{"id":4062,"date":"2010-07-14T00:06:39","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T22:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/?p=4062"},"modified":"2010-08-27T10:29:57","modified_gmt":"2010-08-27T08:29:57","slug":"shallow-hal-starring-jack-black-and-gwyneth-paltrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/shallow-hal-starring-jack-black-and-gwyneth-paltrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shallow<\/a>
Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Image via terraespiritual.locaweb.com.br<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shallow Hal<\/strong> is one really good movie. It is funny, but it is not always laugh-out-loud, let\u2019s- get- as-crude-as-possible sort of movie. If anything, it just might be the gentlest thing the Farrelly Brothers<\/strong> ever did. Before I get carried away, here is the plot:<\/p>\n

Hal (Jack Black<\/strong>) is a shallow guy. As much as you would sometimes want to call him a jerk, \u201cshallow\u201d describes him much better, as he is very in humane in shallowness. After all, he is a guy who just wants to be with as many hot women as he can. It doesn\u2019t really matter whether he is a hunk, he just wants hot women. And while we- and I mean women- may not be that aggressive in showing it, we do want hot dates. Don\u2019t give me that I\u2019m- all- too \u2013deep- for- this- line- of- thinking- attitude; even for a second. Just do me a favor and consider these two hypothetical options:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are two men who want you. They are both good guys, fun to be around and you have loads in common. But one of them is not attractive at all in your standards. The other is gorgeous. Which one would you pick? Assume they both want you. Neither has a bad bone in their body. Admit, it you\u2019d go for the gorgeous one. Some women would go the other way, not because they are deeper but because they wouldn\u2019t feel secure, as their boyfriend would get so desired by other women and they wouldn\u2019t feel comfortable. This is not deep. This is called having issues.<\/p>\n

So, can readers of both sexes be honest with me? You can be a nice person and you can place all the importance you want on personality. But given the choice between pretty and ugly (pretty and ugly in your terms) and assuming everything else is equal, you\u2019d choose pretty. It may not be a great human trait, but unfortunately it is sort of imprinted on us. Blame whoever, whatever you want but it is there.<\/p>\n

So, Hal, despite being a totally average-looking guy, wants to date babes. And it is screwing with his life because a hot girl won\u2019t generally go for Hal. Let me \u201cshallow\u201d here. The moment Hal started appreciating hotness over everything, all I could think was,\u201d Dude, look in the mirror! You are way too short, you need to lose like 15 pounds, get at least 5 pounds in muscle, and you don\u2019t exactly have the prettiest face!\u201d. \u00a0Of course as you watch Hal and see him transform, you start to find him cute. Oh yeah, he can be sweet. He can look nice. Still, Jack Black<\/strong> or Clive Owen<\/a>? \u00a0Answer me. Exactly.<\/p>\n

And then there is his much less attractive and much more shallow friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander<\/strong>, aka George Costanza of Seinfeld). He is even worse than Hal. But something changes drastically when Hal gets stuck in an elevator with self-help guru Tony Robbins (played by Tony Robbins himself). Tony notices Hal is totally looking at the wrong things, but is a nice guy inside. So he sort of hypnotizes him into seeing only the inner beauty of people. So if a person is nice, she will look like a babe to him. She will look like a babe to Hal, even if she is ugly and\/or very fat.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why obese Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow<\/strong><\/a>) looks like an extremely fit woman with a really good body to Hal. Of course to everybody else in society, she is fat and not so attractive. Mauricio is terrified as he can\u2019t understand the sudden changes in his best friend. So even though Hal is head over heels with Rosemary, Mauricio makes sure he finds a way for Robbins to take the whole thing back. But what happens if he can reverse it? Hal will see a fat woman whose personality he is in love with\u2026Tough call, right? And yeah, she is borderline fat- not just plump or a little heavy. She is fat enough to have health problems due to her weight, fat enough to break some solid chairs and sofas.<\/p>\n

Despite appearances, this is not a shallow movie. It is done by humane people with the deepest of intentions. We keep our own superficial tendencies in check and hope Hal will make the right decision- the right romantic comedy decision, that is- to be with Rosemary at all costs.<\/p>\n

We all judge books by their covers <\/a>whether we want to admit it or not. Farrelly Brothers<\/strong> just have brought a nice little twist to the thing. Yes, more often than not, we don\u2019t care about the looks that much if we are in love. But how do you get past that until you are in love? Do you really need a hypnosis or just some faith? And what is the guarantee that person who is not beautiful in your sense of the word is not superficial? Would he\/she still go for you if you weighed 100 pounds higher? 200 pounds higher? 100 pounds lower? With virtually no breasts? With no hair? With absolutely 0 taste in clothes? \u00a0Multiply and diversify the examples. But make sure you think about it\u2026.<\/p>\n

And then again, there is the notion that we do want to be considered pretty, inside out. Who here wants to be considered ugly by the person they are attracted to? No one. You wouldn\u2019t probably care if the rest of the world thought you were average, but the person you want, should think you are beautiful\/handsome, right?<\/p>\n

This is a lovely romantic\/comedy\/drama and a lot less crude than Me,Myself and Irene, The Heart Break Kid <\/a>or There is Something About Mary. Even the fat jokes feel like they are there to make fun of Hal and not Rosemary. See this, no matter how you see yourself. No matter how you think others see you. You will feel good.<\/p>\n

Other Movies of Peter and Bobby Farrelly<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dumb<\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"There's<\/a>
There's Something About Mary starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. Rated 7.2 on IMDB. Directed and co-writen by Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Image via klausen1976.files.wordpress.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Me,myself<\/a>
Me,myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger. Directed and co-written by Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Image via images.amazon.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Heartbreak Kid starring Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman and Michelle Monaghan. As usual, directed and co-written by the Farrelly Brothers. Image via bloggang.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back to Shallow Hal<\/a>…<\/p>\n

And yes, it has unrealistic parts. So what? It makes nice points, sometimes at the price of looking overly optimistic and\/or na\u00efve. 6\/10 on IMDB. I think it should get at least a 7 for all the decent jokes (and there are many!), making amends for the way we are, showing how things should be and making you laugh all the same\u2026<\/p>\n

All posts on Gwyneth Paltrow<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A Perfect Murder starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Douglas<\/a><\/p>\n

Iron Man<\/a><\/p>\n

Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannson, Mickey Rourke and Don Cheadle<\/a><\/p>\n

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Shallow Hal on Amazon.com<\/p>\n