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The Movie:
Shallow Hal
A Review by Mark McLeod
July 6th 2002
Hal Larson (Jack Black) has not lead the most successful of lives though he
is certainly better off then some . He's been passed up for promotions time
and time again and his luck with women isn't the best. Along with his
friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander) he loves to hit all the popular night
spots and try and score with the hottest of the hot who are without a doubt
out of their leagues. Hal has also has a crush and has been trying to date
his neighbor Jill (Susan Ward) but like most of the other girls he meets
she won't have anything to do with him. Meanwhile his best friends at work
suggest that maybe he's looking in all the wrong places and suggest that he
look for inner beauty instead of just the exterior. Still he goes about his
ways until fate steps in the form of an elevator ride with self-help guru
Tony Robbins. As luck would have it the elevator get's stuck and Hal and
Robbins get to talking about life, love and relationships. After listening
to Hal for the better part of the time Robbins offers to help by allowing
him to see only the inner beauty and after he performs a ritual Hal is a
changed person. Hal continues on but suddenly he finds that he can attract
the most beautiful women he's ever seen and they'll actually talk to him.
Before long he meets Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow) who in reality weighs
around the 300 pound marker but to him look's like a slim and ravishing
young woman. Hal becomes immediately smitten with Rosemary as he
compliments her beauty at every turn which leaves her confused and
bewildered as she knows deep in her heart that she is anything but an
object of perfection. Eventually he wears her down and the two begin to
date. At their second official date Hal learns that her father is Steve
Shanahan who just happens to be his owner of the company he works for. One
day after meeting her father Hal's stock in the company begins to rise and
he is promoted to the bosses right hand man. Just as things would seem to
be going perfectly Mauricio who sees Rosemary as the rest of the world does
becomes alarmed with Hal's behavior and begins to see out Tony Robbins in
hopes that he will right the wrong he's done and return Hal to his shallow
state. When Mauricio succeeds Hal is faced with a great dilemma. Does he
continue seeing Rosemary because he fell in love with her as a person or
will his previous shallow ways cause him to cast her aside?.
"Shallow Hal" is the latest film from directors Peter and Bobby Farrely
better known as the guys who brought you "Dumb and Dumber", "There's
Something About Mary" and "Me, Myself and Irene". Their previous efforts
have all focused on juvenile and gross out humor and while this film
contains those same elements it's also a departure for the Rhode Island
based brothers who for the first time are trying to make a film one can
take seriously, simply put a film with a message. The message being that
looks are not the be all and end all of a person and that a person's true
beauty comes from within. Bobby and Peter do have some problems getting
that message across as their more comedic sides shine through at almost
every turn. The first mistake they make is that they try and combine some
pretty outrageous though tame by their standard jokes into what would play
better as a simple romantic comedy. The two very different type of scenes
don't seem to gel together very well where one scene will have Paltrow's
character falling flat on her face or showing off gigantic panties while
the next is supposed to be a heartfelt moment that explores the issues that
overweight people find themselves dealing with on a day to day basis. What
might be the most surprising aspect of the film is that it's not chocked
full of non stop laughs like their earlier films. I'm not the sort of
person who requires a comedy to be a laugh out riot the entire time but the
gags are spaced a bit too far apart in this film. That's not to say that
there isn't some great comedic material present because there is. However
the jokes per minute quotient runs a bit low. Another problem the film
runs into is that it's anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes too long. The Farrely
Brothers tend to bring their films in around the two hour marker which for
a comedy is usually a bit on the long side. Especially when you consider
that most comedies are getting shorter and shorter by the month and now run
anywhere from 80 to 100 minutes.
If the Farrely Brothers know anything about making a comedy it's that
casting the right group of people is key. Looking at past productions
they've worked with Jim Carrey (twice), Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller, Rene
Zellwegger and Jeff Daniels just to name a few. For "Shallow Hal" they've
assembled an excellent cast which is lead by the extremely funny Jack Black
leader of rock/comedy act Tenacious D and the man who whole stole every
scene he was in "High Fidelity". Black who a few years back was relatively
unknown has burst on to the scene with his over the top antics which for
"Shallow Hal" are toned down a bit. This is not the zany Black we are used
to but he is shows a progression as an actor in this more subdued and laid
back role. His portrayal of Hal is right on the money as we really believe
in the arc the character goes through. It's believable and he seems almost
real . This wouldn't have been the case if Black was going out of control
and yelling throughout the film like he usually does. Now there are moments
when the line between Jack the actor and Hal the character is blurred but
it doesn't come as a major distraction. Huge amounts of praise should also
be lavished on Gwyneth Paltrow who broke out of her usual period
piece/romantic comedy roles to take on the more physical comedy based role
of Rosemary. Paltrow brings a level of class unseen in prior Farrely
Brothers film and becomes one of the more talented actresses ever to trust
herself to the directing duo. She was also faced with the more complex dual
role of Rosemary who in some scenes had to appear to be the spitting image
of perfection while in others appear in a fat suit to appear over 300
pounds. Paltrow who is a natural beauty looks the best I've ever seen her
look the way Hal sees while appearing the polar opposite and almost
unrecognizable when we see her how she truly is. She adds emotional depth
and we really begin to see that she's a great person on the inside and that
looks aren't all that matters. Surrounding the lead actors are an excellent
supporting cast that with the exception of Jason Alexander all turn in
decent or better caliber performances. Alexander's character is a more
neurotic and extreme version of his Seinfeld persona and really gets on
people's nerves quickly with his inconsiderate and often mean spirited
jokes. It wouldn't be a Farrely Brothers movie without some of their
friends appearing on-screen and this time they bring friend Rene Kirby who
is a disabled actor whose character is played for rather cruel laughs.
