Twentieth Century Fox Rosemary (Gwyneth
Paltrow) prepares for a romantic date.
“Shallow Hal” Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack
Black Directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Comedies are always the hardest to review. One either laughs or
doesn’t. The Farrelly brothers always walk that precarious
razor’s edge between septic hilarity and poor taste.
“There’s Something About Mary” and
“Kingpin,” inanely funny as they are, don’t
appeal to everybody. But perhaps “Shallow Hal” will
appeal to the more general masses since, for starters, it’s
rated PG-13. “Shallow Hal” is sweeter and more
emotional than the normal toilet bowl Farrelly fare; it’s
Farrelly light and those expecting to see the normal
bladder-loosening humiliations that afflict the protagonist will be
slightly disappointed. But the movie still works because the
characters are sympathetic. Jack Black plays shallow Hal Larsen who
judges women solely on appearance until a self-help guru hypnotizes
him into seeing only their inner beauty. Hal surrounds himself with
equally shallow friends: Mauricio played by Jason Alexander (who
doesn’t seem to have much of a purpose until the end of the
film) and the handicapped Walt played by the debuting Rene Kirby
(who doesn’t seem to have any purpose even at the end of the
film). Hal falls in love with Rosemary, played by Gwyneth Paltrow,
who, through his entranced eyes, looks amazingly like Gwyneth
Paltrow. In reality Rosemary is an insanely obese woman wallowing
in whale-thick folds of fat. Any experienced moviegoer can predict
whether or not Hal will stick with her when the hypnosis wears off
and he sees Rosemary in her true proportions. Predictable, yes, but
the story is sweet and one feels for Rosemary and roots for Hal.
Paltrow is good playing the vulnerably kind-hearted Rosemary and
Black, though not as maliciously funny as he was in other films
like “High Fidelity,” plays Hal as a likeable yet
flawed fellow who works to overcome his problems. Charming. And
though the Farrelly’s don’t necessarily infuse
“Shallow Hal” with their typical brand of humor, the
brothers still manage to stick in a couple token moments. They even
get a nice little split-second that draws strange parallels to the
famous penis shot of a few films back. “Shallow Hal”
has been the object of minor controversy over its alleged treatment
of the overweight community. But the movie isn’t malicious
toward people of any particular affliction and the Farrellys treat
the overweight Rosemary as a human being rather than a gross
archetypal target of cheap laughs. Indeed, the lack of fat jokes
that exists in “Shallow Hal” is actually rather
surprising, as is the lack of envelope-shoving humor.
Ryan Joe
“The One” Starring Jet Li Directed by James
Wong
In “The One,” directors Glen Morgan and James Wong
(“Final Destination,” “Space: Above and
Beyond”) explore the idea of alternate universes and the
possibilities for life they might contain. Morgan and Wong create a
futuristic time and place where each person is connected to their
alter egos in each of 123 alternate universes. The trouble begins
when Gabriel Yulaw, played by world-renowned martial arts master
Jet Li, begins illegally traveling through quantum tunnels into
alternate universes. In each universe Yulaw kills his alter ego,
dividing the victims’ “life force” among the
remaining alter egos, allowing each of them to become stronger,
faster and more powerful. Yulaw’s goal is to eliminate every
one of his alter egos until he contains the entire life force
within himself, thus becoming “The One.” The film
co-stars Delroy Lindo (“Romeo Must Die,” “Gone in
60 Seconds”) and Jason Statham (“Snatch”), who
play Multiverse Authority agents whose job is to stop Yulaw from
becoming “The One.” “The One” is perfect
Friday night entertainment ““ fast-paced and fun, with killer
visuals and a hot soundtrack featuring Drowning Pool, Papa Roach
and Disturbed. The plot is complex enough to stay interesting, but
simple enough to avoid being too serious or confusing. As with any
Jet Li creation, the highlight of the film is watching Li’s
awesome fight sequences. In “The One,” Morgan and Wong
blend Li’s superior martial arts ability with eye-popping
special effects to create some killer fight scenes reminiscent of
“The Matrix.” Since Li plays the alter ego in each
universe, fans get a chance to see Li play vastly different
characters, and Yulaws’ final fight against the last
surviving alter ego is a killer battle between Jet Li and himself.
Jet Li fans will not be disappointed.
Amy Shen