Forgetting Sarah Marshall / Get Him To The Greek

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (15)

D: Nicholas Stoller

Universal (Judd Apatow & Shauna Robertson)

USA 🇺🇸 2008

111 mins

Comedy/Romance

W: Jason Segel

DP: Russ T. Alsobrook

Ed: William Kerr

Mus: Lyle Workman

Jason Segel (Peter Bretter), Kristen Bell (Sarah Marshall), Mila Kunis (Rachel Jansen), Russell Brand (Aldous Snow), Bill Hader (Brian Bretter), Paul Rudd (Kunu), Jonah Hill (Matthew)

After breaking up with his long term girlfriend and learning about her affair with another man, a songwriter takes a holiday in Hawaii, only to discover that the couple are staying at the same hotel complex.

This comedy is a helluva lot better than it's modest premise would suggest and full credit has to go to Jason Segel, who not only plays the lead character but also wrote the screenplay as well as many of the songs. Mila Kunis is also very cute as the hotel receptionist who develops affection for his character during his plight. It's clear to see that the film is from the same producers as Knocked Up & The 40 Year Old Virgin, sharing the same type of humour and a clear onus on ad-libbing for many of the one-liners (this is especially clear if you take time to watch the special features on the DVD - which are hilariously enjoyable).

The "Dracula musical" scene raises many smiles, also bolstered by Segel's songwriting efforts. A sort-of sequel followed with Russell Brand's character as the main focus (Get Him To The Greek).

7/10

Jonah Hill & Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

GET HIM TO THE GREEK (15)

D: Nicholas Stoller

Universal / Relativity Media / Spyglass (Judd Apatow, Joshua Blake, David Bushell, Rodney Rothman & Nicholas Stoller)

US 🇺🇸 2010

109 mins

Comedy

W: Nicholas Stoller [based on characters created by Jason Segel]

DP: Robert Yeoman

Ed: William Kerr & Michael Sale

Mus: Lyle Workman

Russell Brand (Aldous Snow), Jonah Hill (Aaron Green), Elisabeth Moss (Daphne Binks), Rose Byrne (Jackie Q), Sean Combs (Sergio Roma), Aziz Ansari (Matty Briggs)

Get Him To The Greek is loose sequel to 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, with Russell Brand reprising the character of Aldous Snow, a free-spirited rock star whose career has taken a tumble following the disastrous release of his “African Child” record.

Jonah Hill (who was also in Forgetting Sarah Marshall as a completely different character) plays music executive Aaron Green, who is given the thankless task of escorting Aldous Snow to a concert at Los Angeles’ famed Greek Theater, all while trying to keep the flamboyant rock singer off the booze & hard drugs.

Whilst I really enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I always felt that the inclusion of the Aldous Snow character was one of parody & resulted in Russell Brand practically playing a fictionalised version of himself. I never felt once that this character needed its own movie, as all that could have been done with that character had already been done.

The comedy on display here is mostly improvised, pretty standard when you consider Judd Apatow served as producer, but there’s one or two amusing lines of dialogue and though it’s reasonably entertaining, the non-linear opening serves the story no real purpose at all.

5/10

Jonah Hill & Russell Brand in Get Him To The Greek