Word: hal
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...Hal may be oblivious to all of this, but his friends and coworkers certainly aren’t. Mauricio’s primary role in the movie is to alert Hal to his faulty perception of the morbidly overweight Rosemary, whose charity work and Peace Corps background mean little to anyone, Hal included...
...lies one of the movie’s numerous flaws. Though the Farrelly brothers and main actors have all gone on record to shield the movie against charges of insensitivity, nothing can be said in defense of the illogic and double standards that plague it throughout. In theory, Shallow Hal is the story of a man jolted out of his mindless acceptance of cultural messages about weight and image. Yet Hal’s interest in the obese Rosemary stems directly from the fact that, in his eyes, she looks like Paltrow. As a result, the movie is guilty...
...filmmakers are further thwarted by their decision not to cast “normal” looking actresses as the less attractive women Hal sees once his appearance-blind hypnosis wears off. Instead, we get actresses whose idealized bodies and faces have been altered with fat suits and prosthetic noses. This may simply be due to the nature of the roles—why an overweight woman would demean herself by playing one of these characters is beyond me. Nevertheless, the obvious “uglification” of female cast members lends no authority to the filmmakers?...
...movie falters even more egregiously in stereotyping its attractive and less appealing characters. The Farrelly brothers seem to have made Shallow Hal under the belief that only the physically unattractive would volunteer their time at a hospital or with the Peace Corps. Being good looking, in their view, means you must also be superficial, selfish and stupid. It’s hard to know which suggestion is more insulting, but if pressed to make a choice, I’d go with the former...
...same can’t be said for Paltrow, however, who may bear some responsibility for any rising tide of anorexia that follows on the heels of Shallow Hal. Though the actress manages to inject some sympathy for Rosemary, the boorish portrayal of her character and mean-spirited tone of the rest of the movie destroy any impact she might have had in elevating the Farrelly brothers’ sense of humor beyond that of a middle school locker room. In her fat suit, Paltrow is briefly captivating as her mistreated character begins to cry. In the context...