Comedy with a difference

Onkar Joshi

Directed by the Farrelly brothers [Dumb And Dumber, There's Something About Mary], Shallow Hal is a comedy with a unique love story.

Hal Larson, played by Jack Black [High Fidelity, Saving Silverman], is advised by his dying father that only svelte, gorgeous women are worth caring for.

Hal grows up a shallow man, who spends his time lounging in bars with his best pal Maurico [as shallow as him], looking for the 'perfect' woman. Much to their dismay, none of the knockouts want these pudgy blokes for partners.

Hal's life takes a turn when motivational speaker Tony Robbins opens his eyes to 'inner beauty'. Hal now sees the 'inner self' of the women he meets. Hal sees plain women with kind hearts as supermodels, while self-centred beauties appear hags to him.

Maurico is scandalised at this complete turnaround and tries to save his chum in vain. Enter Rosemary [Gwyneth Paltrow]. Hal is besotted, unmindful of the fact that she weighs 300 pounds. Hal sees her as a lithe, handsome woman and starts dating her. He is so infatuated with her that he fails to notice a chair breaking under her weight or the size of her lingerie.

The twist in the story comes when Hal finally starts seeing the world as it actually is, as Maurico manages to reverse Tony Robbins' work.

Will 'shallow' Hal rise in love? Remember, for all the knee-jerk comedy that is the trademark of Jack Black and Jason Alexander, not to mention that of the Farrelly brothers, Shallow Hal is, after all, a love story.

The film has its share of fun and touching parts. That's about it. Jack Black does a great sidekick, but the romantic hero lead doesn't fit him well. He is a good actor but he's best suited for supporting roles.

Paltrow manages to fit the bill looking, for most part, as the Gwyneth we know. She wears the fat suits only to show us what Rosemary really looks like. An interesting character in the film is Walt, who has spina bifida, but uses his confidence to overcome odds doing gymnastics and the like.

The film is long drawn out. Sometimes you are left wondering whether it really is a comedy. The humour is mainly physical, with chairs breaking and Walt spending his screen time on all fours.

It seems that the Farrelly brothers have grown up since Dumb And Dumber. The film may not have you in splits outright. But it is good-natured about its ribbing.

It's a comedy with a difference, worth a dekho.