The latest comedy from sibling directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly proves one thing: the bottle from which the lighting that There’s Something About Mary and personal genre favorite, Dumb & Dumber, came from is well and truly empty. In fact, on the evidence of this laugh-drought film they have broken through the glass at the bottom.
Bedfellow with the recent Adam Sandler clunker, Just Go With It, in terms of suspension of disbelief, Hall Pass is the term given to a marriage in which it is agreed by the two parties that for one week only, one of them may have a break from the marriage. No rules, no confessions, and no comeuppance once the seven days have passed.
It’s a card dealt to Owen Wilson’s Rick when his wife (played by The Office’s wonderful Jenna Fischer) grows tired of his wandering eye and immature japes with similar man-child, Fred (Jason Sudeikis), who has ridiculously also received the responsibility hiatus from his own other half, Grace (Christina Applegate). Cue a week of women, beer, and poker nights with his assorted buddies, one of whom is the always welcome Stephen Merchant, towards a journey of self discovery that is at best tedious, but often torturous.
This may be stating the obvious but one of the fundamental keys to a successful comedy is the ability to make the audience laugh. Not every joke will resonate with everyone, but during the screening of Hall Pass the audience was painfully quiet. There was the odd titter here, sometimes even from myself, but we were all anticipating laughs that never came. The days tick over on screen to indicate how far through the Hall Pass process we are, and with each passing day you begin to hope that we’re building up to a riotous slapstick finale, but it falls flat.
Perhaps the clearest indicator that the Farrellys have forgotten to add any gags in among Wilson’s mid-life crisis self-examination, is that they resort to a hilariously disgusting shower scene sneeze to generate the biggest laugh. There’s Something About Mary though, managed to finely balance the gross-out stuff with the tender mechanics of a superb romantic comedy.
You would also expect better from the talent involved, and not only behind the camera. Wilson is on cruise control as the laid-back family man, and both Applegate and Fischer have no character development beyond the increasingly orange color of their skin. Sudeikis emerges with some credit, and lines such as “do you think these napkins smell like chloroform?” as a pulling technique, go some way to making this the best Saturday Night Live breakout in a long time. As for Stephen Merchant, his prominence on the poster is completely misleading; charming he may be, but his impact is fleeting.
Apparently there is an added gag after the end credits have rolled. Unfortunately the preceding 90-odd minutes quash any desire to sit through a list of people that could make such mediocrity.
[etRating value=“ 2”]
Bedfellow with the recent Adam Sandler clunker, Just Go With It, in terms of suspension of disbelief, Hall Pass is the term given to a marriage in which it is agreed by the two parties that for one week only, one of them may have a break from the marriage. No rules, no confessions, and no comeuppance once the seven days have passed.
It’s a card dealt to Owen Wilson’s Rick when his wife (played by The Office’s wonderful Jenna Fischer) grows tired of his wandering eye and immature japes with similar man-child, Fred (Jason Sudeikis), who has ridiculously also received the responsibility hiatus from his own other half, Grace (Christina Applegate). Cue a week of women, beer, and poker nights with his assorted buddies, one of whom is the always welcome Stephen Merchant, towards a journey of self discovery that is at best tedious, but often torturous.
This may be stating the obvious but one of the fundamental keys to a successful comedy is the ability to make the audience laugh. Not every joke will resonate with everyone, but during the screening of Hall Pass the audience was painfully quiet. There was the odd titter here, sometimes even from myself, but we were all anticipating laughs that never came. The days tick over on screen to indicate how far through the Hall Pass process we are, and with each passing day you begin to hope that we’re building up to a riotous slapstick finale, but it falls flat.
Perhaps the clearest indicator that the Farrellys have forgotten to add any gags in among Wilson’s mid-life crisis self-examination, is that they resort to a hilariously disgusting shower scene sneeze to generate the biggest laugh. There’s Something About Mary though, managed to finely balance the gross-out stuff with the tender mechanics of a superb romantic comedy.
You would also expect better from the talent involved, and not only behind the camera. Wilson is on cruise control as the laid-back family man, and both Applegate and Fischer have no character development beyond the increasingly orange color of their skin. Sudeikis emerges with some credit, and lines such as “do you think these napkins smell like chloroform?” as a pulling technique, go some way to making this the best Saturday Night Live breakout in a long time. As for Stephen Merchant, his prominence on the poster is completely misleading; charming he may be, but his impact is fleeting.
Apparently there is an added gag after the end credits have rolled. Unfortunately the preceding 90-odd minutes quash any desire to sit through a list of people that could make such mediocrity.
[etRating value=“ 2”]
