By Tristian Evans/south news editor
Can infidelity help save a marriage? That is the question Hall Pass poses. This being a Farrelly brothers movie, count on this being answered in a wacky, disturbing manner.
Photo courtesy New Line Cinema
Friends Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are, for the most part, happily married to Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Grace (Christina Applegate). Be that as it may, their obsession with sex leads their wives to give them a “hall pass,” a week off from marriage to do whatever or whomever they please.
Rick goes after Leigh, a barista at a local café the guys visit. Fred goes after pretty much anything that walks and has boobs.
While the guys have a wacky adventure, the wives find themselves attracting the attention of some minor league baseball players.
The main problem with Hall Pass is that it tries to combine crude humor with a heartfelt message about love and commitment and fails to do so.
The acting in the movie is subpar at best, which wasn’t really a surprise. I mean, this is a Farrelly brothers movie, which means good acting comes second to poop and sex jokes.
At times, the film has viewers laughing hysterically. Wilson and Sudeikis make a believable wacky duo. But at other times, it will have viewers scratching their heads or recoiling in disgust. Two scenes in particular involving projectile pooping and vivid male nudity left this reviewer forever traumatized.
Hall Pass works for Farrelly Brothers fans who have long awaited their return to films. Anyone else should skip this and rent a film by Judd Apatow, whom the Farrelly brothers seem to be trying to channel here. At least with Apatow, viewers get a movie with raunchy humor but a serious message at the heart of it. And they’re pretty much guaranteed the entire movie will be funny.
This was definitely not the case with Hall Pass.
