‘Hall Pass’ is a comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers (‘There’s Something About Mary’ and ‘Dumb and Dumber’) and stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis. The movie is about two married men, Rick and Fred, who are suffering from marriage problems. After their wives speak with a friend who is a doctor, they give their husbands a “hall pass”. This pass allows them to take a break from their marriage for one week, allowing them to do what they want, even sleep with other women. When things don’t go the way they’d hoped and they find out their wives think they should get a “hall pass” too, the idea doesn’t seem quite as great. The film also stars Stephen Merchant, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate. The film is set in Rhode Island, but was mainly filmed in various locations in Georgia.
On Rick and Fred’s first night out with their hall pass, they visit a local Applebees restaurant. The scene at the Applebees took place at an actual Applebees restaurant located in Johns Creek, Georgia. In the movie, this Applebees is set during the summer in Rhode Island. Filming was done in March, so to make it look like summer, fake branches were attached to trees located in the parking lot and flowers were planted outside the building. Changes also had to be made to the inside of the restaurant. The merchandise that Applebees had on their walls was mostly licensed material, therefore to avoid fees being paid by the film company, the merchandise was removed and more generic material was placed on the walls. Many of the local citizens showed up to be extras during the filming at the restaurant, as well as several of the employees. Filming of the three minute scene took about a day.
At Lake Lanier in Mary Alice Park, which is located in Cumming, Georgia, the cast and crew of ‘Hall Pass’ set up shop. They transformed the beach area around parts of the lake to look like Cape Cod. A beach house and tiki bar were built specifically for the movie and white sand was brought in by trucks. The area was enjoyed by the production crew as it allowed for easy access for them, but still isolated enough from the public. Several extras from the area were used during filming.
In Gainesville, the Days Inn hotel was the location for some of the movie’s scenes. The hotel was picked out of 85 other locations that the film company was looking at, according to the hotel manager. Christina Applegate was one of the film’s stars who was reported to be seen at the Days Inn for filming. They filmed a scene by the pool as well as in one of the rooms.
Filming for ‘Hall Pass’ also took place in Atlanta. A hospital scene was shot at the Gwinnett Medical Center, though in the film it was called Falmouth Hospital. A club scene occurred at the Gold Room on Piedmont Avenue. Johnny’s Hideaway at 3771 Roswell Road, was used for a bar scene where Stan and Fred test out their pick-up lines. A park scene was shot at Peachtree Hills Park in the Buckhead area. A scene was also filmed at The Pool Hall, located at 30 Irby Avenue.
‘Hall Pass’ was released in 2011 and is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD.
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