A Sizeable Box Office Hit That Gets More Offensive by the Year Embraces Its True Self on Streaming

Darren Aronofsky has been forced to publicly address the reasons why he decided that putting Brendan Fraser in a fat suit to direct him to a potential Academy Award in The Whale was a justifiable decision, so it’s not exactly a shock that 2001 comedy Shallow Hal continues to cause offense more than 20 years on from its initial release.

Star Gwyneth Paltrow has been vocal in admitting she thought the comedy was a disaster, but that didn’t stop her from being buried under prosthetics to share top billing in a film that’s arguably a lot sweeter and a great deal more heartfelt than you remember or have been told by the internet, and it was also a hefty hit at the box office after earning $141 million a $40 million budget.

The Farrelly brothers have claimed that Shallow Hal is a lot more nuanced, subtle, and tender than it gets credit for, while modern-day retrospectives continue to slam it as one long, unnecessary, and upsetting – especially when Paltrow infamously put her foot in her mouth by admitting on the press circuit that she found it “upsetting” to pretend to be the obese Rosie Shanahan for a hot minute when walking around in public to test out how convincing the costume was.

Regardless of whether you find it to be a cruel and unfunny jibe, or a heartwarming story of beauty truly only being in the eye of the beholder, or you fall somewhere in the middle and shake your fists in the air when 2022 audiences get upset about something that happened decades ago, one thing that can’t be argued with is Shallow Hal‘s resurgence on streaming.

As per FlixPatrol, the thoroughly average Jack Black vehicle has made a splash on the iTunes worldwide watch-list this week, so maybe the debate is preparing to be ignited all over again.

via 20th Century Fox

Darren Aronofsky has been forced to publicly address the reasons why he decided that putting Brendan Fraser in a fat suit to direct him to a potential Academy Award in The Whale was a justifiable decision, so it’s not exactly a shock that 2001 comedy Shallow Hal continues to cause offense more than 20 years on from its initial release.

Star Gwyneth Paltrow has been vocal in admitting she thought the comedy was a disaster, but that didn’t stop her from being buried under prosthetics to share top billing in a film that’s arguably a lot sweeter and a great deal more heartfelt than you remember or have been told by the internet, and it was also a hefty hit at the box office after earning $141 million a $40 million budget.

The Farrelly brothers have claimed that Shallow Hal is a lot more nuanced, subtle, and tender than it gets credit for, while modern-day retrospectives continue to slam it as one long, unnecessary, and upsetting – especially when Paltrow infamously put her foot in her mouth by admitting on the press circuit that she found it “upsetting” to pretend to be the obese Rosie Shanahan for a hot minute when walking around in public to test out how convincing the costume was.

Regardless of whether you find it to be a cruel and unfunny jibe, or a heartwarming story of beauty truly only being in the eye of the beholder, or you fall somewhere in the middle and shake your fists in the air when 2022 audiences get upset about something that happened decades ago, one thing that can’t be argued with is Shallow Hal‘s resurgence on streaming.

As per FlixPatrol, the thoroughly average Jack Black vehicle has made a splash on the iTunes worldwide watch-list this week, so maybe the debate is preparing to be ignited all over again.