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Hall Pass starring Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis & Christina Applegate: Review for the Funny and Crude Comedy

Posted on September 6, 2018 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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Hall Pass movie poster.

Married best friends Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) are on the fast track to middle-aged suburban “husbandhood.” They wear boring clothes, can rarely have sex with their wives, and they are comfortable in their careers.

While neither they or their married friends (played by Stephen Merchant, Larry Joe Campbell, and J.B. Smoove) are cheating on their wives, they are all obsessed with the sexual escapades they are not having.

But they are not the only ones discontent with their spouses. Rick’s wife Maggie (Jenna Fischer) and Fred’s wife Grace (Christina Applegate) are fed up with their husbands’ crude sex talk and teenager-like antics. After a final straw, both women give their husbands a Hall Pass: A week off from marriage where they will be allowed to do anything they want with no consequences.

At first, Rick isn’t sure, but he is persuaded by Fred, and their friends join them to “watch” them hit on and score with women. As the wives, along with the two kids (Rick and Maggie’s) spend the week at Maggie’s parents, the men embark on their adventure.

But being “single” is much harder than they remember, and their pretty wives, unbeknownst to them, already have admirers. And if the men can sleep with other people, why shouldn’t they have some fun?

Review

I quite liked Hall Pass. It was fun, and I laughed out loud during several scenes. As a romantic woman, I must say I was rooting for the men to fail and women to “succeed” with the opposite sex since they both had been so crude and insensitive about the matter. They seemed to forget their wives also had to put up with them, and not just them putting up with their wives.

Ideally, a marriage is an equal partnership where both sides exercise empathy. And despite the three “visual” jokes I didn’t care for, and the crude (yet mostly very entertaining) humor, Hall Pass does a fine job of reminding us that.

The men felt unwanted. The women felt undesired. The men wanted their wives to see sex as something enjoyable, something to look forward to, something to set more time aside for. The women wanted the men to stop gawking at other women so blatantly, to stop making everything about sex, to make them feel sexy and wanted.

So while there are several stereotypes that can make both men and women cringe, they do move the story along and take you for a fun ride. And sometimes, an R-rated relationship comedy is what you are in the mood for. Because it does contain a lot of life’s truths as well.

Spoilers

Through a chain of unfortunate events on both sides, both couples come to a mutual realization, which will hopefully make their marriage stronger. You do root for Owen Wilson’s character more than you do Jason Sudeikis’, as he is the more romantic and sensible one.

The men’s failures make for some hilarious scenes.

Favorite Scenes- Spoilers

– Golf cart chase

– Food coma, day 1

– Rick’s reunion with his wife (I’m a romantic, after all.)

– The car chase with the lunatic on top and the cops behind

Verdict 

It is no Wedding Crashers, but it can show you a fun time if you let it. Also, it is currently on Netflix. You can always turn it off if you don’t enjoy it. And the crude is to be expected as it is a movie by Bobby and Peter Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary; Me, Myself and Irene; Shallow Hal, Dumb and Dumber.)

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: christian applegate, farrelly brothers, farrelly brothers movies, hall pass, hall pass cast, hall pass movie review, Jason Sudeikis, jenna fischer, Owen Wilson, stephen merchant

How Do You Know? starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson & Jack Nicholson

Posted on April 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

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How Do You Know? starring  Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, & Jack Nicholson.
How Do You Know? starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, & Jack Nicholson.

The Basics

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson

Writing/directing Credits: James L. Brooks

Made in: 2010.

The Plot

Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is a professional baseball player whose life is centered on the sport. Even her boyfriends have all been athletes and her latest, baseball player Matty (Owen Wilson) is no exception. Matty is a charming and immature womanizer, who provides the distraction Lisa needs while she waits to be informed about her future career.

George (Paul Rudd) is a very nice guy, and unfortunately this comes back to bite him in the butt with his company. He is being sued by the government, even though he has no idea what kind of mistake he or his employees have done. To add insult to the injury, his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson) decides to be the ultimate businessman and save the company first. This means the company board won’t be paying George’s legal expenses, and he won’t be informed about anything company-related. His only ally is his pregnant assistant Annie (Kathryn Hahn).

