Hall Pass

This is a Farrelly Brothers movie and really I suppose I expected more from Hall Pass. I don't know why I expected more since every film they've ever done has followed the same formula that puts people in really odd situations with idiotic conclusions, and their brand of humor has always followed the same rule that if the people in their picture don't act like real people then it has to be funny. I suppose, to be fair, this does work for them...fifteen years ago, but really every flick they've done since Me, Myself, and Irene has given us the same thing over and over again and I get it, really I do. You Farrellys are worried, nay, downright scared that if you were to make a movie that doesn't capitalize on your previous glory you would no longer be popular among your fans, though really I think you should ask anyone who's seen Shallow Hal how popular you are now.

The Plot: Maggie is worried that her husband Rick (Owen Wilson) is losing interest in her sexually when she keeps catching him checking out other women. After talking it over with two of her closest friends one of them suggest to her to give him a "hall pass" or a whole week off from marriage in order to strengthen their relationship. Maggie talks it over with Rick and they decide that she'll take their kids to her mom's house and he can do whatever he wants without any guilt for a whole week. Excited, Rick tells his best friend Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who immediately tells his wife that if she were to give him a week off as well then their relationship would also strengthen. At first Fred's wife is reluctant but eventually agrees (after he's caught jacking off in his minivan by the police). So now it's off to the races as Rick and Fred try their hardest to get layed and other misadventures from having a whole week off from their wives.

What I Liked/Disliked: Let's start with the (false) advertising. What the previews showed you was a couple of guys obsessed with sex who get a week off from their wives in order to cheat on them. It showed you some funny scenes: a guy taking mental photographs of a hot chick, an older "sex guru" type teaching the guys the right ways to objectify women, or even a scene where Fred and Rick are making fun of a man and his wife (and her large vagina) in their house as the subject of their jokes are watching them over the video security system. It looked like a lot of laughs, a lot of sex jokes, and totally a guy movie. What you got though was an entire half of a movie that wasn't advertised which was completely focused on Fred and Rick's wives. This movie is not a guy film, it's a date movie and the only thing keeping it from being a chick flick is all the guy related sex jokes which, unfortunately, are all completely ruined by every good joke being in the previews.

Another thing that really grinds my gears about this movie is its predictability. I guessed correctly at every twist or major plot point that happened throughout the whole flick. It never once tested me or showed me something that I hadn't seen a hundred times before. Then there was the humor. Though there were a couple of scenes that were hilarious and weren't ruined by the trailers, I mostly felt that any funny scene would've been more appropriate in a teen comedy than an adult date movie.

Overall: D-, This movie was sub-par. The acting was nothing special, Owen Wilson played Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis played the guy he played in The Hangover, all the women played the stereotypical woman from any movie. The plot was ridiculous and the only reason I could see for its ridiculousness was at least one of the Farrellys wanted to cheat on his wife and was trying to convince her it was a good idea "to make their marriage stronger." Either that or they've just run out of good ideas and are willing to print any bad one that comes into their heads (Shallow Hal). The only saving grace of this movie, and the only thing that kept it out of an F grade for me, was the soundtrack. And since I really have nothing else good to say about this movie I'm going to recommend that  you just buy the music for Hall Pass on Amazon and watch the preview over and over again as you listen to it and I bet you'd have a much better time than I did watching this piece of trash.