the Color of Context

Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Another memorable comedy from JA and co.
Release date: 18 April 2008

By Jerilyn Covert

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” the latest addition to the Judd Apatow canon, pretty much follows the same formula responsible for such hits as “Knocked Up” and “40 Year Old Virgin.” Cast a smokin’ hot actress (or, in this case, two smokin’ hot actresses) opposite a cuddly, beta-male lead. Write some no-holds-barred, incredibly raunchy, raw and explicitly sexual dialogue. Throw in a little slapstick. And don’t forget to veer into sincere, relevant and heartwarming territory a la the chic flick. And, unlike so many lesser comedies, you’re left with a solid plotline adorned with unpretentious, often downright low-brow jokes that nonetheless add to the story, rather than become it. Oh, and it’s really funny, too.  

The cast features several of the usual suspects–i.e., the unofficial members of the Apatow comedy troupe–including the film’s star and screenwriter Jason Segel. Nicholas Stoller–who wrote three episodes of Apatow’s cancelled, original TV series “Undeclared,” directs the R-rated film, which hit theaters today. The film follows Peter Bretter (Segel), a struggling composer if not a bit of a deadbeat, as he tries to get over his ex-girlfriend, the rising TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Three weeks after their breakup (which occurs by the way while Segel is totally nude), he flies to Hawaii on a whim under the presumption that a little time away may help take his mind off his ex.

Wrong! In a cruel twist of fate, it turns out that Sarah is actually staying at the same hotel–with her new boyfriend, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a veritable pastiche of several pop-rock star stereotypes. Naturally, Peter is devastated, but there is an upside: the cute and flirty hotel customer service rep behind the check-in counter, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis). The plot unravels somewhat predictably, but the 112-minute journey is a fun–and funny–one. Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd round out the hilarious cast as Matthew, the Aldous-adoring waiter, and Chuck the laidback surfer dude who appears to’ve been out in the sun for too long.

But fans already know we can count on Hill, Rudd and Segel for a good time. Let’s talk about the newcomers. How about Brand, who portrays the tattooed, recovering alcoholic/drug addict British pop-rock star, who has a notch tattooed on his neck for every year he doesn’t have a drink or do drugs. Imagine him as one of the guys from “Spinal Tap.” Now, subtract 20-odd years and put him in the context of today’s pop-star fads. Aldous is not only super funny, he’s also the character representation of the movie’s satirical component, which also pokes fun at reality shows, the criminal mystery/police investigation television craze, and our generally celebrity-obsessed culture.

The movie also took the Apatow-film virginity of two lovely female leads. Kunis seems right at home with her performance as the fun, flirtatious hotel rep who’s so cool she lets Peter stay in the hotel’s biggest, most expensive suite–free of charge–just because she feels sorry for him. Nearly all of her scenes are upstaged by those uber big, penetrating eyes of hers, though.

Kristen Bell holds her own in this cast of potty humor all-stars. Her saucy sarcasm is an effective contrast against Peter’s mope-y, self deprecating style. In one flashback-to-when-they-were-still-together scene, she’s begging him not to replay a song that he wrote for a puppet musical version of Dracula, even while he presses on, “Maybe just one more time.” Her funniest moment by far is when she lets loose making fun of her ridiculous new boyfriend. Certainly, Bell has the kind of charisma that’d win anybody over, but she already seems to fit right in with the Apatow crowd.

In summation, if you were a fan of “Knocked Up” and the like, you’ll enjoy this movie, too. It’s not quite as raunchy as “Superbad,” but you probably still wouldn’t want to take, say, your mom to see it with you. Unless she’s the type of mom who doesn’t mind a few jocular full-frontal shots.