The Classic Comedy That Jack Black Regrets Filming
Since breaking out with a supporting role in the 2000 John Cusack film "High Fidelity," Jack Black has stayed in the public consciousness thanks to his chaotic energy and natural charisma. Even when he's made flops, the actor still remains a likable screen presence with a lot of goodwill — and as with many 2000's comedy stars, Jack Black has put out more than his fair share of bad movies.
For every crowd-pleasing hit like "School of Rock" or "Kung Fu Panda," the actor has also released puzzling messes like "Nacho Libre" and "Gulliver's Travels." Unlike Wahlberg with "The Happening," Black doesn't seem to look back on his film choices with too much animosity, maybe because, unlike Wahlberg playing a scientist, Black is usually right for the part. There is, however, one mainstream 2000's film Black wishes he hadn't made, even if he jumped at the chance to work with the directors.
Jack Black wishes he hadn't made Shallow Hal
According to Eighties Kids, Jack Black doesn't look back on the 2001 Farrelly Brothers movie "Shallow Hal" too fondly. Black acknowledged that while he was excited to work with the Farrellys after "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary," he wasn't happy with the final result.
In 2006, Black said of "Shallow Hal" that "I had an opportunity to work with some dudes I thought were really funny, but it didn't turn out as I'd hoped, I wasn't proud of it, and I got paid a lot of money, so, in retrospect it feels like a sell-out."
Black stars as the title character, who is hypnotized into only seeing the inner beauty of women and, according to the logic of the film, can't see that his new girlfriend Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a heavyset woman. Not only is "Shallow Hal" surprisingly unfunny in general, it also relies largely on fat jokes that come off as cruel and off-putting. It's not a shock then that Paltrow also regrets making it.
While Black may look back with regret on this one film, he can surely hang his hat on the success of his other movies, particularly fan-favorite "School of Rock," which also seemed to help launch successful careers for other cast members as well.