Hall Pass

There’s Something About Mary will always be the high point for the Farrelly brothers and though it’s not a surprise they’ve never topped such a superb film, what is surprising is just how lame all their other output has been since then. Hall Pass does not address the decline. The story of two friends played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, who receive a “hall pass” from their wives basically giving them permission to have an affair, is as unfunny as it is predictable. Predictable as in their characters may be a bit pervy, but they’re basically nice guys so we already know that even if the opportunity arrives on a plate for them (which it does) they won’t follow it through anyway (which they don’t). Their characters final realisation that it’s their wives that make them complete is as patronising as it is foreseeable. OK, now throw rotten fruit at me as you point out that the idea behind the film is to have a laugh at their efforts to get laid, predictability be damned. Now I dodge said rotten fruit and say “Fair enough”, but there’s a problem though. It’s just not funny enough. Actually, it appears to be more that the Farrelly’s couldn’t decide if this should be full gross out or not and get caught in an awkward no-man’s land. There are a few decent one-liners, but some scenes are way too over the top, including the now infamous “sneeze” scene, which attempts to top the “hair gel” scene from Mary but is just plain horrible. A running gag regarding Kathy Griffin is also going to be lost to most people outside of North America. To be fair to the Farrelly’s the plot does take an interesting detour in which we also follow the wives of Wilson and Sudeikis (played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) and their own shenanigans. However, this isn’t explored thoroughly enough though and before long it’s back to the boys and more knob jokes. Overall, this is too much of a mess with a somewhat questionable attitude towards women. I have given it an extra mark though for the supremely silly credits sequence involving Stephen Merchant.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

If you like films where a bunch of losers wander around failing with women, well…. Rating: 4/10