The
Farrelly Brothers are not known for making refined, politically correct
comedies. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that SHALLOW HAL
($28) has plenty of moments where good tastes are nowhere to be found.
However, what I did find surprising about this movie is that there is
a layer of sweetness and charm sandwiched in between the cruder comic
moments. On the film’s politically incorrect side, an obese leading character
becomes the butt of many of the movie’s jokes and sight gags. On its sweeter
side, SHALLOW HAL does make a statement about inner beauty being
far more important that what people look like on the outside.
The
plot of SHALLOW HAL follows the title character Hal (Jack Black),
who is a nice guy, but spends all of his free time in pursuit of women
way outside of his league. Then one day, Hal’s path crosses that of self-help
guru Tony Robbins, who changes our shallow protagonist’s worldview, by
making it possible for Hal to only see a person’s inner beauty and not
their outward appearance. Soon Hal meets up with the exquisitely beautiful
Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), whom he quickly becomes enamored. Hal then
introduces Rosemary to his neurotic and even shallower friend Mauricio
(Jason Alexander), who is perplexed to discover that the woman Hal describes
as incredibly beautiful, weighs well over three hundred pounds.
Much
of the film’s charm and humor is derived from seeing the world from Hal’s
point of view, juxtaposed against the realities of the weighty situation
that he finds himself in with Rosemary. Jack Black comes across as a very
likable, albeit misguided, goofball of a leading man, who learns to see
with his heart and not his eyes. Gwyneth Paltrow is pretty delightful
as Rosemary, playing the character in the same very natural manner, whether
she is in Hal’s idealized view of her, or as a three hundred pound woman
dealing with the realities of her world. Paltrow even carries off the
required physical comedy quite well, showing that an Academy Award should
be no deterrent to an actor taking a stab at lowbrow humor. Jason Alexander
doesn’t seem to stretching himself with his neurotic supporting performance,
which is very reminiscent of the role he played on a very popular sitcom.
The Farrelly Brothers would appear to have reined themselves in with SHALLOW
HAL, staying away from many of the gross out comic excesses of such
films as KINGPIN, DUMB AND DUMBER and THERE’S SOMETHING
ABOUT MARY, this approach work some of the time, but I miss the laugh
out loud antics of their earlier films. The cast of SHALLOW HAL
also includes Joe Viterelli, Rene Kirby, Bruce McGill, Susan Ward, Zen
Gesner, Nan Martin, Jill Christine Fitzgerald, and Brooke Burns.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made SHALLOW HAL available on
DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9
displays. This is a really good looking transfer, not what one would call
demonstration quality, but comedies are about making the jokes work and
not about creating exceedingly artful cinematography. The image on the
DVD is bright, clean and sharp, with only occasional shots appearing a
bit soft. Film grain is held in check fairly well, with only a few moments
when it is even slightly noticeable. Colors tend to be warm and very attractive,
with naturalistic looking flesh tones. Blacks are accurately rendered,
contrast is wonderfully smooth and shadow detail is very good. Actually,
there are no real dark scenes in the movie, with even the nighttime sequences
being exceedingly well lit. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression
artifacts in check throughout the course of the film.
SHALLOW
HAL is offered on DVD with a Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While very nice sounding, the mix is of
the standard comedy variety. The forward soundstage is predominant, with
the surround channels seeing only occasional activity. Dialogue reproduction
is excellent, with every line coming across crisply and with complete
intelligibility. Like most modern comedies, a good deal of popular music
has found its way into the soundtrack of SHALLOW HAL and it is
reproduced with excellent fidelity. Although the bass channel doesn’t
have much to do, it is solidly felt for occasional effects and to enhance
the music on the soundtrack. French and Spanish Dolby Surround soundtracks
are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English subtitles.
Some
animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s delightfully goofy interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. Co-directors
Bobby and Peter Farrelly are present for a running audio commentary that
is entertaining and offers their typical who’s who of their friends and
relatives playing bit parts in the movie. Also included on the DVD is
the HBO making of special Being Shallow Hal, which runs
about fifteen minutes and is hosted by the beauteous Brooke Burns, who
also interviews various people on the street about what it means to be
shallow, in addition to introducing the plugs for the movie. The most
interesting aspect of this program is seeing Gwyneth Paltrow’s emotional
first experience wearing the "fat suit" in a public setting
and getting a real feeling for what it is to be obese.
Running
slightly over twenty minutes is the Reel Comedy: Shallow Hall
special from Comedy Central, which offers somewhat more substantial interviews
with the cast and crew. Seeing Through the Layers runs less
than fifteen minutes and offers a detailed look at how the makeup was
able to transform Gwyneth Paltrow into the larger version of her character
Rosemary. Running two minutes is In The Deep End With Shallow Hal,
which is a look at how the film’s most advertised sight gag was achieved.
Eleven deleted scenes are present on the DVD and are offered with the
option of director’s commentary. A Shelby Slynne's music video for the
song Wall In Your Heart is also provided on the DVD, as
is a theatrical trailer for SHALLOW HAL, plus bonus trailers for
MINORITY REPORT, UNFAITHFUL and THE BANGER SISTERS.
SHALLOW
HAL displays the softer side of
The Farrelly Brothers, and while not as hilarious as the gross-out comedies
that made them famous, this movie is funny and it does have a big heart.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has produced a fine looking and sounding
DVD that offers a nice package of supplements. If you are a fan of The
Farrelly Brothers, or this movie in particular, you will definitely want
to check out SHALLOW HAL on DVD.
