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Hal Larson
"Hey, if you can see something and hear it and smell it, what keeps it from being real?"
Played By: Jack Black
A good-hearted man, but superficial when dating women, which makes his love life a disaster. His life changes when a guru hypnotizes him to see only the inner beauty of people. And that's where he meets Rosemary ...- Abhorrent Admirer: Hal is this for Rosemary at the beginning of the movie, before she realizes that his feelings for her are sincere. She doesn't know he does it because he thinks she's thin.
- Accidental Kiss: No longer hypnotized and having never seen Rosemary in her true form, Hal mistakes the Shanahans' housemaid Helga for Rosemary and kisses this woman rather sloppily. Hilariously enough, Helga doesn't seem to mind.
- Big Eater: "Nicely done! I'll have the exact same thing."
- Buffy Speak: "I mean, I do have, you know, the 'heart thing'."
- Compliment Backfire: When Hal meets Rosemary's mother he says, "I can see where Rosemary gets her figure." He intends it as a compliment because he sees both of them as slim women, not realising they're both quite overweight.
- Contrived Coincidence: Hal sees Rosemary for the first time (as slim-figured Gwyneth Paltrow, of course) walking into the clothing store, only to catch up with her and, after getting acquainted with her, later finding out she happens to be his boss's daughter.
- Cursed with Awesome: Basically, all the nicest and kindest people are identifiable on sight. Oh, and if you ever date one, they'll also be smoking hot.
- Double Standard: Looking the way he do, Hal really shouldn't have such high expectations from women. Hal's coworkers ask him how he can act so shallow when he's "not that good-looking" himself. Hal does have legitimate Freudian Excuses for this hypocrisy, though.
- Friend to All Children: His interactions with the kids in the hospital are immensely endearing.
- Freudian Excuse: Hal is shallow because of his father's dying words about appearance.
- Gold Digger: Subverted with Hal himself as people bad-mouth him about obviously trying to suck up to his boss by dating his obese daughter and Hal can't understand why that would cross their minds.
- Has a Type: Initially Hal constructs his ideal image of a woman from bits and pieces of celebrities.
- Heel–Face Brainwashing: All Hal thought was that Tony Robbins did something to help him "score better with the ladies." He had no idea that it literally changed his vision.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his superficiality and sexism toward women, Hal is still a well-meaning man who cares about his friends. Rosemary makes him a better person.
- Jerkass Realization: After the breaking of his hypnotism, it's seeing the burned face of Cadence that inspires Hal to stop judging women by their looks and reconcile with Rosemary.
- Love Triangle: Hal is initially interested in his neighbor Jill, but she rejects him for finding him shallow. So he falls in love with Rosemary, and that's where Jill falls in love with Hal. She tries to win him over when Hal and Rosemary's romance has problems.
- Meaningful Echo: "Cuckoo!"
- Mistaken for Cheating: Played with. Hal does accept an invitation to dinner with former flame Jill (with her romantic intentions fully visible) while he and Rosemary are estranged, but still together. But when Jill turns up the gas and propositions Hal, he (after some consideration) refuses, finally realizing that he really wants to be with his "Rosie", regardless of her looks. But this realization comes to late, as Rosemary sees the two holding hands...
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Hal does this towards Rosemary at the end of the film. It doesn't work, though fortunately he had a backup plan, to simply go with her instead.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Hal believes he and Rosemary are this before the reveal.
Rosemary Shanahan
"Look, I know what I am and I know what I'm not. I'm the girl who, you know, gets really good grades and who's not afraid to be funny."
"And I'm the girl who has a lot of friends who are boys and no boyfriends. I'm not beautiful, ok, and I never will be. And I'm fine with that. But when you go around saying I'm something that I'm not, it's just, it's just not nice."
