Hall Pass

Horny Older Men

[Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Jason Sudeikis, Christina Applegate, Nicky Whelan]

image from Collider.com

RANT: The second film of this weekend brings me back to top form, recovering from the single movie weekend of the weekend prior. Sometimes, real-life gets in the way of cinema. But that's okay, because sometimes real-life saves you some cash!

SYNOPSIS: Two married men, caught with the wandering eye, are given a week off from their marriages to pursue other women.

The Farrelly Brothers, directors of Stuck on You, Shallow Hal and There's Something About Mary, return with Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis in the new raunchy comedy Hall Pass. Written by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Pete Jones and Kevin Barnett, Hall Pass follows Rich (Owen Wilson), a faithful husband with a wandering eye for other ladies. Finally having taken enough, Rick's wife Maggie (Jenna Fischer) decides to give Rick a hall pass where he has a week off from their marriage in order to pursue other women - or at least try to. Rick's pal, Fred (Jason Sudeikis) gets his wife, Maggie (Christina Applegate), to give him a hall pass, too.

Hall Pass is funny, but not much funnier than the commercials you had already seen in preparation for seeing the film. It's difficult to see Owen Wilson moving into the 40-something husband and father role, his roguish charms better suited for his roles in Drillbit Taylor or John Beckwith from Wedding Crashers. Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis, though, brings lots of laughs as the horny best friend desperate to earn a hall pass, even though he is married to Christina Applegate. There are a couple of funny moments not in the trailers - one involving Fred and a prospective lady-friend who does not seem to be able to make herself throw up, and another with an homage to television's Law & Order.

The hall pass given by Maggie and Grace lets Rick and Fred set out on their conquests, but also allows the ladies to be the object of other men's affections as well. Will any of them remain strong or will they surrender to the notion that the hall pass really is a week off of marriage?

Farrelly Brothers films appeal to a certain audience. It is an odd, sometimes, uncomfortable comedy that makes us laugh and think. Unfortunately, Hall Pass does not pierce the barrier of the raunchy comedy that we know that Peter and Bobby have delivered in the past. If you must see every Farrelly film, then feel free to venture out. Otherwise, watch this when it appears on a shiny disk.

Worth: Netflix

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