Fat jokes? Come on, yawn. But it works.
The Movie
The Farrellys deliver a film that lacks their signature off-kilter explosiveness, going instead for the simple yet complex message of inner beauty. Jack Black (High Fidelity, member of Tenacious D) stars as Shallow Hal, a man who chooses his women based solely on their outward appearance. When he ends up stuck in an elevator with self-help guru and motivational speaker Tony Robbins, Robbins decides to give Hal a special gift: to only see a woman's inner beauty.
The movie feels a bit schizophrenic to me. The first half is watered down Farrelly but the second half seems to put the brakes on any sort of broad humor in general. Instead, we are led down the road to some seriously poignant moments between Black and Paltrow as well as a downright heart-breaking moment with a little girl, a burn victim. All in all, not bad.
7 out of 10
The Video
This movie looks extremely vibrant. The Farrelly's have chosen a color-washed film-stock and it shows well across the spectrum. Stand-out sequences include the dance club, Tony Robbins and Jason Alexander's first meeting, and the fancy restaurant where Hal takes Rosemary. Pay special attention to the deep browns present in Rosemary's house ... nice stuff. The presentation is anamorphic widescreen and is generally problem free.
9 out of 10
The Audio
As with most Farrelly Brothers films, the music is eclectic and universal in appeal. They tend to use vocal pieces with lots of acoustic guitars and it all comes through here sounding great. Some earlier looping problems from the theatrical release have been addressed. There is a full soundstage and it is probably best enjoyed in the club settings. Dolby 5.1 Surround in English and Dolby Surround in French and Spanish.
8 out of 10
The Extras
Again, from Fox, just about everything but the kitchen sink. True, most of it is promotional in nature but there's enough here to keep you busy for a couple hours or so.
Let's get started:
First up is the commentary by the Farrelly Brothers. It's pretty good. The Brothers talk about some of their character choices, give justification for some of the scenes and their impact on the overall picture, and the fact that Jack Black is not wearing hair plugs.
The HBO Special hosted by Brooke Burns, looking nice and BLONDE. This piece contains a lot of cast interviews, info on Paltrow getting into her fat suit, and more. About 14 minutes long.
Comedy Central's Reel Comedy: A 22-minute featurette with Jack Black as the centerpiece. Interviews with other cast members (including Tony Robbins) as well.
11 Deleted Scenes:
- "Guess Who Got The Promotion?"
- "Bed Ditch"
- "Beginning Gym"
- "Cab Gag"
- "Sorority"
- "Rene Sings"
- "Jack Runs"
- "Phone Sex/Gym 2"
- "Karma Dog"
- "Fight in the Park"
- "Scene 11 v3"
"Seeing Through the Make-Up" -- On the fat suit, how should the fat Rosemary character look, Brooke Burns' make-up, "boxes or pimples, boxes of warts" and more. Runtime: 12:34
"In The Deep End" -- The pool shot you've seen from the trailer, where Rosemary jumps in and causes an enormous splash. How they put together the shot. Runtime: 2:24.
"Wall in Your Heart" Music Video by Shelby Lynne.
Music promo piece.
Theatrical trailer for Shallow Hal
Theatrical trailer for Minority Report
Theatrical trailer for Banger Sisters
Promo piece for the Farrelly Brothers' DVD movies There's Something About Mary; Me, Myself, and Irene; and Say It Isn't So.
7 out of 10
Overall impression: 8 NOTE: The movie review portion was taken from my review of the film at IGN FilmForce.
