BEFORE: I'm bumping this one up a few days on the schedule, because I think it might fit thematically with last night's film - both films feature under-developed man-children, who need to learn to grow up and have adult relationships. I'm also playing my own version of the "Kevin Bacon" game by not typing in a film's name at IMDB.com, but trying to navigate from one film to another by only clicking on links - for example, moving from "Wedding Crashers" to the page of Owen Wilson, who was in "The Royal Tenenbaums" with Gwyneth Paltrow, who is in tonight's film. (and Gwyneth was in "Se7en" with Brad Pitt, who was in "Sleepers" with Kevin Bacon. Could also have gone through "Hook" to Dustin Hoffman, also in "Sleepers".)
THE PLOT: A shallow man falls in love with a 300 pound woman because of her "inner beauty".
AFTER: It's an interesting premise - we see mostly through the eyes of a conditioned/hypnotized man (Jack Black, last seen in "Year One"), who's been programmed to see her beautiful soul, so to him she looks like Gwyneth Paltrow (last seen in "The Talented Mr. Ripley"). Yet in the real world, she's still packing on pounds and breaking restaurant furniture.
The problem is, the film's internal logic makes no sense. In order to see a worthy "soul", he would need to get to know a woman, and learn that she does volunteer work, or donates to charities, etc. But the main character here instantly recognizes a beautiful soul before talking to them, and that's just not possible. Not that any of this is possible, but it's not even plausible according to its own rules.
In addition, the film seems overly concerned with humans who have physical irregularities or odd features, which is the very thing that it takes the main character to task for. While saying that the man needs to look below the surface, the movie is preoccupied with doing exactly the opposite. It might be noble to include actors who have disabilities, but I'm not prepared to make that call.
Also, I'm not sure I'm OK with the notion that only fat or less attractive people have noble souls, which the film falls JUST short of saying - it's certainly suggested. By extension, all beautiful people are selfish or self-absorbed, and therefore less perfect. Another broad stroke that I'm not willing to subscribe to. Even worse is the suggestion that by intentionally dating an overweight gal, he's making some kind of noble sacrifice.
NITPICK POINT: At the same time, Black's character is trying to get ahead at work, and finagles a meeting with the company executives to pitch a proposal - which we, the audience never get to hear. Now that's cheating - or just sloppy scriptwriting.
Also starring Jason Alexander (last seen in "Blankman"), self-help guru Tony Robbins, with cameos from Molly Shannon, Bruce McGill (last seen in "A Perfect World"), and Laura Kightlinger.
RATING: 4 out of 10 milk shakes
I liked this one a lot. In the end, a complaint about a movie like this isn't that the premise is absurd, but that the filmmakers failed to find a way to make it work. The Farrellys eat this sort of thing with a spoon.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they were making a point about how people at the extreme ends of the bell curve of Physical Appearance are particularly noble or particularly nasty. For one: how do we know that all of the random people shown in "Hal-Vision" aren't inner manifestations? But as a more practical matter, you have to appreciate that they need to keep the audience's focus on the story.
Anyway. This was a sweet story with true character development. And it treated people like actual _people,_ not like Magical Beings With A Little Something To Teach Us So-Called "Normal" Folks.
(I saw this movie for the first time on cable...with my mom. No, she totally didn't get it and kept asking questions.
"No, Mom. She's really, really fat. That's just how Hal _sees_ her."
"No, Mom. She doesn't actually _change_ into a skinny girl."
"No, Mom, that doesn't mean that Hall is actually really skinny, too..."
The whole thing turned into a 90 minute comedy routine.