The Farrelly Brothers Defend Their 2001 Controversial Comedy ‘Shallow Hal’

Directing duo Peter and Bobby Farrelly a.k.a. the Farrelly brothers have come out in defense of one of their most controversial comedies. The pair is known for controversy thanks to the likes of Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, and Stuck on You, but their 2001 effort Shallow Hal, which follows Jack Back as the titular shallow man whose romantic life is changed after he’s hypnotized into seeing a person’s inner beauty, is surely at the top of that particular list.

Speaking with Variety about their latest project, the Christmas comedy Dear Santa, which sees them reunite with Jack Black, the Farrelly brothers addressed Black’s prior assessment that Shallow Hal “didn’t turn out” as he’d hoped. Bobby Farrelly, though, feels that the message of the movie remains intact, and doesn’t believe Shallow Hal should have gotten such a controversial reputation as it came from “a good place.”

Peter: No, first we’re hearing of this. (laughs) I think I heard that from [his co-lead] Gwyneth [Paltrow]…

Bobby: I think the movie was always coming from a good place. “Don’t judge people by what they look like. Look what’s inside of them — that’s where the real beauty is.” That was the point of the movie, and I think if you watch it now, it still says that.

‘Shallow Hal’ Was a Painful Experience for Some of the Cast

Directed by the Farrelly brothers and starring Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow, Shallow Hal finds the titular Hal changing his perspective after a run-in with self-help guru Tony Robbins. Undoing Hal’s shallowness, Robbins hypnotizes him into seeing the beauty that exists within. The movie sees Paltrow wearing a fat suit to portray the main love interest, Rosemary, and while critics at the time did find the comedy to be surprisingly warm-hearted, the constant jokes made at the expense of Rosemary earned Shallow Hal its controversial status.

While the Farrelly brothers don’t seem to harbor any regret about the movie, the same cannot be said for Paltrow’s body double, Ivy Snitzer, who has previously detailed her negative experience with the rom-com.

“It didn’t occur to me that the film would be seen by millions of people. It was like the worst parts about being fat were magnified. And no one was telling me I was funny. It is not the worst thing in the world to be fat. I got really scared. I was like: maybe I’m done with the concept of fame, maybe I don’t want to be an actor. Maybe I’ll do something else. I just want to make people laugh; I don’t want to make people sad.”

Unlikely to cause anywhere near as much controversy is the Farrelly brothers’ next project, Dear Santa. Directed by Bobby and co-written by Peter, Dear Santa finds a young boy accidentally mailing his Christmas wish list to Satan instead of Santa after a crucial spelling error. Dear Santa is now available to stream on Paramount+.