Shallow Hal Details

Gwyneth Paltrow dons a fat suit and pretends she knows what it's like to carry a few (well, about 200) extra pounds in this comedy from the Farrelly brothers. Prepare to be mildly offended (and intermittently amused) by Hal (Jack Black), a man who only goes for the most attractive gals, which in his mind means the slender, supermodel type. That is until he's hypnotised by a motivational speaker (Tony Robbins) into only seeing a woman's inner beauty. Hal then finds himself falling for sweet-natured Rosemary (Paltrow) who, in his eyes, meets his pre-trance criteria when in fact she's a bit heftier than he believes. A surprisingly tame offering from the Farrellys, this is more romance than comedy, and those expecting Dumb and Dumber-style gross-out laughs will be disappointed. However, if the premise doesn't offend, it's an enjoyable way to pass the time.

A movie that has its cake and eats it several times over, gorging on fat jokes and then adding a syrup of sentimentality to excuse them.