Played By: Gwyneth Paltrow
A woman with a wonderful, kind personality, and whose purpose in life is to help everyone around her. Rosemary is also morbidly obese, and has only been in a relationship once. When Hal starts flirting with her, she suspects he's making some cruel joke. But when she realize that his interest in her is sincere, the two engage in a relationship.- Beauty Equals Goodness: The movie's premise inverts this with some characters, specially Rosemary. The better a person you are, the more attractive Hal perceives you as.
- Beauty Inversion: The directors especially took flack for casting a skinny actress like Paltrow as a fat woman, but explained that it was easier for Paltrow to fat up (with makeup and a fatsuit) than it was for a heavy actress to slim down.
- Betty and Veronica: Hal is Archie, Rosemary is Betty and Jill is Veronica. Rosemary is a fat, sweet and gentle woman, who dresses conservatively (before meeting Hal). Jill is an exotic, sensual woman, a little more rude and cold. Downplayed, though, because Jill is shown later in the movie to be a nice and pleasant person who simply objected to Hal's lechery and overt come-ons, and she makes a move on Hal after seeing what she believed was Character Development on his part in dating such a big girl (at this point, Hal is still hypnotized into seeing Rosemary as being thin). That said, the fact that Jill starts flirting with Hal while he's still dating Rosemary is a little... problematic. Anyway, Hal lets her down gently.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is kind and friendly to everyone, but be careful if you irritate her, as she knows how to be mean and aggressive when she wants to.
- Big Eater: "I'll have a double pizza burger, chili fries, and a vanilla milkshake". Rosemary is an interesting case. She’s shown to be quite gluttonous throughout the film, as seen on one occasion when Hal isn’t looking, she quickly guzzles down the huge shake they were sharing out of desperation. She not only clearly enjoys stuffing her face with everything she can hold, but she just seems to need more food to fill up properly thanks to her size at this point. That said, while she is a huge glutton, she isn’t greedy. She still gives away free food to those in need and works extensively with children in need as well.
- Bridal Carry: Hal tries to do this to Rosemary at the end of the movie ... and fails miserably. She is the one who ends up carrying him.
- Contrived Coincidence: Hal sees Rosemary for the first time (as slim-figured Gwyneth Paltrow, of course) walking into the clothing store, only to catch up with her and, after getting acquainted with her, later finding out she happens to be his boss's daughter.
- Cut a Slice, Take the Rest: Rosemary cuts off a "sliver" of a cake that's about as big as the whole cake, and walks off munching on it like a Pringles chip.
- Deadpan Snarker: Although Rosemary is sweet and gentle most of the time, she also knows how to be sarcastic, probably as a result of bullying and humiliation throughout her life. She immediately makes a sarcastic joke to Mauricio when she realizes that he is horrified by her appearance.
- Destructo-Nookie: In a deleted scene, after the first time Hal and Rosemary have sex, Hal wakes up the next morning and finds that the part of the bed where Rosemary slept is completely destroyed.
- Fat and Proud: Initially she’s just fat and accepting of it in a deadpan way, figuring she’s never going to be skinny so why bother even trying to eat healthy or work out (and her appetite has grown to such huge proportions anyway). Her relationship with Hal, where she believes he sees her as beautiful both because of and in spite of her obesity, sees her grow more confident in her appearance, wearing bikinis and crop tops that show off her body more.
- Fat Comic Relief: Though she is the main romantic lead, the film gets a lot of fat jokes out of her, with the primary source of comedy being the irony that Hal cannot tell why the world around her reacts the way it does, such as why her lingerie is so massive, and why everybody tries to clear out of her way when she is about to do a cannonball at the pool. The movie goes cartoonishly over the top with this, however, since while 300 lbs is certainly large, the way the world reacts to her presence suggests she’s over twice that given the damage she inflicts on things in her wake.
- Friend to All Children: She is the most prominent volunteer at the special ward of the children's hospital, and genuinely and hugely enjoys sharing her time with them.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Rosemary is kind and generous with long Blonde hair.
