Barnes & Noble

The dynamic sibling duo of Bobby and Peter Farrelly use relative newcomer Jack Black to great effect in Shallow Hal, squeezing every comedic drop out of an oh-so-high concept. High Fidelity's Black plays Hal, a shallow if affable loser with an overactive libido who's hypnotized by self-help guru Tony Robbins to see only the inner beauty of everyone he meets. He soon falls head-over-heels for a 300-pound behemoth of a kindhearted altruist, who appears to him as svelte beauty Gwyneth Paltrow. The Farrellys explore every nook and cranny of their gimmick, delivering a host of sight gags and having their characters constantly talking at cross-purposes, as everyone else sees the true girth of Hal's furniture-crushing beloved. And it's precisely because they push their fantasy to the breaking point that the conceit is so tantalizing. The leads pull their weight admirably -- Black walking a fine line of boorish likablity and Paltrow sweetly oblivious to her own charm. Jason Alexander costars, playing true to his Seinfeld form as Hal's even shallower best friend. Don't expect the Farrellys' patented gross-out humor, though: Shallow Hal is a sentimental fantasy with wise-guy wit, reminding viewers that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A familiar sentiment, indeed; but rarely does one ever see it delivered with such goofy, compassionate humor. Gregory Baird

All Movie Guide

Jack Black continues his march to stardom with this typical Farrelly brothers blend of broad comedy and a heartfelt message. Black is Hal Larsen, a shallow man rapidly approaching middle age whose superficiality can be attributed to his father's deathbed admonition to only date young, beautiful women. Hal and his best friend, Mauricio (Jason Alexander), have taken the advice to heart, but Hal finds all of his physically impressive girlfriends consistently lacking in other qualities that would make them ideal mates. When he bumps into self-help guru Tony Robbins (playing himself), the motivational entrepreneur is intrigued by Hal's predicament and hypnotizes him so that he'll only see the inner beauty of women. Hal is quickly smitten with Rosemary Shanahan (Gwyneth Paltrow), a blonde Peace Corps volunteer who's tenderhearted, funny, and intelligent. She is also gorgeous and meets Hal's basic criteria of outer perfection, but what he doesn't realize is that Robbins' spell is working and he cannot see that Rosemary actually weights 300 pounds. When Mauricio is finally able to snap Hal out of his charmed state, Hal's in love with the inwardly perfect woman and must overcome his obsession with beauty. The script for Shallow Hal (2001) was developed when Peter Farrelly enjoyed the humorous letters written to a mutual friend by Sean Moynihan, a computer software executive who followed the filmmaker's advice to take up screenwriting. Karl Williams

New York Times

There are enough moments of demented comedy to make you aspirate your popcorn, but by the end you may find yourself, with some amazement, sniffing back tears. A.O. Scott

Chicago Sun-Times

Often very funny, but it is also surprisingly moving at times. Roger Ebert

San Francisco Chronicle

It gets away with fat jokes at the same time it seems to be on the side of the angels and inner beauty. Bob Graham

Product Details

• UPC: 024543040057
• Source: 20TH CENTURY FOX
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Español, Français
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:53:00
• Sales Rank: 16,473

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Farrelly Brothers Collection
• Dreamgirl 3-Pack

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