HALL PASS – The Review

All right, let’s take a trip to cinema suburbia. A place full of immaculate lawns, beautifully furnished homes, and comfortable, complacent couples. After several years of marriage, the  husbands are getting that itch. Everywhere they look these guys face temptation. The wives are slightly annoyed and a bit amused. But what happens when the king brothers of wild, raunchy movie comedies, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, take aim at this familiar film setting. You get HALL PASS based on the screenplay they co-wrote with Pete Jones and Kevin Barnett. Along with the carpools and play dates expect lots of confusion,slapstick, and humiliation.

The film focuses on two couples. We first meet Rick ( Owen Wilson ) and Maggie ( Jenna Fisher ) as they are preparing to leave there three kids with the sitter and attend a dinner honoring her friend, media psychologist Dr. Lucy ( Joy Behar ). There they meet up with their friends Fred ( Jason Sudeikis ) and Grace ( Christina Applegate ). Later that evening Rick drives their sitter back to her college dorm where she asks him to buy her some beer since she is a few weeks shy of her twenty first birthday. Rick is tempted, but declines. The next day the men meet at a coffee shop where Fred introduces Rick to his object of lust, the pretty Australian barista Leigh ( Nicky Whelan ) as her co-worker Brent ( Derek Waters ) glares at them. That night as Rick and his poker pals talk of their out-of-marriage sex fantasies, Maggie accidentally overhears them upstairs on the baby monitor and is concerned. Later that night Fred is caught by the neighborhood police patrol as he ” takes care of himself ” in the minivan parked in front of his home. The officers return him to a mortified Grace. The next day the ladies vent their frustrations during a walk with their friend, Dr. Lucy who tells them of the “hall pass’ concept. Leave town and give the men a week off from marriage. After this week, the ladies return, and the events of the week are never discussed. The wives are intrigued when Lucy remarks about her success with her own hubby. They ladies file it away in their minds until the next day. The couples join some other friends at the newly remodeled home of a pretensious  rich couple  for a tour and party. Rick and Fred are separated from their wives and the rest of the group when they enter the panic room. Inside the women are humiliated as they listen to Rick and Fred compare bedroom notes while checking out the house’s security monitors. The couples return home in stony silence. This is the last straw. Maggie gives Rick a hall pass. She’ll take the kids for a week and stay with her folks at their beach cottage many miles away. Rick is stunned, but soon agrees. Shortly Grace decides to do the same and joins Maggie. The guys check into a local motel for their seven days of bachelorhood. When they dive into the singles scene will they swim or sink to the bottom? Will Rick hook up with the lovely Leigh? And what will happen to Maggie and Grace when they meet up with a college baseball team during their sabbatical? Will they take advantage of the hall pass?

The Farrelly brothers have had a tough time in the last few years connecting with audiences after their late 90’s trifecta of DUMB AND DUMBER, ( the underrated ) KINGPIN, and THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. We’ve seen directors like Todd Phillips ( THE HANGOVER ), Adam McKay ( THE OTHER GUYS ), and Judd Apatow ( KNOCKED UP ) vie to take over the title of raunchy comedy king. With this film the brothers are squarely back in the race. There’s some superb gross out gags here along with the kind of heart seen in Apatow’s films. It’s a strong script that only lags about in the middle as the girls catch the attention of the team ( the young star player has eyes for Grace while the silver fox coach works his charms on Maggie ). The boys have a great cast  to work with this time out. Owen Wilson was the best part of two of 2010’s worst comedies ( LITTLE FOCKERS and HOW DO YOU KNOW ) and as the family man Rick stays away from his usual laid-back doofus. With his surfer shag cropped to a short straight style, he’s believable as guy starring down 40 and wondering…what if? Relative screen newcomer  SNL’s Sudeikis makes Fred a goofy, likable, always frisky puppy. The guys have a great team of comic actors ( co-creator of TV’s The Office Stephen Merchant, Larry Joe Campbell of TV’s According to Jim, and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s J. B. Smoove ) playing their poker buddies wanting to observe them on the prowl. As for the ladies Fisher ( BLADES OF GLORY ) is a sweet, strong, sexy mom in the Laura Petrie mold. Applegate ( THE ROCKER ) displays her deft comic timing as she tries to make Fred behave and later learns a few surprises about men. Look for a great cameo in the last third of the film by Richard Jenkins as the guys’ hero, an over-the hill lothario named Coakley. You  Farrelly newbies should be warned that the language is very salty and male and female nudity is on display. If you can handle some of the tasteless, but very funny, gags you’ll find a heartfelt tribute to marriages that can withstand the toughest test.  The lesson is if you can make it through a hall pass your union can make the long haul.

Overall Rating : Four out of Five Stars