- I Am Not Pretty: Hal doesn't understand why Rosemary is always deprecating her own looks, despite looking like Gwyneth Paltrow. He assumes she's doing this, then comes to believe that she has poor self-esteem because of her upbringing. In fact, he's been hypnotized into seeing her as thin, and she really weighs 300 lbs.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Rosemary is really pure.
- Love Triangle: Hal is initially interested in his neighbor Jill, but she rejects him for finding him shallow. So he falls in love with Rosemary, and that's where Jill falls in love with Hal. She tries to win him over when Hal and Rosemary's romance has problems.
- Ms. Fanservice: Rosemary is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and has several scenes wearing dresses, short skirts, lingerie or bikinis before Hal's hypnosis is undone.
- Stepford Snarker: Rosemary frequently makes jokes about her own obesity in a clear attempt to make it seem like she doesn't care about it. She's not very convincing.
- Stout Strength: Despite her obesity suggesting she’s not one for physical activity, at the end of the movie she easily does a Bridal Carry of the chubby Hal.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Subverted. Hal sees Rosemary as a slim attractive woman but she resembles her father's figure very much.
Mauricio Wilson
"I think real friends are obligated to be honest with each other. And this one you're dating now? Jeez."
Played By: Jason Alexander
Hal's best friend and wingman, he comes off as even more shallow and judgmental than his buddy. But his pretentiousness could be armor hiding a deep, dark secret...- Bullying a Dragon: After becoming exasperated at Tony Robbins' arguments against being superficial and "unbrainwashing" Hal, he loudly demands that they "cut through the old crapcake". But when the 6'7" Robbins looms in closer, Mauricio instantly becomes more respectful and humble.
- Dark Secret: He has a birth defect where his spine is longer than it should be, giving him what is basically a tail. It's the underlying reason behind his self-esteem issues, causing his inability to commit to a long-term romantic relationship.
- Deadpan Snarker: Over 90% of his lines are razor sharp barbed witticisms.
- Fat Bastard: Is somewhat rotund, and has a rather caustic, abrasive personality, certainly.
- Freudian Excuse: His over the top judgmental attitude which prevents him from committing to a long term relationship is the result of his profound insecurity stemming from his having a tail.
- Freudian Slip: Blurts out a "Holy Cow!" upon first meeting the sizable Rosemary.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Seems to have a mild but prominent dislike for Walt, claiming it's due to Walt's supposed attention seeking and "phony self-deprecating crap". But as it later turns out that Mauricio has a genetic abnormality, it is more than reasonable to discern that Mauricio is jealous of Walt's ability to not let his disability get him down and prevent him from having fun.
- It's All About Me: He tells Tony Robbins right out that he doesn't care what his best friend (Hal) wants: he just wants his friend back!
- Jerkass Realization: After Hal is "dehypnotized" and his relationship with Rosemary falls apart as a result, Mauricio is confused as to why his friend is so upset. When Hal delivers his "Wonder Woman" analogy (explaining to Mauricio that he didn't care if the rest of the world found Rosemary attractive), he sees that he has done his friend a huge disservice, and sets out to right it.
Jill
"Hal... I'm not attracted to you."
Played By: Susan Ward
Hal's beautiful neighbor who initially rejects his romantic overtures because she considers him shallow. But everything changes when she meets Hal's new girlfriend, Rosemary.- Betty and Veronica: Hal is Archie, Rosemary is Betty and Jill is Veronica. Rosemary is a fat, sweet and gentle woman, who dresses conservatively (before meeting Hal). Jill is an exotic, sensual woman, a little more rude and cold. Downplayed, though, because Jill is shown later in the movie to be a nice and pleasant person who simply objected to Hal's lechery and overt come-ons, and she makes a move on Hal after seeing what she believed was Character Development on his part in dating such a big girl (at this point, Hal is still hypnotized into seeing Rosemary as being thin). That said, the fact that Jill starts flirting with Hal while he's still dating Rosemary is a little... problematic. Anyway, Hal lets her down gently.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Jill seems to be a nice person for most of the movie, and it's hard to disagree with her reasons for rejecting Hal's amorous advances, considering how unpleasant he is to women at the beginning of the movie. However, from the moment Jill learns that Hal is dating Rosemary, she immediately flirts with him, even though she knows their relationship is serious. And when Hal is having trouble with Rosemary (after the hypnosis comes to an end) Jill not only appears conveniently to invite Hal to a date, she also tries to seduce him and even makes a comment about Rosemary that can be interpreted as mean (by saying that Hal's dating the obese Rosemary proves he is pathologically unshallow).
