Movie Review – “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”

This is way old, but I figured I should probably post it just in case anybody is still interested.

It’s official. Judd Apatow is the king of contemporary comedic cinema.

While his newest production may be the weakest (it’s a relative term) of the trio, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a more-than-enjoyable follow-up to the Apatow-directed “Knocked Up” and the Apatow-produced “Superbad” of last year. Directed by newbie Nicholas Stoller (writer for “Fun With Dick and Jane”), and written/starring Jason Segel (“How I Met Your Mother”), it maintains that same raunchy yet realistic humor that helped the original two excell amongst an industry full of overacted Will Farrell snoozefests.

This time around we follow the mopey Peter (Segel), an aspiring musical composer who spends his time eating giant bowls of cereal and writing the score for a ridiculous crime scene investigation tele-drama until the girl of his dreams, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) breaks up with him. Devastated, he decides to go on vacation to Hawaii, only to discover that his ex is staying at the same hotel with her new boyfriend, rockstar Aldous Snow (Russell Brand channelling Johnny Depp to perfection). As the film progresses, Peter alternates between mooning over Sarah and falling quickly for front-desk worker Rachel Jansen (the lovable and sexy Mila Kunis). Which will he pick? The movie keeps us guessing.

Like “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” Forgetting succeeds based on exaggerated-yet-honest comedy and the uniqueness of its characters. The latter is what I love most about Apatow-produced work. Forgetting has probably twice as many cameos as the other two, yet every actor has an opportunity to stand out and get multiple laughs. Expect to be sent to the floor by Jack McBrayer (30 Rock) and Paul Rudd, who has perhaps the most amazing comedic instincts I have ever seen, in particular.

It is always so pleasant to end a review with this sentence: see it now!

My Rating: A
Other reviews:
Lisa Schwarzbaum, EW (B+)