Big Screen Blurb: Hall Pass

Take two dorks whose eyes serve as heat-seeking missiles for any eye candy within 100 yard radius. Add two frustrated wives. Throw in some doped up brownies…a jealous psycho…some chicks and some dicks, and you’ve got the set-up for a pretty funny flick: Hall Pass.

Your two dorks are Rick and Fred played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudieki, who I thought was a math puzzle, but apparently not. The wives are Grace and Maggie, played by Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer respectively. The latter two are fed up with their hubby’s wandering eyes and obsession with sex. So much so, that they agree to a hall pass. This pass gives both guys the right to essentially forget that they are married for a whole week. No obligations of family and relationships…nope…just live the single life for a week. This apparently means partying every night, a token appearance at work before surging to get laid once more. Hmm…if only I were single…wait, I am…but I digress.

Rick and Fred find the going tough in the single's scene. Suddenly, the chicks who were lining up to get banged a few moments ago, were it not for their pesky wives, have all but disappeared. Meanwhile, the ladies are not finding matters so difficult. There are plenty of young guys looking for a good cougar—or in Maggie's case a silver fox. While the guys are striking out, the ladies are striking up the band and yadayadayada everyone learns the lessons you would expect them to learn during an enlightening roller coaster ride of hilarity.

This is funny stuff. I’ll give it 4.0 Stars. My big fear going into Hall Pass was that it was going to be like Hot Tub Time Machine, a flick that I despised. This was mainly because it apparently had set its sights on being The Hangover of 2010. In route, Hot Tub knew it had to push the envelope beyond where The Hangover had left it. Well, Hot Tub pushed the envelope off the table. In other words, its humor was so over-the-top it just wasn’t funny. Yeah, Hangover toed that comedic line on numerous occasions, but did so brilliantly keeping a smile on my face as it did so—Hot Tub not so much. Hall Pass is not The Hangover, but is certainly a lot closer. Hall Pass effectively toes that line. Even with a few ‘oooh, I can’t believe what I just saw’ moments; they kept the smiles flowing.

I assumed going in that Sudieki could do "dorky" justice, but Owen nailed the nerdy role as well. Yeah, the story is a little predictable at times, as are the lessons learned by all parties involved. Even so, they are lessons worth noting. The humor…well, there are some classic moments in this one that I’ll be referencing with friends for a long time! All in all, Hall Pass is a fun hour and forty-five minute ride. Go ahead and see it BIG! It’s not The Hangover, but this flick will leave you smiling for days and beyond.

True…OUT!