Seeing the inner beauty in ‘Shallow Hal’

It’s hard for “Shallow Hal” to follow the Farelly’s blockbuster hits of “Something about Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber,” but “Shallow Hal” meets the expectations left behind by their previous movies through a brilliant and funny story line about inner beauty.

“Shallow Hal,” a Twentieth Century Fox Conundrum Entertainment Production and Farrelly Brothers Movie, starring Jeff Black and Gwyneth Paltrow, premieres Nov. 9.

This movie is the Farrelly Brothers’ sixth movie, following their blockbuster hits “Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber.” Sean Moynihan wrote the screenplay for this movie, and the Farrelly Brothers directed and produced the film. “Shallow Hal” is story about Hal (Jack Black), an extremely shallow man who only judges females based on their looks. The movie opens with his dad’s death. Hal admired his father, and before his father died, he made Hal promise him to never settle for average and to find the “classic beauty,” which he defined as drop-dead gorgeous.

The movie then jumps ahead to when Hal is in his 20s. Hal and best friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander) are in a dance club, discussing how nothing is going their way. However, that is all about to change. The next day at work, Hal gets stuck in the elevator with the famous self-help guru Tony Robbins. Robbins tells Hal that from this moment on he will see only the female’s “true beauty,” her inner beauty.

Later, Hal meets Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), who volunteers for the Peace Corp and is currently working in a children’s hospital. Hal only sees Rosemary’s inner beauty, but Mauricio and everyone else see Rosemary’s outer appearance as a 300-pound woman and don’t understand what Hal sees in her. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t you agree?

The Farrelly Brothers spoke before 40 student journalists at a press conference in New Orleans in October. They both said they are proud of the finished product.

“Shallow Hall” is a movie about inner beauty,” said Peter Farrelly in the press conference. “We work on each of our screenplays until they are masterpieces.”

“The point of the movie is that the shell shouldn’t really matter. What’s important is getting to the heart of a person,” Gwyneth Paltrow (Rosemary) said in a press release about the film. “The message of the film is very positive and hopeful. I think it’s really sweet and coming from the best possible place.”

“This movie is written from real life experience, and it is Moynihan’s first. Moynihan is legally blind and has been working on this screenplay for around six years,” Bobby Farrelly told the students. “The more real you make a story, the better it is and the funnier it is.”

“That real-life dynamic really worked,” Peter added. “Because in the story, Hal, an average guy who has been unsuccessful in his pursuit of gorgeous women, is intimidated by what he perceives as Rosemary’s beauty.”

“We worked really hard on this movie, and no jokes about fat, skinny, attractive or unattractive people were allowed during the filming of the movie,” Bobby said.

Jack Black did a wonderful job in this movie. He conveyed his character really well. This is Black’s first leading role in a feature film. The Farelly brothers said he was a perfect choice for the character.

“It was phenomenal working with Jack Black,” Peter said. “He is nice, easygoing and fun.”

“He is perfect for this role,” said Bobby. “He will become a big star and be liked a lot.”

Gwyneth Paltrow was a perfect choice for Rosemary in this movie. Her character was well thought out and a perfect example of a woman with inner beauty.

“She was our first choice,” said Bobby. “She did an excellent job.”

“We named her character Rosemary, because we thought it would be nice to end with the song “Love grows where my Rosemary goes,” said Peter. “Gwyneth has a quality that goes beyond mere beauty. She has an ethereal beauty and a luminosity that you can’t teach. She just glows when she’s smiling, looking like she’s happy and in love. That’s exactly what was needed for the character of Rosemary.”

Jason Alexander’s character, Mauricio, was almost as funny as his character George Costanza on Seinfield. Mauricio is even more shallow than Hal.

“Mauricio finds flaws in others, because he is afraid of them finding flaws in him,” said Bobby. “Mauricio’s a shallow character, but he also has to be affable and funny,”

Another character in the movie is Hal’s friend Walt (Rene Kirby). Kirby has spina bifida, a congenital disorder in which the spinal column is imperfectly closed, and in the movie, Walt walks on all fours. This is Kirby’s first acting job.

“We were at a bar one night and all of a sudden I felt a tap on my shin,” said Peter. “I looked down and Rene Kirby was passing me by, moving on all fours. I thought, ‘What the heck was that?’”

“His mother never let him use crutches or a wheel chair. His character is very powerful,” said Peter. “He is the true definition of inner beauty to me.”

“Walt’s just this happy-go-lucky guy,” said Bobby. “We don’t focus on him walking on all fours, but rather that he’s just someone who hangs out with everybody and whom everybody likes. He’s the life of the party and really the heart of the movie.”

Overall, “Shallow Hal” is a very funny and wonderfully written movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 9 2001. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry