Hall Pass

The Hall Pass is not a concept that is familiar to most people outside the USA. For those who don't know it refers to a pass that kids at school can get to be allowed outside class. If they want to get permission to say go to the bathroom they get a Hall Pall to be allowed in the halls of the school.

The Farrelly Brothers have not had much commercial success lately. Their films have been a bit hit and miss. Despite this I am still a fan of their work. I think part of the problem is the gross-out humour they use in their movies. It is a trademark they use which people expect to see and in many ways can over shadow the film. I think that the films they make can have a sweet and interesting core with the gross-out coating. But people can't see through the gross out coating to get to the sweet core. I'd like to know if The Farrelly Brothers write this way because they like to or they are expected to and know it is the only way they can get the films they make made. This film has an interesting concept of two married couples who find out about a unique way to spice up their marriage. The concept of giving your partner permission to cheat sounds bad but it can be a good way to test your partner's infidelity. If they do sleep with someone then maybe that means there are problems in the relationship. But if they don't then that means the relationship is good. Their gross-out humour works in most instances in this film but their were a couple of moments which made me cringe a bit and I thought were not needed. Even if they got the biggest laughs in the film.

What a difference a haircut can make. Owen Wilson usually plays cool laid back guys in his movies but here with a new haircut he plays someone a lot more nerdy. This makes it a refreshing change to see him do something different. Jason Sudeikis plays the same sort of guy he did in 'The Hangover' and is quite funny. Their wives in the film Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate while not as funny are more the heart and soul of the film. Richard Jenkins plays a similar character from 'Eat Pray Love' but with a more sleazy side.

If you can look past the crude humour on the outside of this film you will find a story with a sweet and interesting message about relationship and marriage.