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Shallow Hal
Meet Hal Larsen, the ultimate shallow guy finding beauty only in supermodels and centerfolds. Looks are the only thing that matters to Hal, strangely ironic considering his short pudgy stature.
Hal gets stuck in an elevator with self-help guru Tony Robbins who tries to explain that he has been hypnotized by society and media as to what is beautiful. Robbins "de-hypnotizes" Hal allowing him to see the true inner beauty.
Now I must admit that when I first saw the trailers for this movie and the abundance of "fat" jokes, I was put off. It certainly wasn't a movie I was going to go see. Other SSBBWs felt the same, that the movie was an affront to fat people. Once the movie came out and SSBBWs started saying things like, "hilarious", "...message about beauty and what really matters..." and "...gives us hope that even superficial people can see the light", I still didn't change my mind...
...Until today. I decided to rent the movie now that it's out on video and sit quietly and alone in my home and watch it. With plans on writing a review afterwards for SSBBWoman, I prepared myself with paper and pen ready to tally the derogatory observations.
I don't want to ruin the movie for you however at the beginning I made notes about how much they showed Rosemary (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) eating, that her chair would break throwing her to the floor and the comments made by Mauricio, Hal's shallow friend. And then my pen stopped and I watched the movie and yes, even enjoyed it. I have some issues about how this overweight woman was seen in public wearing very short skirts and shorts and heels and doing a lot of walking. Perhaps some of you who are very comfortable with yourselves do this already, however we see and hear the self-esteem issues that Rosemary has so I don't see her clothing matching with this. It was obviously so that Ms. Paltrow could look good as her thin self.
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One of my first thoughts after Hal had been de-hypnotized was "How do you know what their soul or inner beauty is without talking to them and getting to know them". Well, Mauricio had the same question for Tony Robbins, who replied, "Inner beauty is the easiest thing to see when you are looking for it." A bit corny perhaps, but it's the movies.
The fat jokes and the heavy eating by the character, Rosemary, (at one point she asks for a sliver of cake and takes about a third of it, walking away happily munching) were many. At first I found them a tad disturbing but after thinking back on things I think they were merely to bring us back to the moment and remind us that the vision we were seeing (at these times through Hal's eyes) was not the svelte Ms Paltrow but the obese Rosemary. A reality check, as it was.
The movie wasn't just about overweight people either but anyone, men included, that didn't fit into the very small and idiotic ideal of beauty. This included a large male Hawaiian, a tall pimply geek, children in a burn unit, homely women, etc. There was even the opposite of a beautiful woman but obviously not so beautiful on the inside who to Hal was quite hideous looking.
I won't force you to watch the movie but I will tell you that I enjoyed this quaint romance. When Hal finally sees Rosemary for exactly what she is his first words are, "You're beautiful". Very touching, very romantic. He loved her for her total package, inner and outer beauty.
(original article published in SSBBWoman Online Magazine, September 2002, by S. Carter)