| Shallow Hal | | Cast : | Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black | | Director : | Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly | | Studio : | Twentieth Century Fox Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | November 09, 2001 | | DVD Released Date : | February 17, 2004 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 09, 2005 | | Summary | Shallow Flick | Content
 | The Farrelly Brothers have made a name for themselves with their 'nobody is safe' brand of comedy. And SHALLOW HAL is a high concept film that attempts to again deliver on that expectation. However, it falls short here for a few reasons. First, we now expect the ruthless comedy at some unfortunate's expense so there is no shock surprise. But, more disasterous is that their 'message' that "beauty is within" is contradictory to that ruthless comedy. How can they shamelessly have fun at someone's expense and then water down their own resolve by saying "Don't judge the book by the cover...", Their brand of comedy is based on the cover... And the worst infraction of all is that this film is occasionally funny, but we've seen it all in the trailer. TONY ROBBINS does a great job in the role of TONY ROBBINS. Not only does he deliver a standard Tony Robbins message but, it serves as the thrust for the whole story. But, landing Tony in teh role seems to be the best thing going for the film. Gwyneth is beautiful and has moments of sharp comedy but is often trapped in the gimmick of her role. Jack Black can be funny but I haven't seen anything worth carrying a film yet. Jason Alexander is pretty sturdy in the supporting role that adds a Farrelly twist to the tail... err tale. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 06, 2005 | | Summary | "Would You Rather Have A Woman With One (...) Or Half A Brain?' | Content
| After taking gross out comedy to new heights with "There's Something About Mary" and "Me, Myself And Irene", Bobby and Peter Farrelly decided to tone it down for their next film. The result was this wonderfully offbeat comedy about a womanizer who learns the hard way that there is indeed beauty on the inside.
Jack stars as Hal Larson, a relentless skirtchaser who, ever since his dad advised him on his deathbed, has always looked for the right women. However, instead of a woman who's kind and accessible (ie, the average looking, marrying type), Hal's idea of a perfect woman is one with a nice (...), long legs and big (...). Along with his friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander, trying desparately to add some life into his post - "Seinfeld" career), Hal scowers various dance clubs looking for beautiful women. One day, everything changes. Hal gets stuck in an elevator with self help guru Tony Robbins. Hal and Tony have a discussion. Tony is bothered by Hal's superficiality when it comes to women, and puts a spell of sorts of Hal. Hal is now able a woman's inner beauty. In his eyes, all women are beautiful. The problem is, in everyone's else's eyes, they're really not all that attractive. So when Jack meets the 300 pound plus Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow in a fat suit), he sees her as the typical stick thin blonde he's used to. Hal hits it off with her without ever knowing what she really looks like. As Mauricio becomes increasingly worried about his friend, Hal and Rosemary fall deeper in love. Until the spell is broken. Of course, by the end, everything wraps up in a preditable fashion, but it still works out.
The film is every funny. I applaud Gwyneth changing her look for her role. Most actresses would balk at the idea, but Gwyneth is about showing off her acting talents rather than her looks (though she is a very beautiful women). Jack Black is very funny as Hal, and though as I said earlier he's trying shamelessly to revive his career, it was nice to have Jason Alexander along for the ride. Loaded with extras, this is a dvd that I would recommend to most people. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 02, 2005 | | Summary | 2 stars for the inner message that I saw | Content
| This movie was a big dissapointment to me. I thought that it was absolutely terrible. It was boring, delivered probably 2 laughs but.. This movie wasn't what I expected to see after watching There's Something about Mary and Me, Myself and Irene. This movie was sweet, I guess but just wasn't funny at all. I don't know how to write this review but I just thought that it wasn't funny AT ALL. I actually gave the 2 stars for the inner message I saw in this movie. I thought that what the movie deep down inside was trying to say was that looks don't matter but that how you get along and your friendship with the person you love matters most. But this is a comedy, right? Shouldn't it be funny? |
| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | How ComeJack Takes His Pants Off In The Lift? Please Advise | Content
| In this movie we see Hal , a wannabee "lady killer" who haunts the singles bars at night.Then he meets self help Guru Tony Robbins in an elevator and for some reason unknown to the viewer Jack walks out of the elevator without his pants on!!! Why this happens is a total mystery to me and if anybody can explain it please write to me at my Email address. Tony has convinced Hal to only see the "inner beauty" of women and then Hal falls in love with the Weight Challenged (I think that is the Politically Correct Term???) Rosemary played by Gwynneth Paltrow. Hal's best friend tries to get Hal to see Rosemary as the rest of the world sees her but to no avail. I give this movie 5 stars because it introduced me to the term "cankles" which I have never heard before. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | Funny, no matter what size you are. | Content
| This is actually a typical Farrelly brothers movie, but it does attempt to get deep about seeing the inner beauty of people, and does succeed in that way. But the real winners here are the stars. Jack Black is as animated and funny as always, and Gwyneth Paltrow is smoking hot (on the inside of course). The only bummers here are a few draggy spots, and that Jason Alexander is/plays the same loser he did on Seinfeld. Overall though, if you enjoy that "Dumb And Dumber/Something About Mary" kind of humor, this is for you. Plus there's an awesome shot of Gwyneth in a thong (she's such a nice person). |
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