Shallow Hal

Shallow Hal is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by the Farrelly Brothers. The film stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, with Jason Alexander, Joe Viterelli, and Susan Ward in supporting roles. Filming took place in various areas including Charlotte, North Carolina, and Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain. The plot centers around a womanizer who, while under a hypnotic guise to only see a person's inner beauty, falls in love with a 300-pound woman. Production for the film was moved ahead to be completed before July 2000, mainly to avoid conflicts with a threatened writer's strike from the Writers Guild of America. The Farrellys initially sought Garry Shandling to play the role of Mauricio in the film, but were unsuccessful and Alexander was cast in the role instead. For Paltrow's role as Rosemary, she was portrayed as both slim and fat in the film, wearing a specially designed 25-pound fat suit as well as prosthetic makeup. Paltrow would later express regret about taking part in the film's production. Shallow Hal was released in the United States on November 9, 2001, by 20th Century Fox. The film was a box-office success, grossing $141.1 million against a $41 million budget. Initial reviews for the film were mixed, with the premise and humor primarily dividing responses.