HALL PASS (2011 - COMEDY) ** out of *****
(I'm guessing we're not talking about permission to use the restroom between classes...)
CAST: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins, Nicky Whelan, Stephen Merchant, Larry Joe Campbell, Tyler Hoechlin, Bruce Thomas.
DIRECTORS: Bob Farrelly, Peter Farrelly.
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some compelling reasons to never get married - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: Best pals Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are normal married dudes living in Providence, RI. That is, they spend their days lusting after other women. Proving the old psychology adage that the forbidden is alluring to most humans - especially human males - these two lunkheads are preoccupied with all the potential action they could be having if they weren't, you know, chained to the iron balls known as Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate). AKA, their wives.
One day soon, Maggie and Grace finally have enough of Rick and Fred's ogling of other chicks - and grant both of them a "Hall Pass." And if you're wondering what a special privilege to roam the school corridors during class hours has got to do with a couple of married adult horndogs who haven't sat behind a school desk in years, then let me clear up matter somewhat: a "Hall Pass," according to this film, is basically permission for someone to take time off from marriage and engage in whatever hedonistic activity he (or she) wants, without being penalized from it. Hmmmm.... I would think that any kind of "time off" from being married would be more aptly called a "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. But whatever...
So, as you might imagine, while Maggie and Grace leave the boys to be boys, the expected shenanigans happen. Specifically: (1) Rick and Fred cruise restaurants looking for chicks, (2) Rick and Fred cruise bars for chicks, (3) Rick and Fred cruise cafes for chicks, (4) Rick and Fred cruise house parties for chicks, and (4) Rick and Fred cruise clubs for chicks. That. Is. It. Folks. Wow, who would've thought a Hall Pass would be this boring and uneventful. Come on, fellas: use your imaginations. At this rate, you'll be scoring an own goal for the opposition: the Marriage Police.
Meanwhile, while the boys are being clueless dolts who prove that maybe the grass is greener on the other side only because it is growing on a pile of shit, the girls are having a grand 'ol time of their own. Maggie and Grace are spending the week on Cape Cod, and make the acquaintance of a couple of hot baseball players: Bruce (Rick Coleman) and Gerry (Tyler Hoechlin). In an interesting twist, our ladies start to realize that a Hall Pass can go both ways - and maybe, just maybe, they can use this thing to their advantage. I mean, who says Rick and Fred should have all the fun, right?
Will Maggie and Grace score some ass before their husbands? Or will Rick and Fred's "dry spell" suddenly, um, moisten up? Was this thing a good idea in the first place? What happens when sexy Aussie barista Leigh (Nicky Whelan) starts giving Rick some major googley-eyes? Will he respond in kind? Despite being old enough to be her, uh, young father? And what happens when a vacationing Jersey Shore chick (Carly Craig) hooks up with Fred? Will he get the Punani Adventure that he's been craving this whole time? Or will their "encounter" take a turn for the, uh, messy? How will this week end for our rampaging marrieds?
Five words: hopefully not in divorce court...
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In past reviews, we've talked about the importance of execution when it comes to movies. A great idea can be fumbled if it is told improperly, whereas a silly idea can actually soar if executed brilliantly. Our latest review is a very clear example of the former. HALL PASS has a central idea that is intriguing and worthwhile - but is told in such an inappropriate (in more ways than one) way that it falls flat and becomes a very mediocre experience. Even an appealing and talented cast led by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis can't elevate the material.
Put simply, the idea of two married men being allowed by their exasperated wives to behave like single men for a week should have been told with a bit more seriousness and respect. I can see this concept working well as a drama with some humor, or as sophisticated comedy with dramatic overtones. However, as a gross-out raunchy comedy, it does not work at all. It's hard to get belly laughs from watching two men approaching middle-age act like they are still in their twenties, partying senselessly with people half their age. Especially when they have loving wives and families on the sidelines. The result is more creepy, sad, and desperate.
The film is better in the early-goings before the "Hall Pass" plot thread is introduced. The film's only true funny sequence happens in the first act when Rick and Fred are separated from the rest of their friends during the tour of a pretentious, money-obsessed acquaintance's ridiculously-overdone house. The two are unaware that they are being watched by the rest of the group from the house's panic room, via security cameras. As Rick and Fred launch into hilariously raunchy criticisms of the couple (particularly the wife's, um, genitalia), Maggie and Grace and the rest of the folks stare in growing horror at the screens.
This sequence feels like it belongs in a whole other film that will make better use of Sudeikis and Wilson's talents. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near enough to qualify as a saving grace. Everything that follows after this funny bit is tired and barely amusing. The movie reaches its low point in a scene where Fred's potential hook-up sprays diarrhea all over the bathroom wall of their hotel room. Then there's an entire sequence in the third act wherein Rick and Fred are stalked by Leigh's spurned hipster boyfriend, Brent (Derek Waters), which is the definition of "painfully unfunny." You have to wonder if all these gags played better on paper - because they certainly do not work onscreen.
The cast does what they can, but in the end they're working with sub-par material here. Wilson, Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, and Christina Applegate have all done stronger and more charming work elsewhere, and this flick is not one to highlight in their curriculum vitae. However, the castmember who should truly block out his involvement in HALL PASS is the talented Richard Jenkins. Jenkins was terrific in his Oscar-nominated role in THE VISITOR and is a strong presence in most of the films he stars in. Here, he is reduced to playing the cringeworthy Coakley, an over-tanned, over-blinged, way-past-his-prime-but-won't-admit-it party animal, who tries to coach Rick and Fred to be the same. Jenkins, like the rest of the cast, deserves way better than this stuff.
No one expects Bobby and Peter Farrelly to churn out a sensitive (and lightly humorous) examination of marriage, fidelity, relationships, and the true nature of love - which is why they were the wrong folks to tackle this idea. The result is movie that doesn't have the necessary gravity to be taken even remotely seriously - but also too awkward, forced, and infantile to be passably funny.