When Lisa and George meet, Lisa is no longer a part of the team and Matty has already decided that he is in love with her. George becomes infatuated with Lisa, but he has no idea how to charm her when they are both going through the worst career-related chapter in their lives…

**

So how entertaining is the movie?

How Do You Know is a romantic/comedy/drama with a great cast and a mediocre trailer. It is thoroughly enjoyable, and while it is not hilarious, it is very sweet and entertaining – with 5 really quirky characters (including George’s secretary).

Now, the movie is not pure comedy. It is not pure romance. And rather than dramatic, it has some necessary emotional moments. It’s also not just about Lisa finding the right guy. It is a bittersweet self-discovery for her, as well as George, who is also trying to survive the most depressing phase of his life. George is broke, in trouble with the law and discovering that his father can’t be relied upon and Lisa needs to figure out what she will do with the rest of her life. They are both clueless and neurotic, and their interaction is off to a clumsy start. And while the viewer can, and probably will, wonder about what really attracts George during their first date, Paul Rudd makes us buy the connection.

Owen Wilson’s character is a riot. He provides some of the best entertaining moments as his character is totally clueless about what a serious relationship actually means. He is practically a well-meaning yet totally shallow man child.

Who can enjoy it more?

–          Fans of the cast.

–          People who don’t mind that Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd keep playing the same type of characters over and over again.

–          Genuine romantics who don’t mind characters will have to go through some personal stuff, and they won’t always be funny while dealing with them

– If you can handle characters that talk a lot and are clueless about a hell lot more.

 

 

 

Favorite Scenes:

 

–          Lisa spends the night for the first time and Matty (Owen Wilson) has a whole drawer full of new toothbrushes and a whole wardrobe for the morning after (all either XS or S!).

 

–          When both the doorman and Matty actually give space Lisa to think.

 

–          George’s birthday gift and speech

 

–          When Annie impulsively stands up to punch George’s dad…

 

Fun Notes:

Monk’s starring actor Tony Shalhoub makes a short appearance as Lisa’s therapist.

 

Verdict:

I’d give the movie a 6.5/10 as a whole, and 7.5 for the entertainment level.

Also on Paul Rudd:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis feat. Paul Rudd

I Love You, Man starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd

I could Never Be Your Woman starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd

Also on Owen Wilson:

Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston

Wedding Crashers starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn & Rachel McAdams

Also on Reese Witherspon:

Just Like Heaven starring Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo

Penelope starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy

10 Celebrity Couple Break-Ups You May Not Have Seen Coming

Also on Jack Nicholson:

Wolf starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Spader

Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: comedy, drama, how do you know, how do you know cast, how do you know movie, Jack Nicholson, james l. brooks, Kathryn Hahn, movies, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, romance, romantic comedy, Tony Shalhoub

Marley & Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston

Posted on April 6, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Marley & Me with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson
Marley & Me with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Co-starring Eric Dane, Alan Arkin and Kathleen Turner. Poster from: impawards.com

John Grogan (Owen Wilson) is a very happy man.He has just married to the love of his life, Jennifer (Jennifer Aniston) and has moved to Florida where they both jobs at different newspapers. While Jennifer seems to covering the types of news that matter (according to John) and his buddy at the office – Sebastian (Eric Dane)- is actually being a real reporter, John is stuck with boring and annoying stuff. However, he is holding on. He loves his wife and he has no intention to go from one girl to another like Sebastian. He actually decides he wants kids and what better than a little puppy to warm both him and Jen for the job? The puppy- Marley-is the cutest thing ever. But he soon proves to be the most hyperactive and neurotic dog ever and managing him becomes more exhausting as the couple starts having kids…

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lShipoEMI6Q[/pro-player]

This is one sweetheart of a movie. I had read a viewer comment that criticized the movie for being too ordinary. Seriously? I am not sure what part of the poster/trailer/plot suggested it anything to be other than a family comedy/romance? And ordinary is a relative term isn’t it? After all, we are talking about love, relationships, pets, family and careers. But yes, obviously do not expect to be surprised. It is the actual tale of John Grogan. The movie has been based on his book.