- Green-Eyed Monster: Downplayed. At the beginning of the movie, Jill, rejects his interest in her, honestly admitting that she is not attracted to him and considers him shallow. A few days later, Jill catches Hal dancing with unattractive women and is surprised. And then she meets Hal's new girlfriend, Rosemary, and is clearly shocked. And then, after catching Rosemary leaving Hal's apartment after their first night of sex, she starts blatantly flirting with Hal, inviting him out even though she knows he's dating seriously. In the third act, she conveniently invites him on a date and then a night of love, as his relationship with Rosemary is in trouble. And though she's kind and polite, Jill makes a comment that can be interpreted as mean, by stating that she has seen the appearance of Hal's last girlfriends:Jill: I've been watching you in the past few weeks and I've seen the women you've been going out with. And now I know appearances mean absolutely nothing to you. If anything, you're pathologically unshallow.
- Hypocrite: Jill initially rejects Hal's overtures, stating that she finds him shallow. However, after Hal starts dating unattractive girls and later starts dating the obese Rosemary, Jill is shocked and takes an interest in Hal, stating that she has concluded that he must be pathologically unshallow... However, this is still a mean and superficial comment about Rosemary.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Jill may have been cold and rude in rejecting Hal's invitation at the beginning of the film, but she's right to accuse him of being shallow.
- Love Triangle: Hal is initially interested in his neighbor Jill, but she rejects him for finding him shallow. So he falls in love with Rosemary, and that's where Jill falls in love with Hal. She tries to win him over when Hal and Rosemary's romance has problems.
Steve Shanahan
"Hal, I'm gonna level with ye. I need yer balls."
Played By: Joe Viterelli
The president of JPS Funds, the huge financial institution Hal works for, and Rosemary's father. Somewhat gruff and curmudgeonly, he nevertheless deeply cherishes his wife and daughter, and gradually develops a fondness and admiration for Hal.- Happily Married: Is quick to compliment his wife and daughter when they go out to eat, commenting on what a lucky man he is. And despite his hot temper and anger at Hal, he nevertheless defers to his wife when she says Hal should have a chance to work things out with Rosemary.
- Like Father Like Daughter: He and Rosemary both have a tendency to tell people not to be a "smart ass".
- Oireland: To painful levels. He's got the shillelagh and everything.
- Papa Wolf: Is initially suspicious of Hal's attentions towards his daughter, and when things go bad, he's close to laying his shillelagh upside Hal's head upon sight.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Played with. Hal lays one of these on Mr. Shanahan during their discussion after dinner, asserting that Shanahan's "impossibly high standards" and "demand for perfection" are responsible for his daughter Rosemary's self-esteem issues. Despite the fact that this is totally not the case, Mr. Shanahan nevertheless admires Hal's boldness and guts, and takes a shine to him.
Walt
"I got a leash. Would you like to take me for a walk?"
Played By: Rene Kirby
Another of Hal's friends. Suddenly independently wealthy, he also volunteers at the same children's hospital as Rosemary. A fun-loving, generous life of the party type guy who just happens to have spina bifida.- Catchphrase: "Now there's a (belt buckle, pair of panties) I recognize!" He even (jokingly) chides Rosemary for "stealing his lines!"