Lastly a film about a guy whose attracted to perfect ten's would not be
complete with out some gorgeous girls and Susan Ward (The In Crowd) and
Brooke Burns (NBC's Dog Eat Dog and Baywatch) as well as Paltrow have that
area more then covered. Astute Tenacious D fans will also recognize Kyle
Gass who has a small role as one of Hal's co-workers.
"Shallow Hal" marks what some may see as the maturing of the Farrely
Brothers as they craft a film that covers more then just immature and gross
out humor. Alongside writer Sean Moynihan they create a sweet and
occasionally touching film that although it takes a few missteps along the
way is generally an acceptable motion picture. There are points in the film
where it's unsure exactly which direction it wants to take, the more
slapstick comedy approach or the romantic heart touching moral of the story
approach. It's mixture of these two different directions may not always
come together perfectly but the film makers are treading new ground and to
a certain extent it works fine. The film isn't an all out laugh attack
though the performances more then make up for the lower amount of laughs.
It's not the Farrely Brother's best motion picture but it shows that they
are indeed growing as film makers and that is never a bad thing. It'll be
interesting to see what their next film is and if it continues in this
direction or reverts back to the juvenile approach that made their previous
work so universally popular.
Movie Rating : 8/10
The DVD
VIDEO:
20th Century Fox bestows "Shallow Hal" with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen
transfer recreating the original theatrical presentation. Like most
comedies "Hal" is not the most pleasing visual film I've seen in the past
year. It takes a simple approach allowing the sight gags to be easily seen
with minimal distraction. As far as recent Fox presentations go this one
comes off as a minor disappointment when compared to some of their more
recent day and date releases to DVD which include the stellar transfer on
"Behind Enemy Lines". It's not so much that this transfer looks bad, it's
more like there are a few more negative aspects then I've come to aspect
from the studio. The problems begin with an inconsistent level of sharpness
and detail which fluctuates constantly throughout the film. Although the
majority of the film was fairly sharp a number of scenes were plagued by an
almost unusually soft appearance that ultimately affected my enjoyment of
the film. I find this inconsistency interesting because when I saw the
film theatrically in at least two different theaters the prints were razor
sharp throughout. Even the theater I worked at for a short time which I
felt had poor presentation overall looked fine. The rest of the problems
were pretty minor and deal more with the DVD then the print used. Edge
enhancement rears it's ugly on a number of occasions as does shimmering on
a couple brick buildings. The transfer does right by the color scheme which
is made up of a number of rich and vibrant hues including a lovely pink the
likes of which I haven't before seen captured on film. Flesh tones appear
accurate and the disc does feature a strong black level. Despite a couple
of problems Fox still offers an above average transfer for this DVD though
it's certainly not their best work.
Video Rating : 8/10
SOUND:
Fox brings "Shallow Hal" to DVD with a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. Since
the film is a comedy it comes as no surprise that the track suffers from
"comedy audio syndrome" which means the soundtrack remains firmly anchored
in the front three channels without utilizing the rear speakers. This is
the case with "Hal" as I detected no real noticeable ambience from the rear
of the sound stage. There may indeed be sound effects or noise placed in
the back but the mix never calls attention to them long enough to make any
real judgement. As is the case with many comedies there are only really two
aspects to factor in music and dialogue both of which are presented nicely
on this DVD. Sure the music could have been mixed a tad louder and the
dialogue could have been kicked up a few notches as well still both are
still well balanced and easily heard throughout. All in all this is a
fairly standard comedy soundtrack that doesn't really have any faults nor
does it have any real high points. It doesn't distract the viewer from the
film nor does it offer a full on whiz-bang type experience.
Audio Rating : 8/10
EXTRAS:
20th Century Fox has not been shallow in terms of extra features including
everything from an audio commentary to deleted scenes and a handful of
featurettes as well as some promotional material.
