Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
I try not to judge the success or failure of any film based on the previous works by the director(s), but for reasons I can't quite explain, I'm inclined to do so more with comedies than any other types of movies. Case in point, we have the latest from the Farrelly brothers, Bobby and Peter, whose first three films (DUMB & DUMBER, KINGPIN, and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY) were absolute, out-of-the-park hits. Later works like ME, MYSELF & IRENE, SHALLOW HALL, STUCK ON YOU, and even their most conventional work, FEVER PITCH, have definite moments of genius surrounded by decidedly average material.
The Farrellys built the mold, but rather than break it, they kept casting new versions in the same mold. THE HEARTBREAK KID was appallingly bad, and I won't even attempt to figure out what went wrong there. But their new film, HALL PASS, is actually something of a return to form. Not quite as good as the first three films, but better than most of the others, HALL PASS is the story of a pair of best friends (Owen Wilson as Rick and "SNL's" Jason Sudeikis as Fred) who somehow convince their wives that taking a week off from marriage will somehow strengthen their struggling relationships. The men see this as finally being able to act on the impulses they have, but never act upon, whenever they see hot women. The wives (Jenna Fischer as Maggie and Christina Applegate as Grace) think that if the men get these urges out of their systems, they will turn their attentions back to being good husbands. Shockingly enough, none of this comes to pass.
What I loved about the story (credited to co-screenwriter Pete Jones, the winner of the first season of "Project Greenlight") is how the fantasy world the men think they'll finally be exploring goes crashing head-on with the real world where women in their 20s won't give these "older" guys the time of day because Rick and Fred have no rap and no game. Their married friends (some of whom are played by the likes of Stephen Merchant, Larry Joe Campbell and J.B. Smoove) watch their every embarrassing move as they face rejection after rejection and their precious week slips away.
At various times during the story, both men consider the possibility of calling off their experiment. They already feel guilty enough about the thought of bringing women back to their homes (both wives have taken the kids to the coast), so they rent a shoddy hotel room, and end up spending most of their time being miserable and alone. What they never considered was that their wives have a hall pass of their own, and seem to have better luck finding potential man friends thanks to a local baseball team in the town where they're staying. Part of the fun of HALL PASS is trying to figure out who, if anyone, actually takes full advantage of the time off.
Like most films by the Farrellys, this one has as much heart as it does laughs, and it does have a half dozen or so truly foul and funny jokes. There's one in particular that literally almost caused me to fall out of my chair, no joke. It's good to know the brothers still have that wicked streak in them, amid all the heartfelt material. I also liked seeing Wilson play a basically nice guy in a movie like this. Sure, he's played nice men before, but I loved that Rick wants to be a bad guy just for a little while and then return to being a great dad and husband. He is his most tempted when he gets a chance to spend time with the gorgeous Leigh (Australian actress Nicky Whelan), who works in his local coffee shop.
The secret weapon in HALL PASS is Sudeikis, who's always been a great presence on "SNL," but really unleashes the totality of his sick and twisted self in this movie. Fred is a pathetic creature who finds solace and strength in being a pig, and he is truly gifted in this role. And I'd be doing the film a great disservice if I didn't mention the great Richard Jenkins (I'm sorry, let me make that Oscar-nominated Richard Jenkins) as Coakley, a player among players, pimp among pimps. Trust me, he'll probably be your favorite character in the film, even though he's only in a couple of scenes.
I'm guessing there is a large percentage of married men who might get a little more out of HALL PASS's message than their single counterparts. The good news is that married women are just as likely to understand the motivation behind such a scheme. In fact, it's good to see that a good one-third (possible more) of this movie is devoted to the wives' sordid story (something the film's trailers keep mysteriously hidden from view). I've seen this film twice now, and I think it holds up to some of the Farrelly brothers' better works. When I wasn't full-out laughing, I was giggling; when I wasn't giggling, I was smiling. It's tough to ask for more than that; sometimes we get it, but not often. And by the way, be sure to stick around for all of the end credits. There's a lot of funny stuff tucked away in there, as well.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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