Hal (Jack Black) is the poster child for "pathetic". He is a thirty-something year old guy who lives this fantasy life in his mind that he is some real catch for women, and the only women that he is after, are those who wouldn't be caught dead with him! His love life was nonexistent, or at best "single-handed". Then one day he meets a "self-help" guru who does a little mental programming on him. Now practically every woman he meets and speaks to is available to him. He is in Hog Heaven!!! Hog Heaven because all of these women were real Hogs! All Hal could see was their inner beauty, not that they were 400lbs or ugly as sin! Hal's best friend, Mauricio (Jason Alexander), is a worse slimebucket than Hal. He sees Hal happy and confidently chasing all of these ugly and fat women and believes that he has lost his mind. Hal's girlfriend, Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), who just by chance happened to be his boss's daughter, was a real big girl. All he could see was this slender and beautiful woman who loved him. Mauricio was sure that Hal had lost it and sought out the guru who had helped Hal. He convinced this guy that Hal was in big trouble because of his spell, and found out how to cancel it. By now, Hal had been promoted at his job, and even the former girl of his dreams, Jill, who lived just across the hallway, was now interested in him. Life was grand, at least until Mauricio broke the spell. While out on a date with Rosemary, Hal took a phone call from Mauricio during which the spell was broken. Hal started back to his table, but somebody else was sitting there. He had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that some big, fat woman was sitting at his table, eating his food! He didn't know what to do. Mauricio told him about the spell and that he had broken it, but now Hal realizes just how much better off he was when he was able to see people for who they were, and not just how they looked. Hal now must find a way to get Rosemary back and convince her that he really does love her. This is a pretty funny movie, and it is enjoyable. It won't win any awards though!Read full review
Shallow Hal tells the tale of Hal Larson (Jack Black) and his one-dimensional love life. Hal couldn't care less if the women he lusts after are good, decent, caring people; he's all about the "package." After finding himself trapped in an elevator with famed self-help guru Tony Robbins (playing himself in an inspired cameo… a brilliant bit of casting by the Farrellys), Robbins quasi-magically alters Hal's perception of how he deems women attractive. Not fully understanding the gift Robbins gave him, Hal figures that he's now able to get any woman he desires, and quickly discovers that quite a few stellar beauties want a piece of him. In reality, the beauty he's seeing is a manifestation of the inner beauty these women possess, however you or I would see them as physically ugly or undesirable. Get it?Read full review
This movie delivers a very age old message- that TRUE beauty lies within- in a very UNIQUE way. It also contains some interesting extras, including info. on the making of the movie (how they transformed Gweneth Paltrow into an overweight Rosemary), commentary from Paltrow about how she felt she was treated differently by others when she was made up as Rosemary and deleted scenes from the movie(including a few that are actually worth watching). Hal (Jack Black) is a regular guy, who is not successful with women because he is shallow- he only wants to be with women who look like supermodels (out of his league). Then one day he gets stuck in an elevator with Tony Robbins (THE motivational speaker). Robbins hypnotizes Hal so that can see a person's inner beauty on the outside, which has the effect of making women that most might see as physically unattractive appear very beautiful in his eyes. Therefore, when Hal meets Rosemary, a very kind-hearted person, he does not see what other people see (a 300 pound woman), he sees a woman that looks like Gweneth Paltrow and he falls in love with her. When Hal finally realizes what has happened (the hypnosis) he must decide what is more important- outside appearances, or true love. **NOTE- I was concerned before I watched this movie that it might make fun of people who are overweight. I did not find this to be the case- although this movie is DEFINITELY a comedy, I do not believe the humor is presented in a way that exploits Rosemary's weight. In contrast, I think that most of the humor is directed toward Hal (and his shallow attitude). HOWEVER, I can still see how SOME people might be offended or embarrassed by the issue of weight, as presented in this movie... Just something to keep in mind, if you are bothered by these kids of topics...Read full review
It is funny from begining to end. It has a great storyline. Great acting. One of Jack Blacks top movies in my opinion. Even if your not a Jack Black fan anyone can appreciate this comedy with its very original storyline. For the low cost to buy on Ebay I would recommend to all to buy this movie, I got mine for .99 cents cant beat that price, and I have watched it about five times, and can easily stash it away and watch it again a few months down the road and laugh all over again.
This movie would have been better if Gwyneth Paltrow was not in it. I thought the movie was good, and the idea was great, but could have been funnier if the lead actress had been cast with someone more funny.
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