3/10
At the risk of overstating things, I think that this film sums up everything that is wrong with modern American Hollywood comedy. So, although you should avoid seeing it, if you do go, pay close attention to the following.
The key to the understanding of this film and so many like it, is that they combine a conservative prurience with an infantile attempt to be daring and gross, achieving the worst of both worlds. Let me be more specific. On the one hand, we have - in no particular order: frequent references to male and female sexual organs and sexuality (pretty graphic); sexual acts (not very graphic); actual penises; bare breasts; explosive diarrhea. On the other hand, we have the underlying message that men think about sex all the time and lust after other women, yet when given the opportunity to do something about it, run home for mummy (aka wife). And that that's romantic.
The title of the film explains (if you're American) the absurd premise of the film. Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis (from SNL and 30 Rock) are best friends with wives who decide that the only way to repair their marital problems is to allow their husbands to have a week in which they can do whatever they want, without consequences. In other words, have sex with other women, since that seems to be the fantasy of choice. To enable this to happen, the wives disappear for the week, leaving the men, along with their buddy gang (including an improbable Stephen Merchant) to watch and learn. However, as you will have gathered, not only is this pair constitutionally incapable of pulling any right minded (or even wrong-minded) woman, but their heart isn't really in it. They'd rather be eating dope brownies and playing stoned golf with the crew.
And if the film was happy to simply be a cosy kind of family comedy reaffirming the bonds of marriage, I would have no problem with it. Not amusing, necessarily, but fair enough. However, wedged into this 'never play away from home' message, are the gross words, ideas and images listed above, plus more that I have overlooked. And the question I have is, what purpose does that serve? It means it gets a 15 certificate (and it could have had an 18), and that it can claim to be daring and outrageous (when actually it's misogynistic and offensive), but beyond that, it's just very bizzare, and pretty much guaranteed to be a a flop at the box office. And on this occasion, I have the advantage of seeing its US takings.
Like I say, stay away, unless you doing an MA in Imbecile Comedy in the movies - in which case, watch it fifteen times in a row.
