L'Amour extra large

Paltrow's pretty good here, I enjoyed this movie a lot. Not great but certainly good, carries a nice message and it's a good premise.

However, a lot of people did get offended by this. The movie kind of does that to itself-though the theme here is "everybodys' beautiful" etc etc and meant to look at how much women are judged by their looks, the movie wasn't as bold as it could have been. If it REALLY wanted to take hold of this issue there would have been more of the "heavy paltrow" not just a few quick shots. Shows the thin paltrow a lot more and it shouldn't. Does anyone get the feeling the movie was almost afraid of it's own subject matter? That's what takes the "oomph" out of the movie and makes it a sweet little picture rather then an outstanding film. Still, it's OK-I know many people, both heavy and thin who saw this, most were not offended by the picture but had the movie aimed for serious movie making instead of predictable Hollywood fare(the former would have been more appropriate for the subject matter at hand) the movie would have been a lot better.

My problem with this movie is that the two male leads are so spectacularly unattractive. The whole message is that we shouldn't judge people by their appearances, fat people are good, etc. etc. blah blah blah. Okay, fine, whatever.

But this only seems to apply to the womenfolk. Jack Black is short and pudgy with bulldog features, and Jason Alexander looks like something that's been boiled and painted. Why is their lack of attractiveness never part of the plot? Good Lord, they roam around the movie looking for babes as if they were a couple of Adonises. Both of these distinctly not good-looking guys get pursued by attractive women, and what's more, the squat four-eyes actually turns down his dolly on the grounds that she's got a long toe. (All this is later justified by his inner hurt feeling...awwwww!!)

Another sign that the movie was put together by a couple of cases of arrested development: Rosemary never stops talking about her low self-esteem, can't handle compliments, etc. yet in every second scene she's wearing something short and tight. This way Gwyneth Paltrow gets to prance around in her skimpies, and yet then we're supposed to get a big yuk-yuk when her fat body double is shown falling out of the same outfit.

I would love to see a female director redo this movie using a couple of ugly women as the leads, and then have attractive men pursue them, just as they are. Wait, I guess no one would buy that.

And one final thing: just because Rosemary was fat, they didn't have to show her constantly stuffing her face. It got to the point where she's grabbing half a cake at a time. That was just pointless and mean, and it was way beyond even a juvenile chuckle.

"Shallow Hal" was a film that was meant to be both thought-provoking and entertaining when it was originally released in 2001. The romantic comedy, which was directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly and starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, is said to have a deeper message about looking inside rather than outward. Furthermore, even though the film has good intentions and does a great job of spreading certain important lessons, its true morals will inevitably fall short at points.

A self-help guru makes Jack Black's character Hal see only people's inner beauty, and this is the central theme of the story. Hal is captivated by Gwyneth Paltrow's Rosemary, despite her striking physical dissimilarity from Hal's previous experiences. Despite Rosemary's actual physical appearance being far from the ideal standard of beauty, Hal views Rosemary as a stunningly lovely woman, thanks to his newfound perspective. Though it also has some dubious and problematic aspects, the movie presents an intriguing scenario in which inner beauty is contrasted with superficial values.

As a girl who has once experienced and struggled with issues of self-identity and bodily self-worth, I see that "Shallow Hal" gives an important message that we should see and appreciate the inner side of people rather than judging them by their outer appearance. This is a valuable lesson that is particularly relevant in today's society, where we are often fed unrealistic ideals of beauty. The film succeeds in many ways in highlighting the importance of re-evaluating our prejudices and appreciating people for who they really are.

But even with such noble intentions, the film's moral isn't always clear. A few of the scenarios and jokes use cheap humor that could come across as condescending to those who have various body types. Even though Hal's character has an epiphany when he discovers the value of inner beauty, there are moments in the movie when it seems as though the physical attributes of those who don't conform to the conventional beauty standard are mocked. This feature may easily create the idea that when outward beauty remains the standard, inner beauty is of less value.

It's also important to note that the film never fully tackles the emotions of inadequacy and self-criticism that frequently accompany not meeting conventional standards of beauty. People with diverse bodily types often experience issues and insecurities that cannot always be resolved by looking at their insides. While "Shallow Hal" is entertaining, it doesn't often offer a deep enough understanding of the more intricate emotional and psychological aspects of physical self-worth.

In summary, "Shallow Hal" is a film with heart and noble aspirations, although it occasionally tends to address complicated problems pertaining to body and beauty in a superficial manner. Even though the movie aims to help us see past people's outward appearances, it's critical that we acknowledge and address the underlying issues that result from being assessed solely on appearance. While the film's heart is in the right place, there is room for growth in terms of how it is executed to really comprehend and appreciate the diversity of body shapes and self-identity.

This movie would never be allowed to release in today's world, but it was a hit when it came out in 2001, and it's because it really is a funny, sweet movie. What could be a crude and offensive movie is thoughtful and even deep at moments while being laugh-out-loud hilarious. Jack Black plays the same lovable goofball as always, except this time, his character struggles with only caring about a person's appearance and his particular expectations on how they should look. But as the movie progresses, Hal grows and matures, discovering the beauty in everyone, both inside and out. Shallow Hal ultimately shares a meaningful message while also pouring on the laughs and poking fun at every character in the film. So don't balk at the premise of the movie. Instead, give it a shot, and you might just enjoy it.

From the posters and trailers, you'd expect the Farrelly Brothers to be crude and offensive with this kind of material but it really isn't. It has a much deeper message than it appears. It knows when to be funny and knows when to be serious. Why so many people disliked it and why critics panned it is totally beyond me!

The movie is about a man named Hal, played by Jack Black, who judges women based on their looks. He keeps failing at it and his attractive neighbor, Jill, even turns him down after he begs her to go out with him. The next day at his job, he's bummed that he didn't get that big promotion and happens to bump into Tony Robbins in the elevator while leaving his work. They get stuck in the elevator and Hal explains him his love life. Robbins then puts a spell on him to see the inner beauty in women so that he can judge a woman based on her personality. Suddenly, things starts to change for Hal. His best friend Mauricio (played by Jason Alexander) notices Hal's fresh new standards with his taste in women and doesn't like it one bit. Hal then begins dating a woman who is overweight named Rosemary, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. He sees her as a beautiful, petite woman and they hit it off. Mauricio, who is much more picky with women and more shallow than Hal, can't believe it.

That's the plot for you and I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that the story is predictable and the characters are memorable. I can't give the cast enough credit for doing such a wonderful job and it's interesting to see Jack Black like you've never seen him before, departing from his usual slacker/stoner role that he's given. Shallow Hal is a movie with a lot of brains and heart to it, as well as a great date movie. There's more to this movie than it appears, so watch it before you say negative things about it and you may be surprised!