Viewers won’t be 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' anytime soon
By Lindsay Rice, Staff Writer
May 5, 2008 | 11:34 p.m.
The laughter far outweighs the mushiness in the raunchy, yet romantic film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
Director Nicholas Stoller (“Knocked Up” and “40 Year-Old Virgin”) has proven himself yet again, but this time the familiar faces of his films take a back seat role to Jason Segel, who leads the cast in this hilarious new film. Segel’s character, Peter Bretter, hits rock bottom when famous actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks his slacker heart.
After multiple attempts at a few unique rebound girls, Bretter’s sorry state is no closer to improving. Stepbrother Brian Bretter (Bill Hader, "Superbad") steps in to pick up the pieces and coerce Bretter into taking a relaxing Hawaiian vacation to ease the pain and escape his depressing routine.
There is no better place to mend the wounds of love than in Hawaii, especially at a top resort where a beautiful receptionist, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), flirts the pain away. However, Bretter did not anticipate the sighting of his newly ex-girlfriend and her not-so-new boyfriend, singer Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), upon check-in.
It doesn’t take long for the free-spirited Jansen and nice guy Bretter to begin building a relationship. Consequently, the claws come out when Marshall watches this bond progress, and an awkward love triangle becomes a square.
The size of the resort facilitates numerous encounters between the ex-lovers and new flames, creating a disastrously comical mix of humor, love and sex. With the help of some quirky islanders and his webcam-accessible stepbrother, Bretter grieves and grows under the sun.
The secondary roles of surf-instructing, spacey stoner Chuck (Paul Rudd) and a restaurant host/Aldous Snow fanatic (Jonah Hill) offer further comic relief as the movie takes its more tender turns. Both Rudd and Hill not only created their roles themselves, but improvised every line as well. Their delivery is, nonetheless, flawlessly funny.
Segel’s role involved a majority of humorous scenes and demonstrated both his ease of delivery and his personal subtleties that are necessary for a memorable funny man. The genuine romantic aspect of the movie, fleeting as it was, allowed his ability to employ serious acting shine.
With such a unique ensemble of some relatively unknown faces, the cast had a lot to live up to if the film were to be on the same level as Stoller’s previous funny flicks. Each character added a comical aspect to the film and added it well.
The film delivers enough ups and downs to keep the audience enthralled and anxious to see what uncomfortably side-splitting situation is next. To say the film is a chick flick would be a grossly inaccurate description; just when the going gets gushy, a crude twist shatters the seriousness and elicits the laughter. There is enough sexuality and vulgarity in this film to satisfy even the most non-romantic viewer, but, by the same token, it isn’t a film for those who blush easily.
The movie’s huge success in the box office is warranted without a doubt. It is precisely the kind of laugh-out-loud comedy that viewers should be coming to expect from this ensemble of entertainers.
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Speakeasy rating: B+
Running time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality, language and nudity