Shallow Hal | 99% Trusted |

The body positivity and fat acceptance movements have rightfully pointed out that the film never hires an actual plus-size actress for a lead role. It centers the experience of a thin man learning to tolerate a fat body, rather than telling a story from a fat person’s perspective. The most famous line from the film—"You can't make a sow's ear out of a silk purse"—is uttered by the villain, but the fact that the film even entertains that language is jarring to modern ears.

The film’s logic is paradoxical: To teach us that Rosemary’s weight doesn’t matter, the filmmakers have to show us how monstrous she should look to a shallow person. For the first hour, the audience sees the "hypnosis" version of Rosemary: Gwyneth Paltrow in a corset. We, like Hal, fall in love with her radiant smile and quirky charm. But the film constantly breaks the spell by cutting to the "real" Rosemary (played by dancer and model Lenny Clarke in a body double suit), reminding us that this wonderful woman is actually "fat." Shallow Hal

This is the film’s fatal flaw. It argues that fat people are worthy of love, but it relies on the audience’s revulsion to make its point. It asks us to applaud Hal for looking past the very thing the camera is zooming in on with a comedic wah-wah sound effect. While the Farrellys are clearly on Rosemary’s side, the visual language of early 2000s cinema was not sophisticated enough to handle the nuance. Where Shallow Hal works best is in its depiction of conventional beauty as ugliness. When Hal’s spell breaks temporarily, he sees a supermodel on the street as a hideous, smoking, scowling gremlin. The film’s thesis is that vanity and cruelty are the real disfigurements. The most terrifying character isn’t a fat person; it’s Mauricio (Alexander), whose inner greed makes him look like a devil. The body positivity and fat acceptance movements have

If you watch Shallow Hal today, watch it with your critical lens engaged. Cringe at the moments where the Farrellys’ good intentions go awry. But also allow yourself to feel the earnestness. In a cynical era of ironic detachment, there is something almost radical about a film this nakedly sentimental. It wants you to be a better person. It wants you to love the Rosemary in your life. The film’s logic is paradoxical: To teach us