The deleted scenes section of the disc offers 11 unseen segments from the
film including some material that appeared in the film's theatrical
trailer. These 11 scenes are presented with your choice of film audio or
commentary by the Farrely Brothers. Most of these scenes are nothing more
then extended or alternate takes but occasionally there is some new
material. The scenes are hit and miss in terms of quality but there are a
couple good Jack Black moments that should have remained in the film.
Others seemed unnecessary as they didn't really advance the story and Bobby
and Peter made the right choice in having them end up on the cutting room
floor. I switched on the commentary track on a few just to get a reading
on their discussion and while the brothers do give reasonable explanations
for their deletion they still insist on pointing out all their friends in
each shot.
Featurettes and more featurettes make up the rest of the supplemental
features on this disc. In total there are 4 featurettes, 2 of which look at
specialized aspects of the film and two that cover the film in general. The
longer of the 4 featurettes are an HBO Special hosted by Brooke Burns
(NBC's Dog Eat Dog) and Comedy Central's "Reel Comedy".
Brooke Burns hosts the first one which takes an interesting approach to the
usual electronic press kit material in that Burns hits the streets of Santa
Monica, California and interviews people on what it's like to be shallow?,
what's the shallowest thing they've ever done? and other similar questions.
This footage is intercut with clips from the film to pad out the nearly 15
minute program. I'm not really sure what the purpose or objective of this
featurette was other then to sell the film. Ex-Baywatch babe Burns comes
across as amazingly ditzy and annoying as she tries to act shallow while
she get's fluff answers to serious questions from a seemingly random group
of people.
"Reel Comedy" is this disc's version of the studio fluff piece that would
air prior to the film's theatrical release in order to get people who were
on the fence interested in seeing the movie. I think by this point anyone
expecting to learn any actual information about the making of the film
would know not to expect much from these types of featurettes and this disc
certainly doesn't change that. There's no real behind the scenes footage to
speak of and the majority of the program focuses on showing clip after clip
from the film. In addition to the film clips this program contains
interviews with the majority of the principal talent involved in "Shallow
Hal" including the usually outrageous Jack Black. Black seems a bit subdued
in his interview but don't mistake his energy level for being a symbol of
his comedic skills as he offers a number of hilarious jokes throughout his
discussion. The remainder of the interview participants including Anthony
Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Farrely Brothers are more general and
straightforward in terms of their questions and answers though they all
seem to lavish a lot of praise on Jack Black talking about how much they
enjoyed working with him. It's worth watching for the Jack Black segments
but it's probably best to skip through the rest.
Into the Deep End with Shallow Hal is a three minute featurette that deals
with the now infamous "splash shot" gag which was one of the funnier
sequences in the film. Sadly a great amount of this joke was given away in
the film's marketing materials so it doesn't come as a surprise in the
film. This short featurette takes away all the guess work as we learn how
stunt coordinator Martin Grace rigged up two water cannons to achieve that
gigantic splash. Interview footage with Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow and her
double Ivy Snitzer round out the piece.
Next up in the continuing and seemingly endless amount of featurettes is
Seeing through the layers of Shallow Hal which focuses on the makeup and
costuming aspects of the film. Makeup artist Tony Gardner along with
directors Bobby and Peter Farrely and producer Bradley Thomas discuss the
thought process behind the look of Gwyneth Paltrow's Rosemary. This nearly
10 minute featurette contains a mixture of interview and behind the scenes
test footage of various makeup designs as well as a few clips from the
film. Some of the test footage is interesting but as a whole there really
isn't all that much of interest here.
The music video for "Wall in Your Heart" by country sensation Shelby Lynne
is included at 1.33:1 and with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound.
An audio commentary with Peter and Bobby Farrely is also included on this
disc. In the past I haven't been impressed with their commentary tracks so
I decided to take a pass on listening to this one. If the optional
commentary on the deleted scenes is any indicator then this track will
offer more of the same where the brothers point out their friends and
family who made cameos in the film.
Fox rounds out the disc with the theatrical trailers for "Shallow Hal",
"Minority Report (Version A)", "Unfaithful", "The Banger Sisters" and if
that's not enough for you there's a promo spot for the soundtrack and other
Farrely Brothers movies.
Extras Rating : 8/10
Final Thoughts:
"Shallow Hal" is a different sort of Farrely Brothers movie and one that
may not be liked by their vast legions of fans. It's not a bad film so much
as it's just not what people have come to expect from the brothers. It has
strong performances and a number of touching and endearing moments but
suffers from being about 10 to 15 minutes too long and a lack of gut
splitting jokes. Fox's DVD on the other hand offers good audio/video
quality as well as a fair number of moderately interesting bonus features.
Fans of the film will no doubt enjoy this DVD edition though I'd recommend
checking out the film as a rental first if you haven't already seen it. A
moderate recommendation on "Shallow Hal"
Disc Rating : 7.5/10
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