Still Doesn't Explain "Shallow Hal"

An article about actors who gain and/or lose weight for roles. Apparently audiences "demand authenticity" so the solution is not to hire a plump girl or a skinny guy for a role, but to make a known quantity plumper or thinner.

"[Christian] Bale’s near-masochistic methods challenge us to examine our fascination with celebrity stunt dieting. Movie stars are already larger-than-life figures to us; the fact that they can manipulate their weight, apparently at will, while many Americans wage dietary trench warfare against themselves only enhances their mystique."