- Chivalrous Pervert: Seems to really indulge in the very advantageous view his condition affords him (see Catchphrase), and definitely has an eye for the ladies. But his disability gives him a pass in this regard and he is actually very respectful and polite in his actual interactions with the female sex.
- Disabled Snarker: Tosses off several gems throughout the film. But always in a jokingly upbeat manner."Do I look like I have anything to complain about?""If I had an ass, I'd wipe it with twenties!""You ever walked through a truck stop men's room on your hands?"
- Poor Judge of Character: Despite being a nice, intelligent man, he seems woefully oblivious to how suspicious it is that Nurse Tanya (who'd previously rebuffed all his previous advances), suddenly becomes interested in him as soon as he becomes rich....
- Running on All Fours: Rene Kirby, who has spina bifida, really does walk on all fours in real life.
- Uncle Pennybags: After selling his company to Microsoft, he retires and has money to burn. He immediately retires and throws a lavish party, buying bottles of Dom Perignon for all his friends.
Nurse Tanya Peeler
actual
illusory
Played By: Sascha Knopf (actual), Nan Martin (illusory)
A nurse at the local children's hospital, with a reputation as a "sourpuss". She suddenly opts to take up with Walt after he recently comes into a huge sum of cash...- Ask a Stupid Question...: When the quartet take a rest at truck stop and the men prepare to get out of the jeep, Tanya asks Walt why he's putting surgical gloves on his hands. Walt replies with "You ever walked through a truck stop men's room on your hands?".
- Beauty Is Bad: Serves as the prime example of the trope in this film. Her "outer beauty" is that of a voluptuous brunette beauty whom any man would be proud to have on their arm. In reality, she is rude, condescending, unfriendly to even sick children, and a money-grubbing flake. This causes her to appear as an ugly crone to the "brainwashed" Hal.
- Gold Digger: It's all but blatantly said that she drops her previous boyfriend so that she can take up with Walt, who has recently become rich after selling his company.
- Jerkass Has a Point: As abrasive as she might have been in dealing with the situation, Tanya (as the nurse actually responsible for managing that section of the children's hospital ward) had every right to object to a random stranger (Hal) coming in and interacting with the patients. Hal (at only Rosemary's invitation) literally comes in off the street, picking up and hugging random children, and even engages in a "kissing game" with them: this all is especially egregious with the later reveal that they are all in a Children's Burn Treatment unit, where infection is especially dangerous). In hindsight, Tanya was extremely patient in this circumstance!
- Opportunistic Bastard: Repeatedly rejects Walt's invitations to date... until he sells his company to Microsoft for a shit ton of money. She then immediately dumps her old boyfriend and takes up with Walt, acknowledging that as a man of leisure he can spend lavishly on shopping and travel.
Tony Robbins
"Inner beauty's the easiest thing in the world to see when you're looking for it."
Played By: Tony Robbins
The famous "TV guru guy (motivational speaker), playing himself. He is the person who puts the mental "whammy" on Hal, changing his perceptions and setting in motion the events of the film.- As Himself: Tony Robbins.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Hal alludes to this trope when he comments on Robbins' large feet.
- Brainwashed: He uses a subtle, undefined hypnotism technique to cause Hal to perceive people with their idealized "inner beauty".
- The Cameo: He plays himself, and even with his relatively limited screen time he plays a huge role in the film's story.
- Gentle Giant: The 6'7" motivational speaker is portrayed as very friendly and generous with with time and talents, expressing a sincere desire to help a person he's only known for several minutes.
- Gone Horribly Right: His attempt to help Hal overcome his shallowness is spurred by his inclination to help people, but Mauricio genuinely thinks Robbins' "brainwashing" will ultimately ruin his friend's life.
- Trigger Phrase: Convinced by Mauricio that the brain conditioning he gave Hal could endanger his job, reputation and furniture, Robbins gives Mauricio the sentence to say that will remove the brainwashing: "Shallow Hal wants a gal".
