to fall in love with you, etc.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Black are just perfect. They really moved me.

The scene where the gold digger explains Paltrow how she "fell in love" with a guy she had known for years once he came by a lot of money, might be forgotten as one of those beautiful movie moments that will forever go unsung because the directors ruined their shot at being considered "serious" artists.
I actually love this movie. The gross-our humor is still there, but it's most likely what's keeping such a dignifying, all around good people movie from falling into saccharine land.

I think it's quite unique.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: a great view seeing Paltrow in a purple thong
Review: i tell ya I freezed the movie when paltrow stripped down to her thongy. but his movie is supposed to be about a message and then it has all these crappy non funny jokes and its stupid and the worst part is seeing JAson Alexander with that thing in his back, the little dog tail, just plain crumbby

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Fresh New Twist to an Old Cliche
Review: The Farrelly brothers, they of Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary infamy, have pretty much made a career out of giving us a lot to laugh about and not a whole lot to think about. So seeing the names of these masters of superficial, often crude buffoonery attached to this fairly thought-provoking entry is, to say the least, a pleasant surprise.

The movie tackles a theme that about 90% of the world's heterosexual male population can relate to: our obsession with female beauty. Hal (Jack Black) is searching for his ideal girl, and she has to have it all - physically, that is. To make matters worse, he makes no bones about his fixation with beauty, and is even a bit obnoxious about it ("So should I apologize for my high standards?"). Naturally, his officemates chide him for being, well, shallow. The fun starts when Hal has a chance encounter with self-help guru Tony Robbins, who hypnotizes him into seeing only the inner beauty of people. Kazam, it works. Hal sees even the ugliest women as beautiful. The standout is Rosemary, a 300-pound mastodon of a woman whom Hal sees as a svelte knockout. Gwyneth Paltrow plays both Rosemarys, wearing a prosthetic fat suit as the "real" Rosemary.

Now, Mauricio, Hal's well-intentioned but misguided friend, can't figure out why Hal is so smitten with the obese Rosemary, until he finds out what Robbins did, and talks him into telling him the words that will break the hypnotic spell. Bad move, it turns out.

Hal: Who do you think is the most beautiful woman in the world?
Mauricio: Wonder Woman.
Hal: Okay...let's say everyone else in the world thought Wonder Woman was ugly.
Mauricio: It wouldn't matter. Because I know they'd be wrong.
Hal: See! That's what I had with Rosemary! I saw a knockout, I don't care what anybody else saw!
Mauricio: You're right. I guess I really did screw you then.

That little snippet just about sums up the lesson this film attempts to impart. And you know what, it succeeds. Incredibly, this Farrelly serving is actually capable of stimulating some serious thought about people's superficial preoccupation with outward appearances.

This movie is not without flaws, mainly in the form of opportune coincidences. For example, I found it just a tad too convenient that Rosemary just happened to be the daughter of Hal's boss. It certainly wouldn't have hurt storytelling-wise if Hal had met her at the office (say, she visits her Dad, he sees her, doesn't know she's the boss's daughter, he's instantly infatuated). Even more contrived was the appearance of the "real" Katrina, who happens to walk by at just the right time: when Mauricio is convincing Hal that he wasn't seeing women as they really are.

But overall, you can gloss over these minor lapses and still enjoy the movie, and even give some thought to the insight into human behavior it portrays. And you can also appreciate the fact that this film succeeds admirably on another front: it gives a fresh new twist to one of the oldest, most worn-out clichés. True love is indeed blind.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: Hal is told never to settle for second best by his heavily sedated father who is on his deathdbed. His father (a preacher) then goes on to describe his idea of the physically perfect woman. After receiving this twisted message about women, flash forward 20 years. Hal is a shallow jerk cruising the nightclubs to find that perfect physical specimen his father described. Fortunately for him, he gets trapped in an elevator with self-help guru, Tony Robbins. Robbins is able to get Hal to see the inner beauty of the people he meets. After this life-changing experience, he meets Rosemary, the girl of his dreams.

Most of the comedy in this movie comes from the difference between Hal's view of people and the reality. For example, the very fit Gwyneth Paltrow causes a monster tidal wave after doing a cannonball. Well, I think you get the idea.

Many people criticize this movie because they believe it makes fun of overweight and disabled people. On the contrary, this movie has a really warm heart. The humor isn't malicious. The overweight and disabled are treated no differently than the other people in this movie. The Farrelly Brothers show more heart toward the disabled than the rest of Hollywood. Hollywood likes to pretend that there aren't any disabled people in the world. Without the work of the Farrelly Brothers, there would be very few opportunities to see the disabled as normal people in the movies.


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