MovieChat Forums > Shallow Hal (2001) Discussion > Issues with this movie

Issues with this movie

posted 10 years ago by GirlwonderReturns
17 replies | jump to latest

Just saw this the other night for the first time in years, and a few things jumped out at me and irritated me.

1. It makes all obese people out to be social pariahs who never date and basically have no friends. I've never been a big girl, but I have known plenty of obese women in my life who had/have active social lives and often romantic/sex lives too. And not with so-called "chubby chasers" - 2 of my heavy female friends have told me they avoid such men like the plague because they are "fetishists". Another friend of mine who had been obese since childhood met and married a great guy (who was also thin and nice looking) and had two kids with him. Hell, look at that show "My 600lb life" - half of the women on that show have kids and/or significant others. One of my brothers was also obese for a time (though he ended up losing a crapload of weight) and he never had a problem getting a date. So the idea that Rosemary, who while quite large, is well dressed and well groomed throughout most of the film, in addition to having a sweet disposition, just couldn't get a date because of her size, is bunk. Fat people date too.

2. (this may have been discussed before; I didn't read through all the threads on here) The idea that all fat/ugly people have hearts of gold, yet the majority of good looking/beautiful people out there have ugly hearts and souls is just stupid. I know fat people who are total a-holes, and I also know plenty of good-looking people who would give you the shirts off their backs. It's a shtty generalization to make, even for the sake of making a point.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.

[–] questfortwo 10 years ago

I didnt really see the movie portray rosie as you say. I thought she had dated ralph for a while but i still agree with your points except when you compare it to 600lb life. Most those people still have significant others because they're pretty much in the same boat physically, fell in love with the person 400lbs ago and are too good hearted to leave, or they have kids together giving them reason to stay.

[–] GirlwonderReturns 10 years ago

Well in fairness, some of the women on "MY 600lb Life", their husbands/boyfriends are fat fetishists. I can think of at least 2 episodes where the women had partners - in one case a husband, another a boyfriend - who were NOT happy about them losing weight. The married one actually ended up divorced because once she lost weight her husband wasn't attracted to her anymore. Which is kind of sick, no better than divorcing someone because he/she gained weight. This is why a lot of big women avoid the "chubby chasers". My one friend was absolutely vehement. Even if she was getting along with a guy, if she found out he had a "special interest" in big girls, she was out. But again, the idea that a woman who is kind, well groomed and dressed, and has a good sense of humor could never find a boyfriend who wasn't painfully unattractive is just silly.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.

[–] manram24 10 years ago

Not to read too much into the movie, but it almost seems the message was that only obese and "ugly" girls are beautiful on the inside, in the movie there really were no good looking women in the movie who were also beautiful on the inside.

Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours

[–] Lolo1976 10 years ago

There were plenty of lesser characters who (presumably) appeared to Hal as they actually looked... for example, wasn't there an attractive nurse working at the front desk? Or if I'm mistaken on that example, there must have been others. They just had to focus on those with "conflicting" personalities/looks, as the plot would have been otherwise lost.

[–] ChipDouglas (1607) 6 years ago

Neighbor across the hall

[–] SmokeyTheGreat 10 years ago

There was only a handful of characters in the movie. To say that you know some large folks who are a-holes or that you know good looking people that are nice is pointless because the movie isn't saying millions of people take on the personas of the characters in the movie.

[–] Lolo1976 10 years ago

"Fat people date too."

Amen to that! I used to be quite heavy, and actually dated more than I do now... and they weren't often (if ever) the "fat fetishist" types, in fact some had only dated smaller women previously. We all have different tastes, or as my late grandmother used to say - "Every earring has a match." ;-)

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] robken0174 9 years ago

@premature, what a dumb generalization. I know plenty of fat introverts and plenty of outgoing slender people. If you die alone, it's because you're attitude sucks.

These pc-obsessed times are getting old.

[–] jedite1000 9 years ago

I know some good looking guys are chubby chasers but it is rare for good looking girls who are chubby chasers. I should know, I never been on a date ever and I've asked alot of girls out and they are not into big men. They seem to find me repulsive.

[–] virgiltx 9 years ago

I don't think there has been a single male heartthrob, or romantic figure, in all of the history of civilization, from the ancient Greek gods, down to today.

____________________
The story is king.

[–] GirlwonderReturns 9 years ago

How you carry and present yourself makes a difference regardless of your size. Look at Ralphie May. He's not just fat, he's huge, and his wife is tiny and super cute - and they were together before he got famous. I recall her saying in an interview that they were friends first, and at first his weight kind of turned her off, but as time went by she realized that she loved him anyway. They've been married like 10 years now.

For me personally, I've never been obese, but I was a size 14 at one time, and men barely looked at me. Was that all because I was overweight and thus they just didn't find me attractive, or was it partly due to the fact that I wasn't happy with myself at that size and so that was the vibe I projected? I ended up losing 50+ pounds and by the time I lost the first 20 or so I started to carry myself with more confidence, and I think that as much as my size made me more attractive to most men.

The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.

[–] Texas-Jack 8 years ago

It's a comedy, you need to stop being so sensitive. The trouble with people nowadays is that every little thing shocks them.

[–] Cosmic_Cre 8 years ago

Are you actually saying you're disappointed in not finding a deep meaningful socially conscious message in a Farrelly Brothers' comedy? Do you have any idea how ludicrous that sounds? The point of their movies is to be ridiculous and over the top not to be an after school special.

The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

I have to feel this comedy was trying to make some kind of a point. I love Gwynn, don't like Jack all that much, and I thought I saw the beginning of this somewhere along the line and it didn't grab me. I wouldn't mind giving it another chance, but watching GP going around like a fat girl who's also attractive doesn't sound very entertaining to me. I think I remember a canoe scene that I didn't find funny.

[–] duongdogg 8 years ago

Yeah agreed but it was a comedy with a decent message.

[–] kellycallie (728) 7 years ago

I didn't like two things about this movie. First of all Hal was already a mess himself, if he was going to get a better looking girl he was going to have to deal with his own weight problem. And second, was Rosemary really such a great person? She was a rich girl with no real steady employment other than volunteer work and appeared to be financially supported by her parents. She was kind of a slob to be honest. They were both losers if you think about it, I suppose they were perfect for each other.