Hall Pass
What kind of guy doesn't want a hall pass? A week off from marriage, no strings attached. Does it get any better than that? Well not for Owen Wilson. He pushes his wife to the breaking point and she finally suggests he go off and do whatever he needs to do for a week, and then come home. Kind of like that old saying of set the bird free and if it comes back it was yours to begin with. If it doesn't then he better pray to God he was shot by some Midwestern duck hunter.
Owen is the typical all American husband. He is somewhat out of shape, has two kids and his eyes wander a bit when a gorgeous twenty something girl passes through his field of vision. We can't say the same for Jason Sudeikis. Now that guy is a pig. Who masturbates in their minivan on a regular basis, as it sits next to the curb in front of their house? Isn't that what the bathroom is for?
You are hopefully getting a feel for the movie now. Do not take the kids to this one people. I sat in the theatre cringing at a couple in front of me, with their two children, approximately 10 and 11 years old. They shrunk into their sits for a full thirty seconds as we panned back and forth from an African American man's penis to a Caucasian guy's penis. Nothing wrong with flashing the boys around, but do you have to bring kids watch?
Once Owen is set free he and Sudeikis find that life in the fast lane isn't all they show in the commercials. They putter out around 9 PM after inhaling a table full of junk food at one of the local sit down dinner chains and head home. Is there a better place to pick up women than Chili's? I think not. Here is where the movie went south for me.
If we are in the theater to see some raunchy comedy, then show us the raunchy comedy and be done with it. Ok, maybe a small plot, but don't give me too much to think about. Hall Pass attempted to sway our thoughts to the loving couple, finding romance in the middle ages. Maybe we're all a little more in love with our wives than we let on. Well, not me. I'm divorced so to hell with it. The romantic flip was a little too much for me and the movie quickly got very sappy.
Do we really think that Owen Wilson left alone in a bedroom with a naked Nicky Whelan would say no thank you? The woman is smoking hot. Damn, now it's been a while since I got to say that. I need to write more blog posts.
So bottom line, decent movie, a few laughs, not for the kids and you get a glance here and there at some hot women and some shlongs waving through the air. Fell short for me but you could do worse in a pinch. I would wait for the DVD and watch it from home. Then you could pause on the Nicky Whelan scene and fast forward through the three men in a hot tub nightmare.
