Given the success of recent “hard R-rated” movies like 2009’s The Hangover and its 2011 sequel, the time seems ripe for a revival of the Farrelly brothers’ fortunes. After all, they led the way for extreme R-rated comedies via hits like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary.

If the Farrelly boys hope to make a comeback, it’ll have to wait for another day. After a four-year layoff, they created 2011’s Hall Pass, but it didn’t find much of an audience. With less than enthusiastic reviews behind it, the movie went on to make a mediocre $45 million.

Long-married couple Rick (Owen Wilson) and Maggie (Jenna Fischer) go through a dry spot and Rick tends to dream of greener pastures from his single days. In an attempt to revive the relationship, Maggie grants Rick a “hall pass”: this grants him a week off from the marriage during which he can do whatever he wants.

And that does mean whatever. If Rick wants to score with lots of ladies, that’s his prerogative. Rick’s pal Fred (Jason Sudeikis) gets a pass of his own from wife Grace (Christina Applegate) and joins him on these adventures.

In the time since the Farrellys ruled the comedic scene, they’ve seen the “bromances” under the Judd Apatow umbrella steal their thunder. And do it better, in my opinion; Apatow indulges in some of the same kind of outrageous gross-out humor favored by the Farrellys but Apatow films usually come with more clever jokes and more interesting characters/stories.

With Hall Pass, it feels like the Farrellys are retreating a bit to try to play on Apatow’s terms. Sure, we get some of the patented Farrelly material – a little diarrhea here, some exposed cock there – but the film doesn’t engage in the extended crudeness you’d find in most other Farrelly fare.

I regard that as a good thing, as I always thought the Farrellys were gross for gross’s sake, but it doesn’t mean Hall Pass becomes a good film. Perhaps if they totally forgot their standard MO and focused on the characters and scenarios, the movie could’ve gone somewhere. When the Farrellys left out most of the nasty stuff in 2005’s Fever Pitch, they produced arguably their most enjoyable flick; while not a classic, that one was surprisingly sweet and endearing.

Hall Pass occasionally can be fairly charming, and I will give it credit for that. Too many of the earlier Farrelly flicks poured on smarmy humor and nastiness but then wanted to change tone at the end. It’s like someone who degrades you for two hours but then says “just kidding!” and hugs you. They don’t follow that trend here, so it earns its happy ending in a more satisfying manner.

Unfortunately, Hall Pass only occasionally amuses as its works its way toward that (inevitable) positive conclusion, though it starts out pretty well. Buoyed by good chemistry between Wilson and Sudekis and the intriguing – though hard to swallow – “hall pass” concept, the movie chugs along in an enjoyable manner during its first act. Laughs don’t overwhelm us, but we get some chuckles and find ourselves interested to see what happens.

Too bad “not much” is the answer. Rick and Fred go on some not-too-compelling escapades but not much else. The film lacks the cleverness and wit to make their inevitable failures more amusing. C’mon – we know the guys aren’t going to do much with their “hall passes”, so at least make their failures entertaining.

They’re not, and the film slows to a crawl. It doesn’t help that the running time makes Hall Pass a chore. On the surface, 105 minutes – or 111 minutes if you choose the Extended Cut – isn’t a long span, and Pass is actually shorter than most Farrelly flicks.

But that doesn’t excuse its length. Its Farrelly siblings tended to be too long, and that continues to be a problem here. The movie feels ready to end a good 30 minutes before it does. Indeed, when I thought the movie was about to wrap up, I looked at my player’s display and realized it still had 40 minutes left to go!

Dramas can get away with extended running times but comedies tend to benefit from a “less is more” concept. That doesn’t mean long comedies can’t be great, but if you’re going to move one past 100 minutes or so, you’d better boast really good material. Hall Pass can’t make that claim, so its 105 or 111 minutes progress awfully slowly.

None of these issues make Hall Pass a bad movie: it just tends to be a tedious one. Though not without some merits, the film simply lacks the wit and charm to keep us with it.

Footnote: stick through the movie’s end credits for a mix of bonus clips.

Hall Pass appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. Virtually no problems cropped uphere.

From start to finish, sharpness looked nearly immaculate. Only the slightest hint of softness affected wide shots, and those examples occurred too infrequently to cause problems. Instead, the film looked concise and well-defined. No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and edge enhancement was absent. I also failed to detect any source flaws.

In terms of colors, the movie featured a natural palette that favored a slight golden tone. Across the board, the hues looked positive. They showed nice clarity and breadth and came out well. Blacks were dark and deep, while shadows appeared clear and smooth. I thought the movie consistently looked great.

I thought that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Hall Pass seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.

Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better, though, like at a club; that sequence boasted lively music. However, most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.

Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion. Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed positive dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.

Only minor extras appear here. The disc includes both the film’s Theatrical Version (1:45:22) and its Extended Cut (1:51:34). What comes with that extra six minutes, 12 seconds? I have no idea. I only watched the longer edition so I couldn’t comment on the changes.

I did compare some of the Extended Cut’s more graphic/outrageous scenes to see if they were absent from the Theatrical Version, but they weren’t. This included the male frontal nudity at the gym, the topless shot between Rick and Leigh, and some sex scenes; all appeared in both versions. I suspect the Extended Cut isn’t any more graphic than the “R”-rated one; it’s just longer.

One deleted scene runs four minutes, 27 seconds and shows an alternate introduction to the Coakley character. Since the movie already runs so long, the sequence probably would’ve slowed down the flick even more, but on its own, it’s actually pretty good. The story tells us what a slick character Coakley is, and the scene depicts his smoothness well.

A Gag Reel lasts one minute, 59 second and depicts a mix of goofs and silly moments. We do get some improvised lines, so those add a little value, but don’t expect much that falls out of the ordinary.

A second platter provides both a digital copy of Hall Pass for use on computers or digital portable gadgets as well as a DVD copy of the film. This delivers a barebones package, so don’t expect any extras.

Though more likable than most flicks from the Farrelly brothers, Hall Pass runs too long and lacks enough good comedy to make it work. The film starts well but soon sags and enters a long period of tedium. The Blu-ray offers excellent visuals, acceptable audio and some minor supplements. Though the movie does little for me, the Blu-ray presents it well.