The
Farrelly Brothers are not known for making refined, politically correct
comedies. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that SHALLOW HAL
($28) has plenty of moments where good tastes are nowhere to be found.
However, what I did find surprising about this movie is that there is
a layer of sweetness and charm sandwiched in between the cruder comic
moments. On the film’s politically incorrect side, an obese leading character
becomes the butt of many of the movie’s jokes and sight gags. On its sweeter
side, SHALLOW HAL does make a statement about inner beauty being
far more important that what people look like on the outside.
The
plot of SHALLOW HAL follows the title character Hal (Jack Black),
who is a nice guy, but spends all of his free time in pursuit of women
way outside of his league. Then one day, Hal’s path crosses that of self-help
guru Tony Robbins, who changes our shallow protagonist’s worldview, by
making it possible for Hal to only see a person’s inner beauty and not
their outward appearance. Soon Hal meets up with the exquisitely beautiful
Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), whom he quickly becomes enamored. Hal then
introduces Rosemary to his neurotic and even shallower friend Mauricio
(Jason Alexander), who is perplexed to discover that the woman Hal describes
as incredibly beautiful, weighs well over three hundred pounds.
Much
of the film’s charm and humor is derived from seeing the world from Hal’s
point of view, juxtaposed against the realities of the weighty situation
that he finds himself in with Rosemary. Jack Black comes across as a very
likable, albeit misguided, goofball of a leading man, who learns to see
with his heart and not his eyes. Gwyneth Paltrow is pretty delightful
as Rosemary, playing the character in the same very natural manner, whether
she is in Hal’s idealized view of her, or as a three hundred pound woman
dealing with the realities of her world. Paltrow even carries off the
required physical comedy quite well, showing that an Academy Award should
be no deterrent to an actor taking a stab at lowbrow humor. Jason Alexander
doesn’t seem to stretching himself with his neurotic supporting performance,
which is very reminiscent of the role he played on a very popular sitcom.
The Farrelly Brothers would appear to have reined themselves in with SHALLOW
HAL, staying away from many of the gross out comic excesses of such
films as KINGPIN, DUMB AND DUMBER and THERE’S SOMETHING
ABOUT MARY, this approach work some of the time, but I miss the laugh
out loud antics of their earlier films. The cast of SHALLOW HAL
also includes Joe Viterelli, Rene Kirby, Bruce McGill, Susan Ward, Zen
Gesner, Nan Martin, Jill Christine Fitzgerald, and Brooke Burns.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made SHALLOW HAL available on
DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9
displays. This is a really good looking transfer, not what one would call
demonstration quality, but comedies are about making the jokes work and
not about creating exceedingly artful cinematography. The image on the
DVD is bright, clean and sharp, with only occasional shots appearing a
bit soft. Film grain is held in check fairly well, with only a few moments
when it is even slightly noticeable. Colors tend to be warm and very attractive,
with naturalistic looking flesh tones. Blacks are accurately rendered,
contrast is wonderfully smooth and shadow detail is very good. Actually,
there are no real dark scenes in the movie, with even the nighttime sequences
being exceedingly well lit. Dual layer authoring keeps digital compression
artifacts in check throughout the course of the film.
SHALLOW
HAL is offered on DVD with a Dolby
Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While very nice sounding, the mix is of
the standard comedy variety. The forward soundstage is predominant, with
the surround channels seeing only occasional activity. Dialogue reproduction
is excellent, with every line coming across crisply and with complete
intelligibility. Like most modern comedies, a good deal of popular music
has found its way into the soundtrack of SHALLOW HAL and it is
reproduced with excellent fidelity. Although the bass channel doesn’t
have much to do, it is solidly felt for occasional effects and to enhance
the music on the soundtrack. French and Spanish Dolby Surround soundtracks
are also encoded onto the DVD, as are English subtitles.
Some
animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s delightfully goofy interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials. Co-directors
Bobby and Peter Farrelly are present for a running audio commentary that
is entertaining and offers their typical who’s who of their friends and
relatives playing bit parts in the movie. Also included on the DVD is
the HBO making of special Being Shallow Hal, which runs
about fifteen minutes and is hosted by the beauteous Brooke Burns, who
also interviews various people on the street about what it means to be
shallow, in addition to introducing the plugs for the movie. The most
interesting aspect of this program is seeing Gwyneth Paltrow’s emotional
first experience wearing the "fat suit" in a public setting
and getting a real feeling for what it is to be obese.
Running
slightly over twenty minutes is the Reel Comedy: Shallow Hall
special from Comedy Central, which offers somewhat more substantial interviews
with the cast and crew. Seeing Through the Layers runs less
than fifteen minutes and offers a detailed look at how the makeup was
able to transform Gwyneth Paltrow into the larger version of her character
Rosemary. Running two minutes is In The Deep End With Shallow Hal,
which is a look at how the film’s most advertised sight gag was achieved.
Eleven deleted scenes are present on the DVD and are offered with the
option of director’s commentary. A Shelby Slynne's music video for the
song Wall In Your Heart is also provided on the DVD, as
is a theatrical trailer for SHALLOW HAL, plus bonus trailers for
MINORITY REPORT, UNFAITHFUL and THE BANGER SISTERS.
SHALLOW
HAL displays the softer side of
The Farrelly Brothers, and while not as hilarious as the gross-out comedies
that made them famous, this movie is funny and it does have a big heart.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has produced a fine looking and sounding
DVD that offers a nice package of supplements. If you are a fan of The
Farrelly Brothers, or this movie in particular, you will definitely want
to check out SHALLOW HAL on DVD.
