As a fan of both Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow and directed by the Farrelly brothers, whom I also enjoy (most of the time), Shallow Hal, seemed to be a lock for a good time. Starring Jack Black as Hal, a shallow, superficial, chauvinistic pig, the film starts off by following him around as he pursues women out of his league, ignoring those who are not attractive physically. By chance one day, he becomes stuck in an elevator with self-help guru Tim Robbins. After losing his pants, Hal and Robbins seemingly strike it off and Robbins offers to help Hal with his women problems. How? By only letting Hal see a woman's inner beauty.

The result is, instead of seeing a 300 pound woman in Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), he sees a slim, fit 110 pound Rosy. Hal is only able to see Rosemary's inner beauty which by far and away eclipses that of the superficial model types which Hal and his friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander), often joke about lacking brains, humor, or compassion.

While it may have the makings of your standard Farrelly brothers movie, this is just about as far away from normal as the brothers can go. Rather than relying on gross-out jokes and crude humor, they rely instead on exploring the inner psyche of men, including the exploration of honesty and truthfulness along with the crude way in which most men see women (assumed to be truth by the Farrelly brothers). While the movie does try and break some long-held stereotypes, the basic flaw in the movie is in the fact that Hal only sees beauty in overweight women, and when not convenient for the script, he can't see the inner ugliness of certain people (Mauricio and Jill to name a couple). Another problem with the movie is that quite simply, it's not as funny as you will probably expect. The Farrelly brothers have gained notoriety with gross-out gags and hilarious situations in which the characters are placed. While the movie does have a couple funny situations, it's not enough to add up to a hysterical movie as you will probably be expecting. It's funny, but not that funny. While the Farrelly brothers might have had good intentions, the movie ultimately falls flat after the gags become repetitious and with Black's acting, a bit over-the-top.

Shallow Hal contains some funny scenes, but those expecting the standard Farrelly brothers fare, you'll be in for a disappointment. Black is good, but a bit over the top. He should probably go back to the sidekick role, in which he is really much better. For fans of the Farrelly brothers, expect a toned down comedy, for fans of Black, you'll be amused, but not satisfied, and the always beautiful Gwyneth pleases the eyes like usual. A fun movie, with some good comedic moments, but a bit too preachy at times.

Genres: Comedy
Rated: PG-13 - For language and sexual content.
Runtime: 80 minutes
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