Avis Metacritic

Unafraid of walking the fine line between the repellent and the human, Shallow Hal is wickedly funny but heartfelt.

The belly laughs finally start to come --legitimately.

Who else in Hollywood would've met a non-actor with spina bifida (Rene Kirby), created a role for him, then shot him dancing and skiing on his hands to show how easily he fit into society?

So intent on driving home its worthy if not mind-blowing message that it becomes surprisingly conventional.

The movie is shrewd by giving the bulk of its piggish dialogue to Alexander, an actor incapable of projecting genuine cruelty on screen.

Suffers from "Bridget Jones" Syndrome but without that movie's charms.

A one-joke movie. What makes it misfire is that its one joke clashes with its one idea.

When a human joke like Tony Robbins is the only one who comes away from your movie smelling like a rose, there's a real problem in Farrellyland.

Shallow Hal makes the case for restricting the Farrellys to mere gross-out movies.

What they've done here goes beyond gross -- or clumsy, or dumb -- to genuine ugliness, both cutaneous and sub.