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by pat

This is definitely not the funniest movies the Farrelly brothers have made. Actually, it may be one of the least funny. Does that mean you shouldn't see it? Absolutely not. You should, especially if you generally have enjoyed their work, and also if you haven't really gotten into them. This is the product of a lot of trial and error over a suprise career, and, unlike many filmmakers, they seem eager to learn.

After "There's Something About Mary," they could pretty much do what they wanted. What everyone seemed to respond to, at least in discussion and the press, was the gross-out humor and the over the top to downright painful slapstick. They Had already worked out the necessity of plot from "Dumb & Dumber" to "Kingpin," so this was just a way to crank up their quality. They made "Me, Myself, & Irene." It was violent, crude, and heartless. Almost every character was so mean, the evil Charlie wasn't really all that evil. You just didn't like anyone, and the violence wasn't slapstick, it was just violence. It was cold, and frankly, unentertaining. Suddenly what made "Mary" seem so appealing was the heart behind it. So the Farrellys learned.

"Shallow Hal" is full of heart. Some movies with half as much heart come off as sappy drivel, they are so full of heart. That's why this is so well done. The message it straight forward: inner beauty, so on and so on. We've seen it a billion times. It's romanticized, ala "Beauty and the Beast" where the villains are over the top assholes you can't relate to, or "She's All That," where the girl was secretly pretty the whole time. That line of palatability borders on hypocricy. In this case, we see the hotties, then the uglies, and react accordingly, and as the film progresses, we really feel like shit for it. The not-so-pretty people aren't just "they could use a little work" type people. Physically.

Another thing they have learned, beyond many filmmakers, is to trust the actors to be able to tell the story. People are awkward, honest, and you can see how Hal's treatment of them really surprises, confuses, and touches them. Gwenyth, having never weighed as much as one of the chairs she breaks, mimes large well, but the self conscious yet accepting and confident personality of one "with a great personality" to near perfection. Cheap laughs are had at the breaking chairs, but the way she deals with it let you know just how cheap. Jack Black, as the titular Hal, shows what he can really do when not playing the funny or abbasive friend, as he is usually cast. He gives off genuine warmth, not the kind of warmth he gave off at the last Tenacious D show I saw, I think that was just sweat, but he plays the everyman in league with his buddy John Cusack. If you don't get at least a little touched at his second trip to the children's hospital, expect 3 ghosts on Christmas night.

Speaking of the D, KG is in this as well, in a limited role, alongside backstage betty Laura Kightlinger, yum. The only performance in the film that was sub-par was Jason Alexander, who still to this day can only play himself. Tony Robbins, who literally plays himself, is more convincing of an actor than Alexander. How the Infinite Costanza tries to show range: Shake-on hair, an intermittent Boston/Brooklyn/Turkish accent, and his character redeems himself. Two of the three points were in the script. Bob Patterson, we hardly knew ya'. Except that, though, you have a funny, but not over the top, sweet, honest romantic comedy, more emphasis on the romance. Not to sound like all of those hacks out there, but this really is a fell-good movie. Now I need to go see something with a machete and explosions. I'm feeling all girly. Yick

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*the film gets mucho extra credit for referencing the "Grease 2" Michelle Pfieffer in Hal's description of the perfect woman. So true..