Luke Judge

Farrelly brothers’ comedy devoid of laughs, lacks any semblance of entertainment value

Rating: D-

A foolproof way to tell that a film is in the lowest tier of comedies is if, during the previews, the trailer for the latest Tyler Perry disaster (which he calls a movie) contains more laughs than the film you paid to see. the billing of the Farrelly brothers’ latest bastardization of a film, “Hall Pass,” as comedy is the worst entertainment fraud since Milli Vanilli.

One could argue these judgments are a tad extreme; however, I think they actually sell the film short. In fact, I am saddened I do not possess a versatile enough vocabulary to fully encompass the abhorrence that gurgled deep in the pit of my stomach while Owen Wilson’s whiny and obnoxious voice grated my eardrums for two-hours.

The Farrelly brothers’ signature films rely on extreme humor (usually crude gags), and while the movies may be pretty awful at times, they aren’t usually boring. “Hall Pass,” however, manages to achieve that mediocrity while being excruciatingly hum-drum, which truly is testament to the brothers’ devolution as filmmakers.

The film centers around the concept of a week free from the duties of marriage. Granted this freedom by their wives, the main characters — two middle-aged, married men — can do literally whatever they want. the theory behind this inane concept is the age-old adage, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

If the hall-pass concept seems like a disastrous relationship tool, it’s probably because it is delivered by Joy Behar, who plays Dr. Lucy, a voice of reason. Naturally, instead of just sleeping with the foxy neighbor or secretary, Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) explore their freedom through lame shenanigans.

For the first hour of “Hall Pass,” the theater was completely silent, without one giggle or chuckle. Toward the end of the film, it became obvious the Farrelly brothers took an additional 30 minutes just to add completely idiotic and ridiculous plot points, presumably because the law of averages states at least one of them has to be funny.

“Hall Pass” paints each of its characters as gender stereotypes, with the men characterized as insatiable sex fiends who only have one thing on their minds and the women as uptight and sexually aversive. It is like watching CBS sitcoms for two hours. Stereotypical characters, however, were not the downfall of this film though.

In fact, the Achilles’ heel of “Hall Pass” was that it was completely devoid of all traces of humor.

If you are a fan of the Farrelly brothers’ 2007 work “The Heartbreak Kid,” then go see “Hall Pass.” but if you are dying to see it, just go ask your parents to detail their sex life meticulously for you. It should pretty accurately replicate the experience of sitting through “Hall Pass.”

film Wardrobe eardrums, film centers, judgments, mediocrity, tyler perry, whiny

25 January 2011 | news Newsdesk

This winter, sub-zero daytime temperatures have challenged the fashion-conscious. Gan Tian highlights the best ways to keep warm.

The runway sets the tone with its little touches of luxurious decor. On the catwalk, models draped in beaver, seal, lynx, fox and mink stride out to the beat of Danish rock band Polyphonics.

This is a gathering of the best, organized by the world’s largest fur auction house, Kopenhagen Fur, and it features more than 10 labels, including Birger Christensen from Denmark, Avanti Fur from Greece, Ne Tiger and Yingdak from China.

Luxury is the key word, and buyers come with fat checkbooks for a Birger Christensen fur coat costing more than 200,000 yuan ($30,360), or an Avanti neck piece (50,000 yuan plus).

Some pieces are more affordable, especially the hip and trendy collections. It’s easy to spot these on the catwalk, the music changes to suit the mood.

“We are gathering the best designers and the best fur companies to promote their products. It will be something new for the Chinese fashion industry to start using fur in their collections,” says Kenneth Loberg, sales director of Kopenhagen Fur.

With growing affluence, fur products which are the perennial symbols of wealth, are becoming more popular than ever. according to the statistics from Kopenhagen, China is now one of the company’s biggest market, with Asia taking up half its business.

While it does not have specific data on its Chinese market, the company estimates the total sale of fur products reached 20 billion yuan in China last year.

“We expect sustainable growth of 10 percent in the years to come,” Loberg says.

The most popular are the short-haired, clear-colored furs and the high-quality skins.

Loberg describes his customers as wanting something nice, warm, good-looking and smart, but still representing luxury. they live in the first-tier cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, and also second- and third-tier cities including Harbin of Heilongjiang province and Haining of Zhejiang province. Most of his clients are frequent travelers.

In the north, Chinese clients tend to treat fur as wardrobe necessities in winter. In the south, fur is more a fashion accessory.

Customers are also getting younger, Loberg says, with an average age of between 25 to 40.

Things were not as rosy two decades ago when Kopenhagen Fur was the first fur company in the market in 1994. China was a very small market. It was Russia that dominated Kopenhagen Fur’s global business, taking up 50 percent of total demand.

Kopenhagen Furs is now ready to move into lifestyle, and Loberg says his firm is talking to Chinese furniture companies. Fur, it seems, may soon migrate from the wardrobe onto to the couch.

film Wardrobe catwalk models, checkbooks, mink, sales director, word 97