Release Date – 2/25/11
Rick and Fred are lifelong friends who are now older and happily married. But like any married man, they still like to check out a hot girl here and there. Maybe they look at porn too much or talk about disgusting sexual things often but at least they are faithful to their wives. When their sex obsession becomes too much, their wives decide to give them a Hall Pass. It’s a week off from marriage where they can do whatever they want without consequences. Their wives hope they get whatever sexual tension is built up inside them out and return back happier than ever. The women also hope that they strike out and realize they aren’t the ladies men they imagine themselves as. Of course, the guys think they will bang every girl they talk to but it isn’t as easy as they remember. If you’ve seen the trailers then you’ve seen a lot of the funnier scenes which is disappointing, but there are still enough laugh out loud moments to make me enjoy the film. And people going in without seeing any footage should really love it.
Rick (Owen Wilson) is a family man. His wife Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and him barely have any alone time now that they have three young kids. In fact, sometimes Maggie is so tired that she pretends to be asleep when Rick wants sex, which puts a strain on their relationship. Rick is so painfully awkward (much like Paul Rudd in I Love You Man) that its surprising when Leigh (Nicky Whelan), the hot as shit coffee barista, takes a liking to him. Fred (Jason Sudeikis) is a hornball. His wife Grace (Christina Applegate) constantly catches him in inappropriate moments like singing as a big mouthed vagina. He embraces the whole Hall Pass idea from the beginning and wants to bang as many chicks as he can in the week off from marriage. Tagging along to watch them score is their best friends played by Stephen Merchant, JB Smoove, and Larry Joe Campbell. They provide a little comic relief, Stephen Merchant was the funniest of the bunch. After a night out at Applebees where there was more eating than scoring, followed by a night at bar where they get too drunk to do anything, they start wondering if this Hall Pass idea was what they needed. Meanwhile their wives are down the shore enjoying the company of other men. The whole Hall Pass plan is kind of backfiring for the dudes.
The moral of the story is obvious from the beginning. There are a few shocking scenes that you wouldn’t expect to happen but the final outcome is mostly known from the get-go. But its definitely filled with a lot of hilarity including a ridiculous male nudity scene, some terrible pick up lines, the Law & Order sound effect every time the Day changes and a Fake Chow scene (you won’t know what this means until you see the movie). I love when a new term comes directly from a movie and I’m sure people will be mentioning this one. The Farrelly Brothers wrote and directed and they know all about buddy comedy. Sudeikis and Wilson had great chemistry together but they’re no Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, but seriously who is? The movie provided a lot of laughs, yet not a homerun for the Farrellys. But at least its better than seeing Kathy Griffin perform live.
IMDB – N/A
Rotten Tomatoes – 25%
Movie Wiseguys – 7.5/10