Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Shallow Hal
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Plot == Hal Larson spends his nights being rejected by beautiful women at night clubs with his friend Mauricio. He holds a steady job at JPS Funds, a financial institution run by president Steve Shanahan, but is dismayed after being denied a long-sought promotion. Hal is attracted to his neighbor Jill, who rejects him due to his shallow lifestyle. One day, Hal becomes trapped in an elevator with life coach [[Tony Robbins]], who [[hypnosis|hypnotizes]] him into only seeing a person's [[inner beauty]]. Hal, not realizing he has been hypnotized, later meets Steve's [[morbid obesity|morbidly obese]] daughter, Rosemary. Because of her kind and generous personality, Rosemary appears to Hal as a slender, beautiful [[trophy wife|trophy blonde]] and he is instantly smitten with her. Used to being overlooked due to her appearance, Rosemary initially interprets Hal's interest as mockery, but begins to date him once she realizes his feelings for her are sincere. Concerned by Hal's new taste in women, Mauricio convinces Tony to give him the trigger phrase to undo the hypnosis - "Shallow Hal wants a gal". During a dinner date, Rosemary tells Hal she has been asked by the Peace Corps to go on a 14-month mission in [[Kiribati]]. Mauricio phones Hal and says the trigger phrase, then arrives at the restaurant and drags Hal out before he can see the real Rosemary. Outside, Mauricio reveals the truth about Tony's [[hypnotherapy]]. Hal does not believe him until he runs into Katrina, a woman who initially appeared beautiful to him, but whom he now sees in her true, physically unattractive state. Hal begins to avoid Rosemary, who becomes depressed as a result. Jill develops an interest in Hal, having observed him overcome his shallow nature through his relationship with Rosemary, and invites him to dinner. While on the date with Jill, Hal realizes he loves Rosemary, who has, coincidentally, arrived at the same restaurant with her family and sees the two sitting together. Assuming the worst, she leaves in tears. While heading to the nearest [[payphone]], he walks right past Rosemary, not recognizing her; he then calls her to reassure her of his feelings. Confused and distraught, Rosemary insults and effectively breaks up with him. Five days later, Steve informs Hal that Rosemary’s ex-boyfriend and [[Peace Corps]] partner, Ralph, wants to get back together with her. While seeking Rosemary out at the hospital where she volunteers, Hal encounters a young patient named Cadence. Due to the hypnosis, Hal had previously seen Cadence as a perfect little girl, but now realizes she is covered in severe burn scars. This changes Hal's views on outer beauty in general and inspires him to go after Rosemary. Mauricio admits that he stopped the hypnosis out of envy toward Hal's happiness, and confesses that he has an inoperable [[vestigial tail]] which has prevented him from ever getting close to a woman. Hal convinces Mauricio to embrace his abnormality. Hal heads to the Peace Corps recruiting office and confronts Ralph, believing he and Rosemary have gotten back together, though Ralph denies this and informs Hal that Rosemary's parents are throwing her a farewell party. Hal, Mauricio, and Ralph arrive at Rosemary's parents' home. Rosemary initially rebuffs Hal's presence, but accepts his apology when Hal professes his love for her. Rosemary says she is still leaving on her Peace Corps mission, but Hal says he is coming with her, having just been sworn into the Peace Corps by Ralph's friend Li'iBoy. Hal tries to carry Rosemary bridal-style to the car, but cannot lift her. Moved by his gesture and effort, she triumphantly carries him instead. As they drive off, Mauricio meets a woman who loves dogs, and the two walk off together as he wags his tail.
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)