Hall Pass (2011)
Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, and Richard Jenkins
Directed by the Bobby and Peter Farrelly
Hall Pass still has the requisite raunch and toilet humor, but in this day and age of the resurgence of the R-rated comedy, I almost felt like the brotherly writing-directing duo held back a bit and it was a welcome treat. For a flick whose premise deals with two guys who receive a week-long hall pass from their wives to go out and do whatever they want with whomever they want, I enjoyed that Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis's characters never felt like they stooped to teenagery whims and characteristics. Wilson and Sudeikis play adult guys simply trying to sow their wild oats after years of wallowing in the sometimes-monotony of monogamy. Yet, the film never pushes these guys into incredibly over the top situations (although there are certainly many situations presented that your average non-Hollywood male would never find himself in) and manages to keep the two pleasant to watch as opposed to be annoyed by their foolish shenanigans.
Hall Pass certainly isn't a home run. There are several lulls where laughs come few and far in between and there are moments where the childish humor had me rolling my eyes, but I've got to admit that I laughed out loud (and quite loudly) several times. Wilson and Sudeikis make a good pair and both certainly make this movie a pleasant watch. The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the womanly counterparts. Jenna Fischer as Wilson's wife is kind of a dead weight. Granted, the film doesn't give her a whole lot to do, but it keeps trying to shoehorn her into the story and it just doesn't succeed. Christina Applegate fares a little better as the sassier wife of Sudeikis, but it's a role we've seen her play many times before.
Still, for what Hall Pass is -- a raunchy R-rated comedy -- it fares well. Nothing amazing, but certainly not disappointing in the slightest.
The RyMickey Rating: B-
No comments:
Post a Comment