Comic 'Hall Pass' not the Farrellys' best
Only one scene in the Farrelly brothers' new comedy, “Hall Pass,” resonates with insight into how the sexual immaturity of men can fray the romantic bonds between a happily married couple.
Rick (Owen Wilson) and his wife, Maggie (“The Office” star Jenna Fischer), intend to engage in the dance of the wild bunnies as soon as their little boy falls asleep.
When Rick finally enters their bedroom, Maggie is fast asleep. But the moment Rick leaves the room, Maggie opens her eyes.
Faker! Faker!
Later, Maggie tearfully explains to her best friend Grace (Christina Applegate) why she pretended to be asleep: because she feared that while making love to her, Rick would be thinking of all the hot babes he'd ogled and fussed over earlier that day.
This is a very smart and disturbing scene.
Had “Hall Pass” offered more moments like it, directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly would have a major hit comedy that simultaneously appealed to the sensitivity of women's feelings and the insensitivity of men's penchants for adolescent sexual fixations.
Nope. “Hall Pass” is a spotty, choppy mess, a belabored comedy that could use another pass through editing software, plus benefit from a more thoughtful ending beyond the expected “grass is greener where you're standing” moral to the story.
Maggie gets sick of how Rick constantly checks out other women and fantasizes that he could be with them — if he weren't tethered by the old ball and chain.
A self-help author (“The View” co-host Joy Behar) shares how she saved her marriage by giving her a husband a “hall pass” — permission to do whatever he wants with whomever he wants for a week, penalty-free.
Maggie likes the idea and gives Rick the pass, thinking it will cure him of his delusions of sexual magnetism.
Next, Grace gives her husband, Fred (Jason Sudeikis), a hall pass, too. She's tired of Fred's philandering eyes.
Tired also describes some of the jokes in “Hall Pass.”
Anyone who's ever been to Applebee's or seen an Applebee's TV commercial knows that the family restaurant is no meet market, at least beyond the surf-and-turf specials.
Yet, Rick, Fred and their like-minded friends are inexplicably surprised that women at Applebee's don't wear stilettos or push-ups and aren't panting with anticipation for them to make their moves.
Not only is this Applebee's setup unworthy of the Farrellys (or any other filmmakers), “Hall Pass” goes on to repeat the same joke two more times, using other family restaurants as the punch lines.
Can this comedy possibly be from the filmmakers who gave us the funny and gross smash hits “There's Something About Mary,” “Kingpin” and “Dumb and Dumber”?
To be fair, “Hall Pass” brandishes its Farrelly fixation with rude, crude and lewd visuals. The best/worst one involves an ill woman sitting on a bathtub, while apparently not wearing underpants. (You don't want to know.)
A knockout blonde Australian actress named Nicky Whelan plays Leigh, a coffee shop waitress who becomes Rick's fixation.
She's actually a nice person, except that she's willing to overlook Rick's marital status, as is Rick's college baby sitter, Paige (gorgeous brunette Alexandra Daddario).
There is a scene in “Hall Pass” that reminded me of the late Blake Edwards' classic “10” when Bo Derek offers herself to Dudley Moore.
I didn't buy Moore's decision there, and I don't buy Rick's decision here; he's too weak a character to muster the kind of strength he demonstrates under pressure.
“Hall Pass” has at least one actor who rises above the disappointing material: DeKalb-born Richard Jenkins.
He plays Coakley, Rick's slimy hookup coach whose knowledge of women and bars is frighteningly omniscient, almost like a Jedi master seduced by the sleaze side of the Force.
If only the Farrellys had made a movie all about him.
<b>“Hall Pass”</b>
★ ★
<b>Starring: </b>Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Richard Jenkins
<b>Directed by: </b>Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly
<b>Other: </b>A Warner Bros. release. Rated R for drug use, language, nudity, sexual situations. 98 minutes.