On the first night of my buddy’s Cape Cod bachelor party, the best man bought him a cookie cake with the message, “It’s never too late to say, ‘No.’” I thought of the cake as I watched Hall Pass, the latest comedy from Peter and Bobby Farrelly, because it also questions the merit of fidelity in a New England setting. The unofficial kings of gross-out humor, the Farrelly brothers hit new lows with their story of two perverted man-children who re-explore single life. Some gags work better than others, but the movie squanders its talented cast with writing that demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of human behavior.
Owen Wilson plays Rick, a mild-mannered real estate agent who is married to Maggie (Jenna Fischer). Rick’s best friend is Fred (Jason Sudeikis), a relentlessly horny insurance salesman who brings out Rick’s inner pervert. Maggie and Fred’s wife Grace (Christina Applegate) are fed up with their husbands’ nonstop leering and lewd jokes, and soon Dr. Lucy (Joy Behar) suggests Maggie and Grace give their men a “hall pass,” or a week-long break from their marriage. The wives decide to go along with the idea, so they head to Cape Cod while Fred and Rick can womanize as much as they want. The guys are initially thrilled with their newfound freedom — Fred can barely resist the urge to hit on Rick’s receptionist — yet they soon discover single life isn’t exactly how they remembered. As for Grace and Maggie, the hall pass creates new possibilities for them as well. Amidst scatological humor, these four must reevaluate what their marriages mean to them.
There are moments in Hall Pass that make the previous work of the Farrelly brothers seem almost coy. The directors have always been obsessed with excrement, but whereas Dumb and Dumber lets the audience use its imagination, here we literally see shit spray the walls. The same goes for dick jokes; whereas There’s Something About Mary only offers glimpses of male genitalia, in Hall Pass a dick is fully visible for an uncomfortably long time. It’s as if the Farrellys have forgotten that the situations the characters find themselves in, not the taboo-breaking sight gags, are what make their movies funny.
Wilson and Sudeikis do their best with paragons of male stupidity, but their one-note characters remain resolutely childish. Fred and Rick would work as characters if they had a streak of chauvinism or even misogyny, but they’re written as unsophisticated adolescents in adult bodies. It’s never plausible that women would tolerate Fred and Rick, let alone marry them, so Grace and Maggie also seem contrived. Like their male counterparts, Applegate and Fischer struggle with what little material the Farrelly brothers give them. Neither actress has an opportunity to be funny; attempts at humor only occur when they disapprove of their husbands or when other men insult them.
Hall Pass may finally prove that this infamously lewd duo, who had successful careers in the late 90s, are now out of ideas. There are tired subplots involving pot brownies and a deranged barista, yet they only serve as a reminder of the delightfully off-kilter characters the directors were once capable of creating. Even a seasoned actor like Richard Jenkins hits the wrong note as Coakley, a lecherous mentor to Fred and Rick. At their best, the Farrelly brothers’ slapstick could make audiences wince and laugh in equal measure. Now they just make us wince.
