Heartfelt or skin deep?

>> The Farrellys do fat jokes with Shallow Hal

by MATTHEW HAYS

Of all the fraternal filmmaking teams working today, the Farrellys are the most contentiously received. Which isn't terribly surprising, seeing how ambiguous their style is. They poke fun at subjects--their films include gags about disabilities, among other things--while seeming to avoid cruelty. A kinder, gentler bitterness, or just nastiness wrapped up in cotton candy? Hard to tell, but with vehicles like There's Something About Mary, the bros have managed to intrigue highbrow critics and frat boys alike.

Shallow Hal will undoubtedly prove a test for the Farrellys, when one takes into account its central theme (and casting). The premise is actually quite clever: Jack Black plays a lovable oaf who longs for nothing but the perfect woman--perfect by Sports Illustrated swimming-suit-issue standards, that is. After bumping into self-help guru Tony Robbins (who appears in an extremely funny cameo), Black's vision is magically changed. Robbins casts a spell on Black, allowing him to see the inner beauty of the women he looks at. Thus Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a 350-pound woman, appears as a svelte beauty, because Black can now only see the beauty of her soul. The two fall in love, but if and when Black's spell wears off or is lifted, he will see all of Paltrow's pounds and his looks-obsession will be tested once more.

Hal is a bizarre little mixed bag of contradictions, for sure. At times, the film chastises the media (which, I suppose, would include the movies) for propping up one monolithic image of female beauty. (Laura Mulvey, are you watching?) It does feel bizarre to hear Black espouse the view that women are judged too often on their looks, in a monologue that echoes Naomi Wolf's gospel from The Beauty Myth. (The Farrellys gone feminist?) The casting of Paltrow is undoubtedly a bit undermining; the actress is perfectly emblematic of Hollywood's appearance demands, perhaps second only to Calista Flockhart in the Tinseltown Starvation Sweepstakes. Paltrow tested credulity this week when she told Today's Matt Lauer that the film is a "loveletter" to the overweight.

Still, the contradictions are really among the most fascinating parts of a Farrelly movie, something especially true here. Shallow Hal is a film that will make you laugh and leave you thinking about its ambiguity at the same time. :

Shallow Hal opens Friday, Nov. 9