Both Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson are lovely. And as a girl, I have never complained about seeing Eric Dane (Mark Sloan, a.k.a McSteamy on Grey’s Anatomy) on screen. The guy really fits the role of a womanizer. Co- starring are Alan Arkin as Sebastian and John’s editor and Kathleen Turner as a dog trainer in a small role. The last time I saw Arkin on the screen, he was playing the much older and selfish husband of Robin Wright Penn in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Here, he is pretty much the editor of my dreams. Watch the film and you will know what I mean. But what on earth happened to Kathleen Turner? What happened to the gorgeous woman from Romancing the Stone? There is getting old…Then there is getting old like Mel Gibson. And then apparently there is aging like Turner. Oh, boy. Just compare her old self and you will pardon my shock.

7.0 on IMDB. Fair enough. Charming as hell.

Other Jennifer Aniston Posts

Love Happens

The Bounty Hunter

He’s just not that into you

Derailed

Friends

Marley and Me on amazon.com

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Alan Arkin, comedy, dogs, Eric Dane, Jennifer Aniston, John Grogan, Kathleen Turner, Marley and me, movies about dogs, Owen Wilson

Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Bradey Cooper and Christopher Walken

Posted on March 16, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Wedding Crashers with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson
Wedding Crashers with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Hilarious. Photo from: http://www.uic.edu/depts/chcc/programs/Campus/Files/wedding_crashers_ver2.jpg

Finally, a movie that shows how fun weddings can be. Yes, I have a confession to make. I am a girl, and I am a romantic but I absolutely detest weddings. I dodge every wedding my parents try to drag me to (even though I was childhood friends with the brides or grooms). When they try to suggest “But no one will come to your wedding if you keep doing this.” And I go “Promise?”

I am not fond of weddings because let’s face it, hardly any wedding we are invited to is organized by someone with money, taste and a good sense of fun. It is not like Nicole Kidman invited me to her wedding and I turned her down. Weddings usually involve weird relatives you wish you never knew, friends of your parents that you couldn’t care less about, awful music and equally awful food. The result is never worth the effort or actually going there. Obviously I’ll not run away when my best friends get married but that’s where I drive the line.

But I have to admit, watching Wedding Crashers was so much fun and I probably wouldn’t mind crashing them if I had pals like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson’s characters. Jeremy and John. I may not be after bridesmaids, but it would sure be fun to meet single men and fool around. As for the plot:

John (Wilson) and Jeremy (Vaughn) work together and have been friends for a long time. When the wedding season comes, they go to weddings, pretend to be some friend or relative of either bride or groom’s and just join the party. They meet lots of hot, single women who are extra horny and not being bad-looking guys, the duo manage to score every time.

They make up a different back story every time and have a blast. However, at the latest wedding, something goes horribly wrong: John meets and falls for one of the bridesmaids- Claire (Rachel McAdams). By this time Jeremy is dying to get rid of the other bridesmaid, Claire’s clingy sister Gloria (Isla Fisher). However John is not deterred, even when he meets Claire’s boyfriend Zach (Bradley Cooper). So he gets himself invited to the family’s house where the real hilarity begins with the weird gay brother, slutty mother (Jane Seymour), Zach’s bullying and Gloria’s puppy behavior towards Jeremy….

This movie is one of the most fun romantic comedies ever. It is mostly funny than romantic and I love the cast. Claire’s father is played by the ever-awesome Christopher Walken, Bradley is really good as the baddie and I just cracked up at every scene of Vaughn and Wilson. It is R rated, so it won’t be for everyone but it is a very funny ride all around. It even has an equally hilarious cameo by Will Ferrell.

7.2 ON IMDB. Well, generally speaking, and including all genres, I agree. But if we have to compare with other comedies, I dare give it an 8.0.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Bradley Cooper, Christopher Walken, comedy, Isla Fisher, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, romance, Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers, Will Ferrell

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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