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Parents' Guide to

Shallow Hal

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Romantic comedy is pretty tame for Farrelly bros.

Movie PG-13 2001 113 minutes
Shallow Hal Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 5 parent reviews

age 13+

A great movie for learning & laughs

Although some language and sexual innuendos, this is a good family movie for kids who are ready to begin exploring the dating world.
age 13+

Funny with a message for teens and up

This is a Farrely Brothers movie so expect some of the same vulgar, sexual humor and some strong language left over from their previous films like Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary. But unlike their previous gross-out comedies this one has a message behind it about accepting people for the goodness in their hearts and not just for their outward appearances. This would be a good film for parents to discuss that message of loving people for who they really are but it's a film only for 13 and up. Younger kids will not understand the message behind the movie and are likely to not understand the humor, plus it is not an appropriate film for young children. However for teenagers and young adults this is a very funny film with lots of heart, and a great message that all teenagers and young adults can learn a lot from.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (13 ):

The Farrelly brothers, known for gross-out comedies, have taken a couple of giant, if uncertain, steps toward the mainstream with this fairly conventional romantic comedy. SHALLOW HAL even has an undeniably sweet moral -- that true beauty is seen with the heart, not the eyes. Black's specialty is a sort of frenzied but charming energy, and unfortunately, this movie does not give him much opportunity to show it off. Paltrow has some nice moments as Rosemary, a vulnerable woman who has felt humiliatingly invisible all her life.

But one problem with the movie is that instead of the characters themselves being funny, the jokes in the movie happen around them. Black and Paltrow do the best they can, but there just is not enough comic energy at the core of the movie. Some Farelly trademarks make it into the movie, including a disabled character (athlete Rene Kirby, who has spina bifida) and a bizarre physical aberration. But overall, it seems as though it is something of a transitional film for the Farrellys, enjoyable on its own and as a suggestion of better things to come.

Movie Details

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