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• Currently 3/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

Sudeikis and Owen Wilson play a pair of fairly happily married Joes, both cursed with a wandering eye when it comes to the ladies. The former goes a step too far perhaps when he’s arrested in his car for, eh, masturbating. And so it is that their good wives (Fischer and Applegate) suggest a week-long hall pass…

THE VERDICT: It’s been a long, long time since the Farrellys have enjoyed the kind of commercial or critical success that came with their early, pioneering trio of comedy classics (Dumb & Dumber, Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary), although their criminally underrated 2007 remake The Heartbreak Kid was a definite return to form. And the brothers continue their rehabilitation here, with a movie that is a lot softer and safer than those earlier offerings, but the gag-rate is high.

Review by Paul Byrne 

• Avg User rating
• Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 1/5 Stars.

  &IKnowMovies

  

  Admittedly this was the choice of the elder teen, wah? he's a teenage boy. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Nothing to do with the fact that the Farrelly brothers can be seriously funny. Always disgusting but often hilarious. Kingpin being one of the comedic highlights not to mention There's Something about Mary anyone? I'm not sure when or how but the Farrelly brothers have sprained their collective funny bone. Owen Wilson is usually a safe bet for laughs and genuine comedic timing but in this he plays a pasty poindexter far too convincingly for my liking. Pouting his lips and waiting for Jason Sudeikis (That dude that presented the awards that I'd never seen before) to deliver his contrived lines. In fairness Sudeikis has screen presence and good timing but he needs to make better script choices. This all just felt too forced and nothing smothers comedy quicker than forced laughter. The general pitch of this film is that these suburban middle aged men are becoming restless at home and their beleaguered wives (Fischer & Applegate) on the advice of a Psychologist grant them a Hall Pass from their marriages for one week. Hilarity should have ensued, all the elements are there but, to me, this was such a let down. Overacted and under delivered. Yes there are one or two involuntary, shocked laughs. This IS the Farrelly Brothers. But all in all it's contrived and self indulgent. Owen, how could you? Considering the nudity and toilet humour even the teen boys didn't rate this one. Now that's saying something.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  imyoursweet666

  

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  adoreabubbles

  

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  Mr_Twist

  

  I thought it would never end... some great one liners but not enough to save this tragic attempt at comedy

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  enigmab17

  

  Loved it...if you have a choice between going to see this and the hangover 2, I would choose this. Looses one star as it wasn't the best film ever created, but was hilariously funny (as a one time watcher), well-written and beautifully acted out.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  darthrodney

  

  A good funny movie, some legit laugh out loud moments that leave you saying "Oh MY God, I can't believe they just did that!" as you really should expect from the Farrerlly Bros. Some great funny insights into Marriage that might lead to some awkward conversation between couples afterward, be warned!! *L* The movie as is to be expected goes into the mandatory emotional realizations as all movies do toward the end but thankfully doesn't get too bogged down in them. Worth a viewing.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  BIGBADBRIAN

  

  I did not want to see this film. I'm a fan of the Farrelly bros. but this looked terrible and the poster made me feel ill. But i was dragged along and i'm so glad. I laughed pretty much the whole way through. First time in years i thought Owen Wilson was back on form. The story is pretty standard and you would expect the comedy to be basic but there are so many funny moments and gags throughout. I really liked this movie. Dont know why Merchant was in it though? Bit strange but kinda works. Worth a watch.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  lionqueen

  

  I wouldn't say it's up there with the farrelly brothers's best works, but it still had quite a few laugh out loud moments!

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  jen:D

  

  Hilarious!!! i thought this film was so funny!! but it was crude and rude as well!! not to everyones taste! not sure if its an actual insight into the married mans life, was was hilarious to see the two men get themselves into funny situations and how they reacted to their wives allowing them to be single for a week!!

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  aoibheana

  

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  TheAngelicDiablo

  

  Farrelly brothers return to form proves that the frat pack mentality still has steam at 40.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  mcclofsky

  

  really enjoyed this ,jokes come fast and hard.

