Rating: R
Starring:
Owen Wilson as Rick
Jason Sudeikis as Fred
Jenna Fischer as Maggie
Christina Applegate as Grace
Nicky Whelan as Leigh
Richard Jenkins as Coakley
Stephen Merchant as Gary
Larry Joe Campbell as Hog-Head
Bruce Thomas as Rick Coleman
Tyler Hoechlin as Gerry
Derek Waters as Brent
Alexandra Daddario as Paige
Directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly
Special Features:
Outrageous Additional Scene – Coakley (Richard Jenkins) plays it cool with a cop
Hilarious Gag Reel
Digital Copy Of Feature Film
BD Live Enabled
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.40:1)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 Sound
French and Spanish Languages
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 105 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“From the Farrelly Brothers (‘There’s Something About Mary,’ ‘Dumb & Dumber’) comes your ticket to fool around! Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are best friends, each married many years. With the guys showing signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalizing their respective marriages: granting them a ‘hall pass,’ one week of freedom to do whatever they want… no questions asked. At first a dream come true, it’s not long before Rick and Fred find that their expectations of the single life – and themselves – are completely and hilariously out of sync with reality.”
“Hall Pass” is rated R for crude and sexual humor throughout, language, some graphic nudity and drug use.
Mini-Review:
As I read Josh Starnes’ review of the theatrical release of “Hall Pass,” I found there wasn’t much in it that I could disagree with. I agreed that the plot was totally predictable. I agreed that the sex jokes and gross-out jokes were old hat. I agreed that the Farrelly Brothers are not anywhere near their old form. But I ultimately enjoyed it a bit more than he did and thought it deserved better than the 5 out of 10 rating he gave it. Why?
Well, to begin with I think I’m in the target demographic that “Hall Pass” was created for. Like the characters in the film, I’ve been married for 15 years, I have three kids, and I’m rockin’ a Honda Odyssey. I’m also nearing 40 and, like Rick and Fred, realizing that I’m on the downhill side of my prime. And like the lead characters, my marriage has had the highs and lows that any married couple has had. So as the characters went through their pre-mid-life crisis and, ultimately, realized that being with their family is the one place in the world they most wanted to be, it hit me on a personal level more than it would, say, a 20-year old college student still dating. So if you’re married and in your mid-30’s, you’ll appreciate “Hall Pass” more than a lot of demographics.
Besides identifying with the main characters, there were a few jokes that had me laughing out loud. In one scene Rick is seen dancing with a snake. A second later we see it choking him to death with five guys trying to pull it off of him. That cracked me up. In another scene Rick and Fred come out of a hotel and find a stalker doing horrific things to Fred’s prized Honda Odyssey. Again, I laughed and the situation got worse for them from there. So despite being utterly predictable, there were still a few moments that I really laughed at.
If you go in just expecting a comedy about the highs and lows of marriage, I think you’ll enjoy “Hall Pass” more than if you go in expecting a great Farrelly Brothers movie. But as I’ve mentioned several times, your enjoyment of this will depend a lot upon your demographic.
The Blu-ray is pretty light on bonus features. You get one deleted scene where Richard Jenkins as Coakley tries to talk his way out of a DUI. You also get a brief gag reel. Beyond that, you’re out of luck.
