"SHALLOW HAL" DVD: I Gotta Go Fire Off A Missile (reviewed by AX)

The Farrelly brothers' SHALLOW HAL was one of the greatest films of 2001. These guys have a track record that's incredible, one that has ensured their status in the history of comedic cinema. Beginning with 1994's DUMB AND DUMBER, Peter and Bobby Farrelly ushered in the "gross-out comedy": I can remember laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe. Seeing Jeff Daniels sitting on that toilet with explosive diarrhea always brings tears to my eyes. They followed that one with KINGPIN, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, ME MYSELF & IRENE and OSMOSIS JONES...all incredibly funny. Son of a bitch! I will never forget seeing Cameron Diaz with come in her hair. That is just off the charts, man. Genius. SHALLOW HAL is another gem from this brilliant comedy team, filled with more oddball humor and wacked-out characters. But it also has a lot of heart, something that always separates a Farrelly brothers movie from the usual crop of comedies. Along with the laughs is something bigger; a message about life and love and humanity. At the core of all the silliness is something real, something we can all relate to. That's the real genius, and SHALLOW HAL is proof positive that these guys are just going to get better and better as the years go by.

Just like the title says, Jack Black (from TENACIOUS D motherfuckers say YEAH...ya fuckin robots!) plays a shallow middle-aged dickhead named Hal. He's a loser when it comes to women because he's only interested in what's on the surface. He and his friend Mauricio (played by Jason "Can't Stand Ya" Alexander) go to clubs and try to hit on supermodel type women with absolutely no luck. They're fucks, basically. But very typical of the behavior of most men. So one day, Hal gets stuck in the elevator with self-help guru Tony Robbins ("Look at your hands! It's like a bunch of bananas!"). Tony bestows a special gift on Hal, one that will allow him to only see the inner beauty of women. When Hal gets out of the elevator, suddenly it seems like every hot babe responds to his advances. Since his idea of beautiful is the standard media-influenced kind, Hal sees every good-hearted woman as being a stunningly fly babe. And on the flipside, he sees every slutty bitch as a wart-covered, big-nosed, fat, red-faced beast. He meets a woman named Rosemary (played by Gwyneth "Head In A Box" Paltrow) while under the influence of this altered perception, and falls in love. Problem is, everybody but Hal sees what Rosemary REALLY looks like: a 300-pound blonde.

This film is brilliant in so many ways, but mainly in that it challenges us to think about our pre-conceived ideas on what is beautiful and what is ugly. Obviously everybody is attracted to different things (for example, I thought Gwyneth's "fat" body double Ivy was a babe in comparison to the mega-star she was standing in for), so this doesn't necessarily mean the same rules apply to everybody. But as far as Hollywood and the media and society in general are concerned, SHALLOW HAL's themes are very thought-provoking indeed. And the jokes are fucking funny too. It made me think of SHREK in some ways, a film with a similar theme of acceptance and true beauty (how fine was Cameron Diaz when she turned into the green chick? Hey baby! Oh yeah).

This DVD was delayed for a couple months for unknown reasons, but it's definitely a good one to buy. First, it has feature-length commentary by the Farrellys, who are always very insightful and funny to listen to. You also get 11 deleted scenes w/ optional commentary. Nothing really big was cut out, just a few things here and there that aren't that major. You always hope to see something that the censors just didn't like (buy the JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK disc if you want that!), but it's hardly ever the case when you're talking deleted scenes. There are 2 "making-of" featurettes, one from HBO and one from Comedy Central. Mostly these are just clips from the movie padded w/ a few cast interviews.

Speaking of padding, the best feature (by far) is the segment that focuses on how they made Gwyneth Paltrow into the big Rosemary. It's amazing to see what they went through to transform her. Early tests are shown, and they even take her out on the street to see how people react to her in the makeup. They interview Ivy, the "real-life" Rosemary (she was the body double), and they talk to FX wiz Tony Gardner (who was responsible for DARKMAN back in the day). The "fat" makeup on Gwyneth does NOT look as good as what Rick Baker did with Eddie Murphy for THE NUTTY PROFESSOR remake, unfortunately. I think they wanted Gwyneth's face to be more recognizeable in the makeup, which I think hindered the final result significantly. It almost looks like they used CGI to blend the makeup to her face a little more, which produces an odd effect onscreen. Some of the early tests looked way better than the final product.

SHALLOW HAL gets a 4.5 out of 5, which is near-perfect. This movie kicks a lot of ass and has a great message.

(NOTE: please visit www.about-face.org if you have time.)

(7.3.02)