Forgetting Sarah Marshall (B or 3/4 stars)
Lots of laughs come at the expense of writer/star Jason Segel in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', a Judd Apatow comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller. After being dumped by his actress girlfriend Sarah Marshall, Peter (Segel) throws his devastation to the wind by vacationing in Hawaii. Little does he know that Sarah (cute-as-a-button Kristen Bell) has travelled to the same Resort ... and with her new rock star boyfriend, Aldous (Russell Brand). Thoroughly crushed at the irony of this situation, the only ray of hope for him comes in the form of Rachel (Mila Kunis), the hotel's receptionist. Well folks, Judd Apatow has done it again. 'FSM' is not as hysterical or witty as 40 Yr. Old Virgin or Knocked Up, but it's more focused than those films and offers both amusing humor & endearing characters.
Though he has a great job as a composer for the TV show that Sarah works on, Peter prefers lounging around his apartment in sweat pants; eating enormous bowls of fruit loops, and being hypnotized by the latest gossip that 'Access Hollywood' is spewing. He's in a rut. But things go from bad-to-worse when Sarah shows up at his door to break-up with him ... and he's standing fully nude in front of her. We see it all. It's very funny, but also a bit sad as his literal nakedness ties in with the emotional nakedness that he's going through at that moment. After receiving some advice from his brother Brian (Bill Hader), he decides that, yes, a change of scenery could do a world of good (all the scathing, brotherly banter btwn. Peter & Brian is wonderful here). So, off to Hawaii he flies.
After the initial disappointment of realizing that Sarah is staying at the same resort (even in side-by-side rooms), Peter meets a host of colorful characters. The most prominent is the receptionist, Rachel. She sympathizes with Peter. But she's also not going to watch him wallow in misery. She gets him up, out, and into the world. There's obvious attraction between them. And when Sarah's trip doesn't go as well as she'd hoped, she starts to look back at her times with Peter. Maybe she regrets the break-up, maybe she sees something in him that she hadn't previously experienced. We've seen this ALL before in movies. But it's the choices that Peter makes in the end & the astute writing that elevates this film from most other dreck that enters movie theaters.
The characters in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' are not 3-dimensional, but they're much more advanced than your usual 'raunchy comedy' fare. Peter is a loser, but he's so self-deprecating that we pull for him anyway. Without Segel, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' would not have been as successful as it is, period. Kristen Bell allows Sarah to not be as witchy as we would have anticipated. Russell Brand is impressive as the laid back Brit-rocker; I grew to like him more & more. Mila Kunis (who is incredibly attractive) is great as the raspy-voiced Rachel. I believed this role, and like that she has the very realistic issue of deciding whether or not to remain in paradise, or go to school and make something of her life. You just don't expect a character like this to show up in a raunchy comedy, so it's nice to see. It's also great to see cameos from Jonah Hill as a creepazoid waiter, and Paul Rudd as a perpetually 'high on weed' surfing instructor.
Judd Apatow has struck gold by creating rom-coms that appeal to both young women AND men. And while there is male nudity & other low-brow humor, it isn't in as bad taste as his other films. One of my complaints of Knocked Up was that it was 20 min. too long ... not an issue here. Another positive of 'FSM': as in other Apatow productions, there are deliberately slow moments in the middle; slow because the laughs come to a halt to allow character development. A flashback technique is used very well to define the characters' feelings throughout the film. We witness the reasons why the relationship never worked in the 1st place.
2 small complaints: 1) some of the writing/direction relies heavily on current pop cultural references that 'could' go over some people's heads ... but that's the risk you take as a film writer; it pays off for those like me who'll know 'most' of them. 2) This movie 'does' lack a certain snap (or hilarity) that 40 Yr. Old Virgin & Knocked Up offered. I remember laughing out loud A LOT more at individual moments of those previous films. Still, 'Forgetting ..' is a very worthy addition to this comedy genre. I, for one, won't be forgetting Sarah Marshall any time soon.
Though he has a great job as a composer for the TV show that Sarah works on, Peter prefers lounging around his apartment in sweat pants; eating enormous bowls of fruit loops, and being hypnotized by the latest gossip that 'Access Hollywood' is spewing. He's in a rut. But things go from bad-to-worse when Sarah shows up at his door to break-up with him ... and he's standing fully nude in front of her. We see it all. It's very funny, but also a bit sad as his literal nakedness ties in with the emotional nakedness that he's going through at that moment. After receiving some advice from his brother Brian (Bill Hader), he decides that, yes, a change of scenery could do a world of good (all the scathing, brotherly banter btwn. Peter & Brian is wonderful here). So, off to Hawaii he flies.
After the initial disappointment of realizing that Sarah is staying at the same resort (even in side-by-side rooms), Peter meets a host of colorful characters. The most prominent is the receptionist, Rachel. She sympathizes with Peter. But she's also not going to watch him wallow in misery. She gets him up, out, and into the world. There's obvious attraction between them. And when Sarah's trip doesn't go as well as she'd hoped, she starts to look back at her times with Peter. Maybe she regrets the break-up, maybe she sees something in him that she hadn't previously experienced. We've seen this ALL before in movies. But it's the choices that Peter makes in the end & the astute writing that elevates this film from most other dreck that enters movie theaters.
The characters in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' are not 3-dimensional, but they're much more advanced than your usual 'raunchy comedy' fare. Peter is a loser, but he's so self-deprecating that we pull for him anyway. Without Segel, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' would not have been as successful as it is, period. Kristen Bell allows Sarah to not be as witchy as we would have anticipated. Russell Brand is impressive as the laid back Brit-rocker; I grew to like him more & more. Mila Kunis (who is incredibly attractive) is great as the raspy-voiced Rachel. I believed this role, and like that she has the very realistic issue of deciding whether or not to remain in paradise, or go to school and make something of her life. You just don't expect a character like this to show up in a raunchy comedy, so it's nice to see. It's also great to see cameos from Jonah Hill as a creepazoid waiter, and Paul Rudd as a perpetually 'high on weed' surfing instructor.
Judd Apatow has struck gold by creating rom-coms that appeal to both young women AND men. And while there is male nudity & other low-brow humor, it isn't in as bad taste as his other films. One of my complaints of Knocked Up was that it was 20 min. too long ... not an issue here. Another positive of 'FSM': as in other Apatow productions, there are deliberately slow moments in the middle; slow because the laughs come to a halt to allow character development. A flashback technique is used very well to define the characters' feelings throughout the film. We witness the reasons why the relationship never worked in the 1st place.
2 small complaints: 1) some of the writing/direction relies heavily on current pop cultural references that 'could' go over some people's heads ... but that's the risk you take as a film writer; it pays off for those like me who'll know 'most' of them. 2) This movie 'does' lack a certain snap (or hilarity) that 40 Yr. Old Virgin & Knocked Up offered. I remember laughing out loud A LOT more at individual moments of those previous films. Still, 'Forgetting ..' is a very worthy addition to this comedy genre. I, for one, won't be forgetting Sarah Marshall any time soon.