Those wacky Farrelly Brothers are at it again with Hall Pass, a raunchy R rated comedy featuring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as a couple of buddies whose wives grant them a week long hall pass (translation; they're given a week off from marriage). First, the good news. Hall Pass is much better than the Farrelly's ill-conceived Heartbreak Kid. Sadly though, this effort is a far cry from their strongest work (see Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary).

There are some huge laughs in this picture but be forewarned. The biggest laughs are of the raunchy variety. Sharts, gratuitous male nudity, oral references, etc. Hall Pass wears its R rating proudly on its sleeve. Wilson is charming here and his scenes with Nicky Whelon (the Australian beauty plays a coffee shop employee) are wonderfully played. Sudeikis plays the goofier of the pair, and his tenure at Saturday Night Live has served him well. His comic timing is near perfect. Unfortunately, he never comes across as a real person. Jenna Fischer (whose make-up and appearance here borders on Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole terrain) and Christina Applegate play the frustrated wives and early on in the picture, I appreciated the Farrelly Brothers' ability to play off Hall Pass as a well rounded battle of the sexes, but then Applegate's character does something in the final act of the picture that really had me questioning how I felt about this overall experience.

Suffice it to say, the final act of Hall Pass left me a little cold. Richard Jenkins offers up some of the film's funniest moments as a playboy who thinks he has all the answers, and watch for an amusing bit part by actor Tyler Hoechlin who made a strong impression as Tom Hanks' son in 2002's brilliant Road to Perdition. Pete Jones--who won Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's first Project Greenlight competition with Stolen Summer--came up with Hall Pass' premise, and that in of itself is a little weird. There's nothing in Stolen Summer that might lead one to believe Jones would come up with this premise. Hall Pass is inconsistent and it lacks the spot on balance of charm and raunch that made the Farrelly's earlier efforts so memorable, but there's enough in here to offer up a mild recommendation. That is, if you aren't easily offended.