HALL PASS

“HALL PASS” (Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer & Christina Applegate)

The four above mentioned actors are the two couples involved in this film, but ‘Hall Pass’ will forever be known as the film that gave us the absolutely gorgeous Nicky Whelan. . . Wow, what a strikingly beautiful woman - & the Australian accent just makes her even hotter.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the stupid movie. & I’m not knocking it by calling it ‘stupid’. It’s the return of the Farrelly brothers – they excel at stupid - & this one is stupidly funny. Perhaps I was just in the mood to laugh after watching all those serious Oscar contenders (Some of which were just flat out awful) but I chuckled frequently at ‘Hall Pass’ despite realizing, ‘boy, was that dumb!’
One particular scene involved a drunken Latino girl who kept saying she wasn’t going to throw up. I’m sorry, but the sight gag made me laugh loudly. & yes, it was disgusting; disgusting & stupid – Farrelly brothers trademarks - though they haven’t made a good film since ‘Me, Myself & Irene’ in 2000.
Owen Wilson plays Rick – married to Maggie (Jenna Fischer)
Rick’s best friend is Fred (Jason Sudeikis) who is married to Grace (Christina Applegate)
After Maggie calls out Rick for openly ogling a passing girl in tight jeans, she tells Grace, who relates that she knows all about her stupid husband’s ‘trick’ of looking at where the girl will be instead of directly at her. Their friend Joy Beher tells them to give their husbands a ‘hall pass’ – a week off from marriage because every husband ‘thinks’ he could get a lot of tail if only he weren’t married.
So give them permission to be single for a week & they’ll learn how lucky they are that their wives put up with them – because every other woman – especially the hotties they ogle, don’t want to have anything to do with jerks like them.

Rick & Fred, using two of their buddies as an audience & inspiration, decide to start off hitting on chicks at Applebys. . . Then they decide to upgrade to Chilis.
While the ‘boys’ are striking out without ever swinging their bats, their wives are off on vacation meeting guys who know how to hit on ‘chicks’ married, or not. The women come to the conclusion that their husbands’ hall passes work both ways & don’t discourage their suitors.

Now, I’ve always thought Owen Wilson went into comedy because no one would take him seriously as a leading man with that unsightly, disfigured nose of his. So when he meets the extremely attractive barista Leigh (Nicky Whelan) at ‘Drips’, his jaw drops & he’s speechless. Leigh is very sexy & coquettish – but Rick just thinks, she’s like that with ALL her customers. The fact that drop dead gorgeous Leigh would find a man with Owen Wilson's nose attractive is a joke in itself, but I digress - at least he isn't as homely as a Seth Rogen or Adam Sandler, right? It's almost plausible that one of the cutest girls on the planet would show a little interst in him...

When Rick & Fred hear that their chick magnet buddy Coakley is back in town, they salivate at the opportunity to learn from the master – or at least pick up his leftovers.
The joke with Coakley’s arrival is that it’s elderly actor Richard Jenkins - & he’s very funny in the role.
My least favorite sight ‘gag’ – the schlong – is used rather graphically & although the scene had humorous intent – I don’t need to see a $5 foot long flopping around onscreen. Call me homophobic, I just don’t like to look at guys’ junk. It worked in “Walk Hard”, but that’s the only time I found male nudity to be funny.

I don’t even remember the last time I used my ‘laugh-o-meter’ but ‘Hall Pass’ scored a respectable 44 – with many of those hard, out loud laughs. Is it possible that the next time I view this film I won’t find it nearly as humorous – sure – but for right now, I have to be honest & say it made me laugh frequently even though the humor was definitely of the ‘low brow’ quality. It’s no ‘Hangover’ by any means, but it’s probably the funniest movie I’ve seen since that already classic comedy. & if nothing else, holey moley, guys, Nicky Whelan is worth the price of admission alone – I’m talking mega-adorable & like a good sport, she takes her top off. If she hadn’t, do you think I’d be praising this stupid movie as much as I have???