Shallow Hal (2001)

Director: Farrelly Brothers
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, Jason Alexander
Genre: romantic comedy
Certificate: 12
Rating: *****

From the DVD case, this film looks like it is not going to be too good. Yet if you give it the chance it deserves, and 'don't judge a book by its cover', you will realise how good it actually is. The plot is basically about a man who only judges women from what they look like, before his perceptions are altered, and the beauty within women reflects on their beauty outside. And so, he falls in love with a beautiful woman, who he does not realise is actually fat. Yes, the plot IS cheesy, but it manages to become a beautiful film, when Jack Black's character realises that he loves his obese girlfriend, because of what she is inside. There is a scene in this which almost brought me to tears - after Hal's perceptions are re-altered, he realises that a little girl whom he played The Kissing Game with is actually a burn victim. This scene was beautifully done. Obviously, the message of this film is about seeing the inner beauty of individuals, and Shallow Hal brings it across almost too easily. A must-see.