An uproariously funny comedy from start to finish, Nicholas Stoller’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall hits every note right – except for one unfortunately crucial one – and provides plenty of laughs along the way. Producer Judd Apatow and his immensely talented stable have set a new standard for contemporary comedies.
Musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segal, who also scripted) gets dumped by his girlfriend Sarah Marshall, a hot young actress currently starring alongside Billy Baldwin in TV’s Crime Scene, a show which Peter also scores. Unable to turn around without seeing images of his ex, and unable to get over her, Peter decides to take a trip to Hawaii.
Unbeknownst to him, Ms. Marshall also happens to be in town, staying at the same resort with her new boyfriend, pop star Aldous Snow (a preposterously funny Russell Brand, who steals the show).
Yet he attempts to forget Sarah, despite consistently turning up within ten meters of her, with the help of sweet young receptionist Rachel (Mila Kunis) and a colorful supporting cast including waiter Jonah Hill and surf instructor Paul Rudd.
Segel is wonderful; decidedly not a mainstream star, nor an everyman, he’s written himself his own unique, believable character full of realistic flaws and likable attributes. For the most part, the film is also believable, and refreshingly good-natured. And it’s also hilarious.
But I’d rate this even higher if it weren’t for the climactic scene between Peter and Sarah, which feels both unnecessarily mean-spirited (it’s a sophomoric revenge fantasy) and overtly contrived to fit a standard rom-com plot cliché; in fact, it’s the only scene in the movie that feels like it came directly from the pen of a writer.
While I don’t want to penalize the film as a whole for a single wrong note, this one left a particularly unpleasant taste in my mouth, which was only partially washed away by the Dracula puppet musical.
Still, this is one of the funniest movies in ages, right up there with Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40 Year Old Virgin. All hail Apatow, producer of the aforementioned (and director of Virgin) and creator of the criminally underrated and prematurely cancelled Freaks and Geeks, who has finally found success in Hollywood as the new King of Comedy.
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