When it comes to films the Farrelly Brothers have created some brilliant pieces of comedy, like ‘There’s Something About Mary’ and ‘Dumb And Dumber’, but have also created some absolute bombs, like ‘Stuck On You’ and ‘The Heartbreak Kid’. With their hit and miss nature it’s hard to predict what ‘Hall Pass’ will be like before going into the cinema, but after sitting through it you’ll realise that it sits right in the middle-ground. It’s not great, but certainly doesn’t deserve to be called awful.
Rick (Owen Wilson – ‘Little Fockers’, ‘How Do You Know’) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis – TV’S ‘The Cleveland Show’ & ‘Saturday Night Live’) are two married guys that are obsessed by sex and their wives, Maggie (Jenna Fischer – ‘A Little Help’, ‘Solitary Man’) and Grace (Christina Applegate – ‘Going The Distance’, ‘Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore’) are sick of it. Through the advice of a friend the two women decide to give their husbands a ‘Hall Pass’ which will allow them to have a week off their marriage. But that raises the question that if the men are allowed to fool around, then is it okay for the women allowed to do the same?
Surprisingly, ‘Hall Pass’ delves into some really deep areas as it raises questions about whether it’s different when a woman cheats to win a man cheats, but sometimes it just feels that the Farrelly Brother’s toilet humor gets in the way. The film completely sucks you in, but while you may chuckle, but is dragged down by scenes such as a woman having a ‘diarrhea accident’ on a bathroom wall. A pity considering for the most part the story flows well… and yes, even shows just how fickle men can really be.
The second surprise you get from ‘Hall Pass’ is that some of the fringe characters are more interesting than the main characters. As an audience you quickly warm to Maggie (who seems like the victim in the story) while the two characters you can’t get enough of are Leigh (Nicky Whelan – ‘Hollywood & Wine’, TV’S ‘Friends With Benefits’) and Brent (Derek Waters – TV’S ‘Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time’, & ‘Drunk History’). Waters in fact was so good that he stole most of the comedy spotlight from Sudeikis and Wilson. While Whelan did herself proud and showed she has some acting ability unlike Australia’s other blonde it-girl Sophie Monk (‘Spring Break ‘83’, ‘Hard Breakers’).
‘Hall Pass’ has it moments and for the most the story works, it just seems that occasionally the comedy gets in the way of the film’s main points. Still it’s okay for a night out, you will laugh a little, and you will definitely find yourself analyzing some of what the film is trying to get across. Not great… but certainly not awful.
Year: 2011
Director: Farrelly Brothers
Stars: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudekis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Nicky Whelan, Derek Waters
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 105 mins
Rating: 