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  ssconnolly

  

  Written and directed by The Farrelly Brothers, I hoped that Hall Pass would be a return to form for the once great comedy directors. In the 90's they were some of the most promising comedy filmmakers around and gave us classics such as There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumberer and Kingpin. But unfortunately since 2001 they have been getting gradually worse. Shallow Hal, Stuck On You, The Heartbreak Kid. What went wrong? Well if you ask me they've been working so hard on making their high concept ideas work that they neglected arguably the most important thing, the jokes. Look at their past films and it's clear that they are good at finding hilarity in simplicity, and mediocrity in complexity. A simply story of two idiots on a road trip was great, a story of a man who falls for a 300 pound woman for her 'inner beauty' was brutal. A story of a guy who tries to reunite with an old flame was great, a story of conjoined twins who move to Hollywood so one of them can pursue an acting career was brutal. You get the picture. And so as much as I hoped Hall Pass would be their return to the top, it's sadly yet another high concept comedy failure. First things first, what is this big idea. Well, when Rick and Fred are both caught in awkward situations, their wives decide that they've had enough of their immature attitudes toward sex and each give their spouse a 'Hall Pass'. For those who haven't heard this term, which I'm fairly certain is pretty much everyone who hasn't seen this film or it's trailer, a Hall Pass is a week off marriage in which you can do whatever you want with absolutely no consequences. So Rick and Fred are both given one and so head out for a week of boozing and womanising. However the pair soon discover that in the years they've been married the game has changed somewhat and they becomes tourists in the world of dating of which they used to be kings. Sitting down trying to find out where this film went wrong is a big task, and I'm not sure where to start. I have no idea what The Farrelly Brother wanted from this film but surely this isn't it. There were literally no more than five consistently funny scenes in the film and the rest of the gags are just desperately unfunny. And the worst thing is this was at a screening before which there was a drinks reception. I mean you give a large group of people an hour of free drink and then send them into a comedy film you expect everyone to really enjoy it and have a good time, or at least laugh politely and pretend they've enjoyed it. But no one was laughing constantly throughout. The film had its moments before the Hall Pass was introduced but after it was the whole thing became a creepy and dull affair. The films only really great moment was actually a brief scene shown during the final credits, which isn't a good sign whatever way you looks at it. What I thought was the most annoying thing though was that these sibling directors appear to have absolutely no idea what kind of comedy they are trying to make. At times they seem to be aiming it at the more immature audiences with an abundance of penis jokes, gratuitous nudity and even a token diarrhoea gag. But there are also plenty of jokes only older people would possibly find funny, such as the temporarily single men going to an Applebees to meet women. The feel never seems comfortable in its own skin and constantly alters between these two kinds of jokes. And then there's the subplot of the wives on holiday, which fortunately commands very little screentime as it is not only completely lacking in jokes but really uninteresting. Their characters are brutal, poorly written and very unoriginal. Not to mention most of them are ridiculously underused. Stephen Merchant, who provided by far the films best moment, and some other actors play Rick and Fred's friends but they feature for maybe 15-20 minutes and then leave the film entirely until the end credits. The same happens with Richard Jenkins, who popped up near the end for a brief cameo as the cliched middle-aged womaniser with plenty of sexist advice to give. Always good for a laugh, only in this the characters role is effectively the exact same as that played by Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers with some of Barney from How I Met Your Mothers theories and a dodgy fake tan job. And this is the problem throughout Hall Pass, there isn't much originality when it comes to their characters. A lot of the fault for the mediocrity of this flim has to fall on the shoulders of the dull comedy performances offered by the cast, which has some great comedy stars. Owen Wilson is the worst he's ever been. He's entirely unfunny and his character isn't likeable enough for him to get away with being so boring. Also a lot of the jokes written for him are kind of about him being old which just don't make sense. Jason Sudeikis is probably the best in the film. He's doesn't always seem entirely comfortable in what is easily his biggest role to date but he does deliver the best lines and tries to keep this funny. Christina Applegate and Jenna Fisher are terrible. They don't deliver a decent joke between them and their chemistry with their make co-stars is terrible and this makes the problems in their marriages hard to empathise with. The supporting players are bad too, Stephen Merchant being the only one with a positive impact on the film, though he is criminally underused. So all in all Hall Pass is one of the worst comedies of the year so far, a list which is getting worryingly long. Cast and directors combine to take a decent idea and provide a really dull and unamusing comedy. The Farrelly Brothers writing hits and all new low with their characters, their dialogue and most importantly their jokes all coming off as a complete mess. Hopefully the pair can realise their mistakes and return to simpler ideas before they are forever known as the guys who always make really crappy comedy films. Not recommended. The only reason this isn't getting one star is thanks to the great gag at the end, courtesy of Stephen Merchant.

• • Currently 5/5 Stars.

  plantman

  

  Really really enjoyed this movie, some brilliant laugh out loud moments throughout the movie, highly recommended

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  tetsujin1979

  

  Owen Wilson is slightly unbelievable as a husband as father, luckily this role changes for him in the opening 15 minutes as his wife gives him a Hall Pass to do whatever he thinks he can't due to marriage. What follows is a enjoyable return to form for the Farrelly's after a few mis-steps that will have you laughing through your fingers after a few "did they really do that?" moments which masks the film's true heartb

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