Farrelly Brothers

It's been a long time since Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the onetime wunderkind kings of juvenile comedy, ruled the genre. "Dumb & Dumber," the doofus classic that defined a dorm-room generation, was released back in 1994, and the brothers' last bona fide hit, "Shallow Hal," opened nearly a decade ago. Now Peter, 54, and Bobby, 52, are attempting a comeback by exploring more, er, adult problems. This weekend they open "Hall Pass," their first R-rated comedy in 11 years, about two friends whose wives give them permission to cavort like single men for one week.

There is an appealing nyuk, nyuk nostalgic spirit to"The Three Stooges. "To fully appreciate this paean to slapstick and silly nonsense simply requires that cynicism be temporarily shelved and the thinking side of the brain shut down. Starring Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos as Larry, Curly and Moe, this affectionate update is a love letter to the Stooges from the filmmaking Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby. Though they may be best known for the R-rated "There's Something About Mary," there is a Stooge streak a mile long running through their work - the bumbling misfits with a heart of gold in their first film, "Dumb & Dumber," for starters.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Farrelly brothers could claim the No. 1 spot at the box office. "Hall Pass," the latest raunch-fest from the writer-director team Peter and Bobby Farrelly, probably will take in about $20 million when it opens this weekend, according to people who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The weekend's other new release, the 3-D action film "Drive Angry," starring Nicolas Cage, is expected to be a distant second with about $10 million.

What's the point of getting a hall pass if no one wants to come out and play? "Hall Pass," the latest comedy from the writer-director team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly, about a couple of married guys who are given permission by their wives to play the field for a week, took in $13.4 million on its opening weekend and finished second behind "Gnomeo & Juliet. " That was below industry estimates for the first Farrelly brothers film in three years, which stars Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate.

There is an appealing nyuk, nyuk nostalgic spirit to"The Three Stooges. "To fully appreciate this paean to slapstick and silly nonsense simply requires that cynicism be temporarily shelved and the thinking side of the brain shut down. Starring Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos as Larry, Curly and Moe, this affectionate update is a love letter to the Stooges from the filmmaking Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby. Though they may be best known for the R-rated "There's Something About Mary," there is a Stooge streak a mile long running through their work - the bumbling misfits with a heart of gold in their first film, "Dumb & Dumber," for starters.

What's the point of getting a hall pass if no one wants to come out and play? "Hall Pass," the latest comedy from the writer-director team of Peter and Bobby Farrelly, about a couple of married guys who are given permission by their wives to play the field for a week, took in $13.4 million on its opening weekend and finished second behind "Gnomeo & Juliet. " That was below industry estimates for the first Farrelly brothers film in three years, which stars Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate.

Like the 1972 Elaine May classic that inspired it, the Farrelly Brothers' remake of "The Heartbreak Kid" is the story of a guy who gets married, regrets it and falls in love with another woman while on his honeymoon. That, more or less, is where the similarities end.

Kevin Thomas reviews the latest movie from the Farrelly brothers, "Outside Providence."

The marketing campaign for "Outside Providence," directed by Michael Corrente and distributed by Miramax Films, is putting co-producers Peter Farrelly and his brother, Bobby, in a "slightly awkward position," Peter said. "I love the movie, I think Michael did a great job," said Farrelly, on whose novel the film is based. "But Miramax is selling it as the new outrageous comedy from the guys who did 'There's Something About Mary.'

As a fan of so-called "gross-out comedies," I was both surprised and disappointed to see no mention of the work of Mel Brooks anywhere in last Sunday's cover story ("Hollywood Stoops to Conquer," by Patrick Goldstein, July 11). Long before anyone had ever heard of Adam Sandler, the Farrelly brothers or even "Porky's," Brooks' films like "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein" (both 1974) were making audiences laugh with the same type of irreverent, often scatological, often sexual humor that is engendering such strong reactions--and big revenue--today.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Farrelly brothers could claim the No. 1 spot at the box office. "Hall Pass," the latest raunch-fest from the writer-director team Peter and Bobby Farrelly, probably will take in about $20 million when it opens this weekend, according to people who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The weekend's other new release, the 3-D action film "Drive Angry," starring Nicolas Cage, is expected to be a distant second with about $10 million.

It's been a long time since Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the onetime wunderkind kings of juvenile comedy, ruled the genre. "Dumb & Dumber," the doofus classic that defined a dorm-room generation, was released back in 1994, and the brothers' last bona fide hit, "Shallow Hal," opened nearly a decade ago. Now Peter, 54, and Bobby, 52, are attempting a comeback by exploring more, er, adult problems. This weekend they open "Hall Pass," their first R-rated comedy in 11 years, about two friends whose wives give them permission to cavort like single men for one week.

Like the 1972 Elaine May classic that inspired it, the Farrelly Brothers' remake of "The Heartbreak Kid" is the story of a guy who gets married, regrets it and falls in love with another woman while on his honeymoon. That, more or less, is where the similarities end.

Making people laugh is the specialty of the house where French writer-director Francis Veber is concerned, and he is awfully good at it. A complete master of cinematic farce, Veber's latest venture, "The Valet," makes creating deliciously funny comedy look a lot easier than it has any right to. Veber, who remains enormously popular in France though he now lives in Los Angeles, has had more than 30 films produced from his screenplays, including several that were remade in the U.S.

In an overall soft market saturated with comedies of one kind or another, "Sahara" led the charge into the nation's movie theaters over the weekend with an estimated $18.5 million at the box office. In something of a surprise, Peter and Bobby Farrelly's baseball-themed romantic comedy "Fever Pitch" opened at No. 3 with about $13 million, just behind the second-weekend tally of Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City," which took in an estimated $14.

It's become tougher than ever to make people laugh without goring somebody's bull. Even the crown princes of incorrect waggery, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, seem on the defensive. In recent interviews the brothers have taken to insisting that they really, really have nothing but respect for the disabled people who appear in their movies.

The Farrelly brothers can't help it, they get these ideas, cheerfully crude and way over the line. Nothing delights this writing-directing team more than making audiences laugh hard at what conventional good taste says isn't even worth a smile. With "There's Something About Mary," Peter and Bobby Farrelly have hit their own kind of jackpot. An outrageous goofball farce, "There's Something About Mary" is a giddy symphony of rude and raucous low humor.

In their outrageous 1998 smash hit, "There's Something About Mary," filmmakers Bobby and Peter Farrelly forever changed the way moviegoers think about zippers and hair gel, and films copying their outlandish style soon followed. In the brothers' newest film, "Me, Myself & Irene," opening Friday, with Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger, it may be chickens and chocolate yogurt that elicit side-splitting laughter or winces of can-you-believe-they-actually-did-that wonderment.

Hey, kids! We know it's close to finals and it's, like, the height of sadism to spring a pop quiz just before a May weekend. Bear with us. It's just one measly multiple-choice question. "The New Guy" is: (a) An argument for the abolition of high school. (b) An argument for the abolition of high school movies. (c) An apologia for high school losers. (d) A backhanded insult to self-respecting geeks in all walks of life. (e) All of the above.

The Farrelly brothers' "Shallow Hal" is the darndest thing. As unexpected as Yasser Arafat suddenly breaking into a chorus of "My Yiddishe Mama," this staggeringly earnest, wholly sentimental film about seeing beyond surface appearances comes from filmmakers you'd hardly expect to persistently appeal to our better natures. Aren't these the same Farrellys who've made an empire out of bathroom humor?