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Movies / On DVD / Shallow Hal
Shallow Hal

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Shallow Hal (2001)

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Reviews Counted:119

Fresh:60

Rotten:59

Average Rating:5.5/10

Consensus: While surprisingly sweeter and warm-hearted than previous Farrelly outings, Shallow Hal is also less funny and more bland.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly continue their string of hilarious oddball comedies with SHALLOW HAL. Hal (Jack Black of HIGH FIDELITY) is a "regular guy" who has no luck with women because he... Directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly continue their string of hilarious oddball comedies with SHALLOW HAL. Hal (Jack Black of HIGH FIDELITY) is a "regular guy" who has no luck with women because he only wants to be with women who look like supermodels. Then self-help guru Tony Robbins hypnotizes Hal so that he can see a woman's inner beauty. When Hal meets Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), a Peace Corps volunteer who is smart and funny, he thinks his dreams have come true. Others, like Hal's slimy friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander), see Rosie for what she is, a 300-pound woman, but Hal can only see the beauty on the inside, so to him she looks like Gwyneth Paltrow. Black shines in his first starring role. His engagingly manic energy keeps the film in high gear. Paltrow skillfully plays Rosemary as an obese woman in a thin woman's body. The Farrelly brothers' comedies work so well because they mix off-the-wall humor with characters the audience identifies with and cares about. SHALLOW HAL is outrageous and funny, occasionally exceeding the bounds of good taste, but it's also a touching love story. Fans of Black's band, Tenacious D, will be happy to see bandmate Kyle Gass in a small role. [More]

Starring: Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander, Zen Gesner

Starring: Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander, Zen Gesner, Susan Ward, Laura Kightlinger, Sascha Knopf, Joe Viterelli, Kyle Gass

Director: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly

Director: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly
Screenwriter: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly, Sean Moynihan
Producer: Bradley Thomas, Charles B. Wessler, Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly
Composer: Ivy
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Shallow Hal

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41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
12/09/01
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
11/30/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

tackles the beauty mythos with both humor and sensitivity that may surprise those who think only of body-fluid jokes when they think of the Farrellys

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
11/28/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

We've seen so many crummy comedies that try to be There's Something About Mary or something like this. And the Farrelly brothers come to the rescue and show us how it's done.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
11/27/01
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Two fine performances and the thought-provoking subject matter raise it above the level of a disposable comedy.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/26/01
Andrew Howe
Andrew Howe
eFilmCritic.com

The concept of beauty being only skin deep is referred to several times, yet is buried under the unrelentingly unpleasant parade of "rhino" gags.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/24/01
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

The film itself is little more than a series of fat jokes.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
11/24/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

A big part of what makes the movie successful is the combination of Black and Paltrow; he gives the movie its humor, while she gives it some heart.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
11/23/01
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Shallow Hal is a good date movie: good for screening worthless potential mates. Funny and sweet.

Full Review Source: Cinerina | comment Comment
11/18/01
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina

The moral of the story, according to the Farrellys? Date a fat chick, and supermodels will flock to your door.

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/17/01
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

Hal relies more heavily on earnest romance but boasts a few good laughs -- the biggest of which, surprisingly, have nothing to do with body fat.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
11/16/01
Eric Allen Hatch
Eric Allen Hatch
Orlando Weekly

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/16/01
Scott A. Mantz
Scott A. Mantz
Scott Mantz' Movie Reviews

A sweet, wispy little romantic comedy.

Full Review Source: NUVO Newsweekly | comment Comment
11/15/01
Edward Johnson-Ott
Edward Johnson-Ott
NUVO Newsweekly

In the Farrellys world, inner beauty is the same as outer beauty -- otherwise, they'd have found a lovely fat girl to play Rosemary.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
11/14/01
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Not only light on laughs but discomfitingly didactic in its disgust.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/13/01
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
11/12/01
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com

If you need your messages wrapped around a 2x4 and pounded relentlessly against your willing skull, this is the movie for you.

Full Review Source: MovieJuice! | comment Comment
11/12/01
Mark Ramsey
Mark Ramsey
MovieJuice!

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
11/12/01
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
11/11/01
Kim Linekin
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Community Newspapers | comment Comment
11/11/01
Gary Brown
Gary Brown
Houston Community Newspapers
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for Shallow Hal

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