The at-times-screamingly-funny comedy does a surprisingly good job of turning some societal misconceptions on their ear.
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11/09/01
Shallow Hal (2001)
50
%
Tomatometer
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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... [More]
Starring: Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander, Zen Gesner
Director: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly
Reviews for Shallow Hal
Created in the broadest strokes imaginable, Shallow Hal lacks even a vestige of subtlety and is rarely so much as amusing.
11/09/01
Top CriticClick to read the article
11/09/01
Platitudes aside: Is encouraging morbid obesity really a good thing?
11/08/01
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.
11/08/01
Top CriticI had to binge on a big bag of Reese's Pieces just to stomach the boredom.
11/08/01
Hypocritical and condescending in ways its makers seem completely oblivious to.
11/08/01
Uneven, but Paltrow's performance alone is worth the price of admission.
11/08/01
The only crudeness here is in the uninspired filmmaking and a washed-out look.
11/08/01
The oddest part of all this is that it's not very funny.
11/08/01
It's as if the movie was strained through a colander to remove all the humor.
11/08/01
If, like the Farrellys, you want to challenge stereotypes about the plus-sized, then why not give the job to a plus-sized gal?
11/08/01
In order to make sense of their premise, the Farrellys end up endorsing the very idea of beauty they're supposedly trying to attack.
11/08/01
Paltrow's performance alone is worth seeing, but the rest of the film can't shed its dead weight.
11/08/01
Black proves himself to be leading-man material.
11/08/01
Against all odds, there’s something about Shallow Hal.
11/08/01
Oddly sweet, soulful and even, egads, well-intentioned.
11/08/01
A message movie of such surpassing stupidity that the message doesn't seem to have gotten through to the people who made it.
11/08/01
We're warmly encouraged to feel the hurt that Rosemary constantly lives with, made vivid by a notably touching, sensitive performance from sylphlike Paltrow.
11/08/01
Latest News for Shallow Hal
November 28, 2005:
Special Olympians Find No Problem with Knoxville's "Ringer"
While the concept might sound more than a little tacky (a con man poses as a mentally handicapped man to defraud the Special Olympics), the officials for the actual games find... More...
August 20, 2001:
'They didn't want an overtly slick Ferrari dude,' Black says. 'That's why they came to me, because I'm just such a snugly, lovable, chubby little bo-bo.' 
More...
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