The projects shaped by the filthy Farrelly brothers in the 1990s are marvels in the world of comedic cinema (“There’s Something about Mary,” “Me Myself and Irene”). However, their portfolio of the past decade has been quite poor (“Stuck on You,” “Shallow Hal”). And their latest addition to this nasty losing streak, “Hall Pass,” is a perfect example of how the Farrelly brothers are no longer funny.
“Hall Pass” is the Farrelly brothers’ first official chick flick. It has its classic raunchy skits and gags we find in every Farrelly brothers movie, but is overshadowed way too much by hammy dialogue and a corny theme. Any air-breathing moron will know how it ends 15 minutes in, guaranteed.
Rick (Wilson) is a man being a man, checking out women and making vagina jokes with his best pal Fred (Sudeikis, “Saturday Night Live”). This does not sit right with wives Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Applegate) who think that the only way to correct their perverted spouses is to give them a “hall pass;” one week of not being married to do whatever they want, with whoever they want, and get it all out of their systems.
And while the boys venture away for a ridiculous week-long escapade, the wives break off to the vacation house to party with other dreamy guys and no husbands. And of course, it’s apparent that the girls will have temptations of their own. I wonder what will happen. It’s obvious things like this throughout that pissed me off the most.
Wilson’s a personality actor that has anything but one in this movie. He’s the supposed good guy with morals on this voyage of cliché gags that we’ve all heard before: pot brownies, small manhood jokes, etc.
The one-sentence plot of two guys getting a hall pass is somewhat new, but the jokes are not. I could almost finish the punch lines out loud before Owen Wilson delivered them.
Jason Sudeikis practically saves this film from a zero star rating. I’m glad he wasn’t cast as Wilson’s character; he would have been deprived of his genius. Instead, he’s the opposite of the moral compass; the rowdy one who’s five times more foul and more motivated to get laid.
Sudeikis is the goofball; the second half of the buddy comedy duo that laid the pavement for a highway of success for many actors such as Vince Vaughn in “Wedding Crashers.” Sudeikis is a class act for quick, improvisational comedy. I look forward to him becoming a huge star.
Nevertheless, recommending paying seven bucks to see this film would be just cruel. One can only take so many predictable, corny jokes. The worst are the one-liners at the bar their first time out hitting on women. The screenwriter must have written this film in a matter of hours before a class, because my grandmother could have written raunchier, better material.
I even feel bad seeing respected actors like Richard Jenkins be forced into low grade crap like this. He plays Coakley, the fedora-wearing, womanizing know-it-all when it comes to partying and getting laid. He’s the only real comedian in this flick next to Sudeikis.
Long story short, this film just simply wasn’t that funny. I expected a lot more out of the Farrelly brothers. Watching the trailer, the first impression is an idea for a really great guy movie with an original concept. Unfortunately, it was just a tease for a film that lacks true material.
