The Review: Hall Pass

The Premise: Two American couples live a boring married life. So the husbands check out other women and the wives laugh it off and let it pass. 


However, remember it's America: Anything and everything can happen to anyone and everyone is expected to not raise an eyebrow. So, in keeping with this age old tradition, one fine summer day, the wives decide to get fed up of their husbands' behaviour and give them a hall pass - a week off from their marriage. What ensues is not exactly classy, not entirely B-grade, and definitely not in the league of rom-coms dished out by Garry Marshall and Nore Ephron.


Watch it for: 

• Owen Wilson's  understated acting. The man has improved and you see the earnestness to prove that he deserves a lot more than slimy excuses of comedies.

• The girls - Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer - actresses I have never known for anything worthwhile. They're very real here in whatever they have to fake and are believable too.

• The dialogue - It somehow hits the right notes almost all the time. Corny lines are nowhere in sight. 

• The script - It never forces an invention on you. It's all well-paced and never sloppy enough to chop ahead to a bizarre sequence. 

Remember not to: 

• Think of it as a statement on marriage. It's not - nor does it even pretend to be. 

• Bother wondering why two scenes involving unmentionables turned up on the screen! It's a Farrelly Brothers movie and that's enough of an excuse for acrid humour even when there's no need for it at all.

So do I or don't I?


Well, if ribald humour wrapped in just the right soothing tones of paper does manage to let you look past the offense  the accompanying muck causes you, then yes, go watch the movie.


If the muck bothers you more, there's always Tangled to go to.