Hall Pass
James Brown




Directed By: Bobby and Peter Farrelly

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Stephen Merchant, Joy Behar, Alexandra Daddario, and Nicky Whelan

2011 was a pretty good year for Owen Wilson.  He had the critically acclaimed Midnight in Paris and the commercially successful Cars 2.  He's definitely been on a roll.  Wilson started the year out though with Hall Pass.  The movie is a fairly mediocre comedy directed by the Farrelly Brothers.  The bar should definitely be open when you're watching this one.

Rick (Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are two middle-aged married men who act like horny teens.  They're clearly not getting their needs met at home because they've got their sights set on anything and anybody but their wives.  Neither of them can stop talking about making love to random hot women.  Rick checks out women whenever he's out, even with his wife.  Fred's a little worse.  He habitually jerks off in his car out in public.  After these dirty 40 year-old men sufficiently annoy and embarrass their wives Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate), they each get a hall pass, a week off from their marriages to do what they want with whomever they wish.  Naturally, wild times follow at Applebee's.

Hall Pass is a decent flick.  The guys get a little wild after some time away from their girls.  It's been done before.  It's definitely been done better.  The Farrelly Brothers create plenty of outlandish, raunchy slapstick jokes.  They assemble a good cast including Wilson and Applegate.  They even have a pretty solid premise for a comedy of this nature.  With all of this, they certainly keep the chuckles coming, but you're not gonna laugh 'til you cry at any point during the movie.  There's nothing that's absolutely hilarious about Hall Pass.

Though it's a mediocre flick, Hall Pass has one good thing going for it.  I appreciate the creative usage of the music from Law & Order to note each new day while Rick and Fred have their hall passes.  It's the first time that this music has been associated with anything remotely happy.  That being said, Hall Pass gets a 0.06% rating.  If you want some low brow humor, grab a six pack and check this comedy out.