Katrina
(actual)
(illusory)
Played By: Brooke Burns
The first woman Hal meets after being hypnotized by Tony Robbins.- Beauty Equals Goodness: She's compassionate, friendly and self-sacrificing, so Hal sees her as a gorgeous blonde bombshell.
- Beauty Inversion: Attempted, but Brooke Burns still looks very cute and attractive
even when presented as the opposite. - Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and we learn she has taken time off from school and the rest of her personal life to devote to helping her ailing grandmother.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: Inverted. When Hal runs into her the second time, it is just after Mauricio has just removed Hal's "brainwashing", and Hal still doesn't believe what Mauricio tells him about his perceptions being altered. When a "Katrina" (who looks drastically different from the one he remembers) reintroduces herself to him, Hal immediately assumes that this is just some girl his friend set up to prove his point. But when Hal comes to the realization that he never told Mauricio about Katrina, he sees that Mauricio couldn't possibly be using her in his deception, as he didn't even know she existed before this instance. This convinces Hal that the brainwashing was real.
Ralph Owens
(actual)
(illusory)
Played By: Zen Gesner
Rosemary's ex-boyfriend and her Division Leader in the Peace Corps.- Graceful Loser: They may have dated only briefly, but it still is gracious of him to heartily congratulate Rosemary when she and Hal get together in the climax.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Again, not that by any reports he and Rosemary had a raging, romantic past, it is still nice to see him give a genuine " You look happy" when she introduces her new boyfriend Hal. And he among the first to offer congratulations when Rosemary and Hal cement their relationship in the climax.
- Nice Guy: By all appearances, he's a gentle, decent fellow.
- Pretty Boy: What Hal sees him as.
Li' Boy
(actual)
(illusory)
Played By: Joshua Shintani (actual) Ron Darling (illusory)
Another member of the Peace Corps, and Ralph's good friend.- As Himself: Joshua "Li'iBoy" Shintani.
- Chekhov's Skill: When we're introduced to Li' Boy, it's stated that he's been "training in the office for days". Apparently, this "training" later enables him to induct Hal into the Peace Corps, so that he can be with Rosemary.
- Deadpan Snarker: When Mauricio suggests that he, the morbidly obese Li' Boy, and Ralph (who has a particularly aggressive case of psoriasis) sneak into Rosemary's going away party to steal some drinks and snacks, Li' Boy flatly quips "Yeah, we'll blend in".
- Workaholic: Implied to be this by his buddy Ralph, who "kidnaps" him from the Peace Corps office and drags him to the ski slopes.
Mrs. Shanahan
(actual)
(illusory)
Played By: Jill Fitzgerald
Rosemary's mother and Steve Shanahan's beloved wife.- Beauty Equals Goodness: She is kind, friendly and very understanding throughout the film, but besides a considerable difference in her weight, her idealized appearance really isn't all that different from the reality.
- Compliment Backfire: When Hal meets her he says, "I can see where Rosemary gets her figure." Hal intends it as a compliment because he sees both of them as slim women, not realizing they're both quite overweight.
- Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: She keeps her hot-headed husband from interfering when Hal tries to speak to Rosemary at her going away party.
- Happily Married: She and Steve by all appearances still adore each other after many years of marriage.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite Hal (apparently) cold-bloodedly dumping her daughter (not to mention her catching Hal in a liplock with the maid), she still gives Hal a chance to plead his case to Rosemary, and even prevents holds her husband back when he tries to intercede.
Cadence
(actual)
(illusory)
Played By: Brianna Gardner
A darling little patient at the children's hospital where Rosemary volunteers.- The Cutie: One of the most downright adorable little girls you'll ever see... even with the scarring.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Not only Cadence, but a whole Pediatric Burn Unit of them.
- The Reveal: After Hal is "de-brainwashed", he realizes that Cadence is a patient in the Pediatric Burn Unit of the hospital, and her face is covered with terrible burn scars.
