Questionable Review: Hall Pass

My current paralyzing stress about school has effectively stalled out any desires I have for writing for pleasure. Boy, could I sure use a HALL PASS from school right about now!

And with that incredibly weak transition, I shall talk about Hall Pass, a movie that really doesn't deserve better. I really do have a love/hate relationship with the Farrelly Brothers, and while I absolutely love earlier works of their's like Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin, and can appreciate a film like There's Something About Mary, I can't shake the feeling they often grasp at straws with jokes that play to the lowest of low-brow comedy. This isn't inherently a bad thing, but I feel like there are ways to do this without it feeling cheap. Does Hall Pass manage to walk the line?

SO WHAT'S THIS MOVIE ABOUT?
Middle-aged douchebags Rick and Fred (Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis) find themselves less than satisfied with their current situation as married men. Their wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) in turn, sick of their lax and often embarrassing behavior, get the bright idea to give the boys a "hall pass"; a week off from marriage that will let the guys indulge in all their carnal appetites and return to their women newly refreshed. While this is at first seen as a great idea and a last hurrah that the men had been wishing for, it becomes painfully obvious that the guys' memories of their glory days have been greatly romanticized. Antics ensue as the boys try to survive a week living the single life.

SO WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
This film's humor works best when you focus on the basic concept of "two doofy middle-aged guys fail at picking up women" and strip away all other aspects. As such, the middle third of this movie, that has Rick and Fred and their motley crew of buddies searching for "tail" in the least appropriate places is by far the best. This is partly due to the fact that this gang, especially Stephen Merchant as Gary, make for far interesting characters than our main two. A particular scene on a golf course is actually much funnier than it has any right to be, and is pretty much the highlight of the troop's misadventures.

SO WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THIS MOVIE?
Unfortunately, there just wasn't much else I cared for about Hall Pass. Wilson and Sudeikis do a fine job, but while one is likable yet boring, the other is somewhat entertaining, but too often just flat out annoying. It doesn't help that many of the revelations, plot twists, and indeed plot itself feel just too superfluous. There are characters that show up and are interesting, but ultimately disappear from the film (see above), while the mainstays are often either dull or just dumb. The comedy is crass to the point of being eye-rolling, and ultimately the early premise, while promising, doesn't have steam to continue through the movie's run-time.

ANYTHING ELSE?
R-O-C-K in the USA.

SO WHAT'S THE FINAL VERDICT?
Hall Pass is a fine film for those seeking "da raunch". The comedy is fine, if you're not easily offensive, and it's possible to enjoy watching it, but overall it just doesn't have an honest heart behind any of it. With the concept of the film being what it is, perhaps that was too much to expect, but the movie still fails to play to many of its strengths, going with things that don't work consistently. You can take a pass on Hall Pass.