Jess Paine
BartoForgetting Sarah Marshall: who?
April 21st 2008 07:12
Though flawed, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is head and shoulders above most of the formulaic spawn of the Hollywood romcom machine. Predictable in the main plot, it’s the moments that string it all together that manage to surprise.
Peter Bretter (played by Jason Segel… from How I Met Your Mother) is devestated when his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) dumps him. Seeking solace and escape in Hawaii, he finds neither when Sarah turns out to be staying in the same hotel with her new flame, a famous rocker called Aldous. He does find some comfort in the friendship of concierge Rachel. You can put the rest of the pieces together blindfolded, but the experience is much better than the summary suggests.
As long as you’re okay with male full frontal nudity.
Segel is a bold, bold man. Having penned the script he opted to give himself two nude-tacular sequences, the first a hilarious appendage (punning, who doesn’t love it?) to the break-up scene, the second completely unnecessary. He has also written a deceptively raw and emotional script, in which no main character (sex addicted Aldous aside) suffers from lack of dimension. It a shame then that in choosing to play the love lorn lead he has filled the weakest link. The rest of the cast is so damn funny and charismatic, that is makes a passable Segel look dull in comparison.
Bell grabs her part and bolts with it. The script, and her performance somehow make Sarah vaguely sympathetic, and certainly allows for her to express a valid point of view. One dramatic confrontation in which Sarah explains why she left Peter is shocking, not only for it’s seriousness, but because it is so understandable.
Russell Brand as Aldous steals scene after scene, proffering sage advice to a terrified groom, in between acrobatic performances (on the stage and in bed). He is a skinny, skinny man who I expect will now be solidly typecast unless he does something completely different next.
Brand and Bell are the best, but the rest shine in their moments. This is the issue, perhaps they are allowed to shine too brightly. The snatches of Bell’s faux CSI crime show that are shown are so hilariously spot-on I was almost more interested in watching more of that.
This is, of course the latest from the Judd Apatow stable (that gang of unassuming geeks who base their stories around unconventional male leads with hidden charm, and the usual hot female romantic interests whose only variation is to have a more honed sense of comic timing). I’ve waited to mention that, because I’m sick of it somehow becoming the most important element. It’s not. Drillbit Taylor should have taught everyone this. They all have to stay on their toes, unless they want their ‘style’ to go the way of the Will Ferrell non sequitor underdog movie which is steadily becoming stale.
But for now they are on track. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of their strongest movies, sitting as a hilarious and involving companion to Knocked Up.
Peter Bretter (played by Jason Segel… from How I Met Your Mother) is devestated when his girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) dumps him. Seeking solace and escape in Hawaii, he finds neither when Sarah turns out to be staying in the same hotel with her new flame, a famous rocker called Aldous. He does find some comfort in the friendship of concierge Rachel. You can put the rest of the pieces together blindfolded, but the experience is much better than the summary suggests.
As long as you’re okay with male full frontal nudity.
Segel is a bold, bold man. Having penned the script he opted to give himself two nude-tacular sequences, the first a hilarious appendage (punning, who doesn’t love it?) to the break-up scene, the second completely unnecessary. He has also written a deceptively raw and emotional script, in which no main character (sex addicted Aldous aside) suffers from lack of dimension. It a shame then that in choosing to play the love lorn lead he has filled the weakest link. The rest of the cast is so damn funny and charismatic, that is makes a passable Segel look dull in comparison.
Bell grabs her part and bolts with it. The script, and her performance somehow make Sarah vaguely sympathetic, and certainly allows for her to express a valid point of view. One dramatic confrontation in which Sarah explains why she left Peter is shocking, not only for it’s seriousness, but because it is so understandable.
Russell Brand as Aldous steals scene after scene, proffering sage advice to a terrified groom, in between acrobatic performances (on the stage and in bed). He is a skinny, skinny man who I expect will now be solidly typecast unless he does something completely different next.
Brand and Bell are the best, but the rest shine in their moments. This is the issue, perhaps they are allowed to shine too brightly. The snatches of Bell’s faux CSI crime show that are shown are so hilariously spot-on I was almost more interested in watching more of that.
This is, of course the latest from the Judd Apatow stable (that gang of unassuming geeks who base their stories around unconventional male leads with hidden charm, and the usual hot female romantic interests whose only variation is to have a more honed sense of comic timing). I’ve waited to mention that, because I’m sick of it somehow becoming the most important element. It’s not. Drillbit Taylor should have taught everyone this. They all have to stay on their toes, unless they want their ‘style’ to go the way of the Will Ferrell non sequitor underdog movie which is steadily becoming stale.
But for now they are on track. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of their strongest movies, sitting as a hilarious and involving companion to Knocked Up.
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