A new comedy produced by Judd “king of comedy” Apatow and written by How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, not surprisingly, delivers the laughs. If you’ll recall, Apatow has been associated with just about every successful comedy that’s been released in the last four or five years (Knocked Up, Superbad, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, etc.) and Sarah Marshall is no exception. Right from the start, Apatow and Segel hit us with an endless amount of gags and one-liners, most of which are not suitable for printing.
Jason Segel, in addition to his screenwriting credit, plays Peter Bretter, a lazy, hapless goof with that rarity of rarities: a celebrity girlfriend (Sarah Marshall, played by Kristen Bell). As the film opens, Peter learns that Sarah is visiting him and decides to give her a “special” greeting. A few minutes later, he is standing in his apartment sans clothing and, subsequently, a girlfriend. Miserable and lonely, Peter turns to a pediatrician (who, judging from his advice, isn’t that concerned about his patients) and his brother, played by a hilariously sarcastic Bill Hader. Hader, in turn, tells him to take a vacation and put his mind at rest.
Within minutes, Peter is off to Hawaii and arrives at a resort island where he meets Rachel (the fantastic Mila Kunis), a kind hotel clerk with an edge. As he arranges for a room, Peter soon realizes he’s not alone. Sarah is there… and so is her new boyfriend, Aldous Snow (played by scene-stealing British comedian Russell Brand). For a good amount of the film, Peter, whilst trying to avoid Sarah, gets to know the other hotel workers at the resort, some of whom are played by Apatow regulars. Jonah Hill, the ranting, raving showstopper in Superbad, is seen here as an Aldous Snow-obsessed waiter, even going so far as to give Snow his own demo (Snow chooses instead to “carry on living my life”) and viciously mock his accent.
Although there are some great moments in this first half, I found the film to be quite lacking in plot development. This wasn’t a movie; rather, it was a bunch of hysterical SNL skits. Luckily, the film gets its act together and drives Peter to discover who he should actually be with. The film also takes a nice turn when we realize how well Peter and Aldous get along (i.e.: a dinner scene in which they both mock a horror film similar to the critically-reviled One Missed Call).
All in all, Forgetting Sarah Marshall appears to be a mixed bag, but Jason Segel manages to direct most of our attention to the comedy rather than the scattershot story. Despite a weak (and obvious) ending, the film succeeds at what it sets out to be: a sweet, rude, romantic comedy.
Rating: 8/10
