NMR: Hall Pass

If you recall I wrote up a post analyzing this film's trailer shortly before the film was released in theaters. In it, I noted that I felt there were some problems with the storytelling that made it difficult for me to buy into the plot. Despite this misgivings, I felt I deserved to give the film a fair shake in case the trailer wasn't giving me the full story. Sadly, my worries turned out to be true. This film hits one false note after another until it arrives at a climax that is so overbooked and unnecessary that I have begun to question whether or not the Farrelly brothers are capable of making another quality comedy again. The biggest problem is that I never bought these guys (played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudekis) needing the 'hall pass' in the first place. So they talk a bit crass when they're alone or occassionally eyeball an attractive woman. The wives'(played by Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) suggestion that they need this time apart seems like a major overreaction. And yet when these guys do get the pass, the time is squandered - not just in terms of what they do, but also in the comedic value for the audience in what they do. There are a couple of chuckles, but most of the gross-out gags simply stress the gross aspect of them. None of the characters here are all that appealing - the men are emasculated, the women are hypocritical and anyone on the sidelines is largely shortchanged in terms of screen time. Including guys like Richard Jenkins and Stephen Merchant (from the British version of The Office) and then hardly doing anything with them is a crime. I can't say that I never laughed, but I definitely expected to laugh more and would have needed to do so in order to give this film a recommendation. Rating: ** 1/2