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When this film came to the theaters, I had zero interest in seeing it, since most of the clips I saw were just cheap 'fat jokes'--such as the scene where Ms. Paltrow jumps into the pool and practically empties it. The film looked pretty cruel and besides that I am NOT a fan of the Farrelly brothers--I hated DUMB AND DUMBER as well as KINGPIN, as the jokes seemed all too often geared towards the more ignorant teens in the world. So, when it comes to expectations for the film, it would be very difficult to find someone who was more negatively inclined towards liking the movie. In fact, the only reason I saw the film is that my uncle came for a visit and he wanted to see the film. Not wanting to be a kill-joy, I saw it and said nothing. Surprisingly, after all the initial fat jokes, the film had a lot of depth and good-natured humor and I would heartily recommend it! So why did I like it? Well, despite the crude style of the jokes, the humor was secondary and supported the deeper message. While I don't NEED a message to my humor (after all, I'm a guy that loves MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL), it often helps elevate films to greater depth and meaning. In this case, Hal is a total jerk who only looks at the superficial in women. In a bizarre turn, Tony Robbins apparently has magical powers and changes Hal so he ONLY sees beneath the surface. Now, the inner beauty or ugliness is how he perceives everyone. Now of course, it's a foregone conclusion that he will fall in love with ultra-fat Paltrow, but it's the rest of the people around him that make this an inspired film. A great example was the beautiful woman who is using Hal's disabled rich friend. Everyone saw her as very pretty, but since she was such a shallow and evil person, Hal's impression of her was priceless. However, by far the best example was the touching scene where his original way of seeing people is returned and he realizes that the beautiful children he befriended are in fact burn victims--it is a very heavy scene emotionally and didn't really seem gratuitous or cheap.Another plus for the film was Jason Alexander. I never was a huge fan of good old George Kostanza, but in this film he is great as a sidekick for Hal. His even greater shallowness and insensitivity is great because the character has so much going wrong with him physically that he should be the last person to make these judgments! I don't want to say much more, as it would spoil your impressions, but he was perfect in this role. And, like Hal, you see some profound changes take place during the course of the film.All in all, the film is a wonderful film. Those who hate ME, MYSELF AND IRENE, DUMB AND DUMBER, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, etc. don't give up on this film. The crudeness of these other films is not apparent in SHALLOW HAL and this is actually a film you can let your kids see and still be a responsible parent!!!
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