Hall Pass (2011) Film Review

1 hr. 46 mins.

Starring: Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins, Nicky Whelan, J.B. Smove, Stephen Merchant

Directed by: The Farrelley Brothers (Peter and Bobby)

MPAA Rating: R

Critic's Rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

Once upon a time cinematic siblings Peter and Bobby Farrelley were the lords of lowbrow humor and could make comedic chaos out of a phone book and a slice of stale cheese. They made raunchy cinema in the 90's an acquired taste where scathing naughtiness and nonsense was almost as equivalent and important as the golden brush that emerged from Picasso's expressive hand. The irreverence of toilet jocularity was the staple of the times and the Farrelley Brothers were the masters of the dirty joke and imbecilic independence that gave a legitimate forum to classic cut-up fodder such as Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary and Shallow Hal. The edginess of trash-talking cinema was in definite demand and one could depend on Peter and Bobby for the sordid supply.

The Farrelley Brothers are back and try to relive the glory days of creative crude comedy that defined their heyday of subversive, frolicking foolishness. In the seriously hackneyed Hall Pass writer-director Peter and Bobby Farrelley (and co-screenwriter Pete Jones of "Project Greenlight" fame) engage the audience in the stale frat boy presentation of middle-aged men with wandering eyes wanting an escape from the claustrophobic clutches of marriage. Actually, it is not a bad premise for a cutthroat comedy to explore the disillusionment of mischievous men and matrimony in the current age of pop cultural hormonal hotshots in Charlie Sheen, Tiger Woods and Jesse James. Unfortunately, Hall Pass feels like a strained gimmick where the outdated concept of exaggerated Farrelley-induced fun-filled flatulence feels as flat as an overused whoopee cushion at a fat farm.

The urgency to explore the wacked-out dynamics of men-behaving-badly as they want to sow their oats on wild women to recapture some sort of masculine swagger had promise and unconventional purpose. However, the Farrelleys fall into that same trap that movies such as No Strings Attached failed to do...they play it safe and sound by relying on the musty madcap trappings of a lazy-minded and chintzy laugher gorging on obligatory penis jokes, poop gags and horndog hilarity that cheapens the intended broad joke at hand. Sure, instilling outrageous and over-the-top content is what the Farrelleys do at will. In Hall Pass, however, they are going through the motions by leaning on familiar bits of banality that gave perverse personality to their previous off-kilter fare from yesteryear. Needlessly sketchy and pointless in its tiring idiocy, the slapstick featured here is relentlessly forced and flaccid-something that one wouldn't identify with a Farrelley flick from the past that skillfully combined mindless vulgarity with a touch of heart.

Good friends Rick and Fred (Owen Wilson and SNL's Jason Sudeikis) are frustrated married men that want to spice up their sex lives. Unfortunately, their wives Maggie (Jenna Fischer from TV's "The Office") and Grace (Christina Applegate) aren't stepping up to the plate to oblige their provocative needs in the bedroom. This of course leads the guys to fantasize about hot chicks and what it would be like if they were free to take advantage of their frisky nature. The question remains this: what can Rick and Fred do to solve their hormonal imbalance and address the indifference of their frigid wives?

At last Maggie and Grace decide to oblige their childish husbands by giving them a "hall pass" that will ensure them one week to capitalize on scooping up random women and living out their sexual conquests to get any hidden urges out of their system. One main problem still exists-Rick and Fred forgot how to pick up the curvaceous cuties as marriage has obviously taken away some of their swinging capabilities. They are so out of touch with picking up women that going to an Applebee's restaurant seemed to be an ill-advised option. This brings up a dilemma in Rick and Fred that completely stalls their agenda: how can they enjoy the milk if they have trouble convincing the cow to handle its utter?

Enter an aging Romeo in the form of Coakley (Richard Jenkins). Coakley is on hand to instruct the clueless guys how to seduce and entice the females based on his so-called experience as a capable maturing lothario. It is not long before Rick sets his sights on a curvy coffeehouse server (Nicky Whelan) that fuels his attraction for her. Fred, in the meanwhile, has no qualms about which women he wants to tangle with...he'll sample anyone that is willing and ready. The guys need to look over their shoulders because what's good for the goose is certainly good for the gander. In other words, their wives may reserve some right to use their unexpected "hall passes" as well. Yikes!

There is nothing remotely shocking or titillating about Hall Pass that will cause anyone to riotously grab their belly in a hearty laugh. The "been-there-done-that" scenario is in full force as infidelity, masturbation, feces, splashing body fluids, swaying 10 inch members, strip clubs, drunkenness-all are introduced in conveyor belt fashion without any particular rhyme or reasoning for giving any credible caustic foundation to the mayhem at large. Surprisingly, the bathroom-style guffaws have no razor wit or flowing finesse to the filth-friendly malaise. One awkward and juvenile scene stumbles after another in repulsive, aimless desperation.

Indeed, Hall Pass doesn't even muster up to the mediocre Farrelly ditties such as 2003's Stuck On You or 2007's The Heartbreak Kid. It is sloppy, pretentious and wasteful as a calculating comedy struggling to shrewdly comment on the state of marriage and the unsatisfied Neanderthals that never outgrow their philandering phases. Both Wilson and Sudeikis are far more impishly appealing than the meager material that smothers them. Jenkins, a revered character actor in his own right, has twisted fun as the senior Love Guru on the scene but even his sauciness gets lost in this turgid tale. Fischer and Applegate are far better suited for their known television work than to partake in this big screen boob job of a smirking comedy.

Giving a nod to Hall Pass is hideous as there are too many corrosive comedies-both passable and dismissive-in this day and age to consider without regaling the old-fashioned flagrancy that marked The Farrelleys as gutter-reaching geniuses a long time ago.