Hal Larson is a man who dates only the most beautiful women, because that is what he believes he deserves. Then Tony Robbins hypnotizes him into seeing inner beauty instead, and Hal falls for Rosemary, a woman he never would have noticed otherwise. This is the core of Shallow Hal, a 2001 comedy that wants to be a story about love overcoming prejudice, and spends most of its time proving that premise with jokes about weight and appearance.
The film was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and written by them along with Sean Moynihan. It stars Jack Black as Hal and Gwyneth Paltrow as Rosemary, with Jason Alexander as Mauricio, Joe Viterelli as Steve, and Tony Robbins himself playing the title role. The plot follows Hal after his father dies, urging him to settle for the women he pursues, a message he forgets by adulthood. Hal works at JPS Funds, run by Steve, and is rejected by beautiful women at night clubs. When he meets Rosemary, a 300-pound woman, he sees her as slender and beautiful because of the hypnosis.
Trailer, via プロレスと映画.
Hal and Mauricio
Hal’s best friend Mauricio disapproves of the relationship. When Mauricio learns about the hypnosis, he is worried about Hal’s new taste in women and tries to undo it. He gets the trigger phrase “Shallow Hal wants a gal” from Tony, and uses it at a dinner date where Rosemary has been asked by the Peace Corps to go on a 14-month mission in Kiribati. Mauricio drags Hal out before he can see Rosemary as she truly appears.
Rosemary’s Story
Rosemary is kind and generous. The film says she has been overlooked her whole life because of her appearance, so Hal’s interest is at first hard for her to believe. She begins to date him once she realizes Hal’s feelings are sincere. She is the film’s emotional center, and the film asks the audience to care about her even as it makes jokes about her body.
Rosemary’s Two Faces
Paltrow plays both versions of Rosemary. She wears a specially designed 25-pound fat suit and prosthetic makeup for the scenes where Hal sees her as she truly appears. The effect is meant to show the contrast between how Hal sees her and how she really looks, but it also makes the film’s central joke about inner beauty less effective than it might have been. The film keeps dressing its lead in a costume meant to remind the audience of what she looks like.
The Hypnosis and the Joke
The hypnosis works as a device to get Hal to see Rosemary as beautiful, but it also makes her the object of a visual joke. The film does not let the audience forget that Rosemary is large, even when Hal does. It keeps using Rosemary’s size as a punchline.
The Bottom Line
Shallow Hal is a film about seeing past physical appearance, but it keeps dressing its lead in a costume meant to remind the audience of what she looks like. The jokes about weight and appearance are the film’s engine, and they do the work the story asks of them. The film’s arguments keep getting undermined by how it presents its lead. It is a comedy that wants to be a romance, and it never quite decides which one to be.
The film’s box office success does not change how it handles its central idea. It grossed $141.1 million against a $41 million budget, which is a measure of the audience’s appetite rather than the film’s conviction. The premise and humor primarily divided responses on release.
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Hal’s father’s death | Triggers the advice to never settle with the women he pursues |
| Rosemary’s appearance | 300 pounds, unseen as slim to Hal under hypnosis |
| Dinner date trigger phrase | “Shallow Hal wants a gal” |
| Rosemary’s Peace Corps mission | 14 months in Kiribati |
| Box office gross | $141.1 million against a $41 million budget |
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