Review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Screenplay: Jason Segel
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 112 min
Judd Apatow is the hottest name in comedy right now. Writing, directing, producing – he’s doing it all and has had a hand in some of the most successful and funny comedies of the past few years such as The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. He’s brought something new and fresh to modern comedies, and it seems he can do little wrong. Now he’s produced Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a romantic comedy written by and starring his pal Jason Segel and it has Apatow’s fingerprints all over it. Once again, he proves that he really knows how to put together funny, timeless movies.
Like in many Apatow-productions, the movie follows a likeable slacker, this one a television music composer named Peter (Segel). While he’s not the handsomest or the most charming, he was able to win the heart of Sarah Marshall (Kirsten Bell), a gorgeous, out-of-his-league successful TV-star. When she shows up one day and gives him the heart-wrenching “We need to talk,” revealing to him that there is someone else, Peter is devastated. With hopes of moving on, he decides to head to a resort his ex always spoke of in Hawaii. Of course, as the fates would have it, Sarah winds up staying at the same resort at the same time for some rest and relaxation – except with her new rock star boyfriend.
I can’t properly express how much I enjoyed this movie. I am about as picky and unforgiving as it comes when dealing with comedies, but this delivered in every way. If you’ve watched anything Apatow-related, you would know a staple of these movies is the improvised dialogue and relatable situations, and they are a part of this movie and more polished than ever. It adds an undeniable authenticity and charm to both the movie and the characters, rarely letting the dialogue feel too scripted or the movie fall into the dreaded territory of melodrama, something romantic comedies are often chock full of. With the script, Segel did a great job. The jokes and situations can be lewd and raunchy, but they’re more often than not just clever and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. You often think you know where the movie is headed or what the characters will do, but Segel turns a lot of the tired romantic comedy clichés on their head. While there are the obvious hard-to-believe coincidences that happen in all movies, the situations and conversations Peter finds himself in feel frighteningly familiar and real – perhaps because much of the movie was drawn from Segel and Apatow’s very own life experiences (yes, even the nude break up).
As the star of the movie, Segel is a natural leading man. He creates a real guy, a guy who sometimes says the right thing but sometimes doesn’t, a guy who definitely makes some bad decisions, but a guy like any other. Likewise, none of the characters are black and white. While you may assume such, Sarah Marshall is not a villain here. Neither is her new rock star boyfriend, who while obnoxiously arrogant, actually turns out to be a likeable and funny guy, if not a little sex-crazed. The supporting cast that has Apatow regulars like Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, and Bill Hader as well as Bell, the devastatingly good-looking Mila Kunis, and Russell Brand are all great, providing funny, memorable characters, far from the cardboard cutouts that plague many comedies.
If you’ve enjoyed Apatow’s other comedies, I can think of very little reasons as to why you wouldn’t enjoy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Don’t think this is just more of the same, because it isn’t. It’s a winner, a great movie to hit up with friends and an even better movie to take a date to - an unpredictable romantic comedy that has universal appeal to both the fellows and the ladies. For any guy that has ever been on the wrong side of a break up, this is a movie you can pop in right along with Swingers and High Fidelity. For anyone else, it’s a genuine, funny, sometimes sweet movie that most people will enjoy – perhaps because people will relate with these characters and situations far more than they will want to admit.
Click “play” to see the trailer:
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Links:
IMDb profile
Official Site
I wasn’t planning on giving this movie much attention. Not a big fan of the romantic comedies, but I’ll have to give this one a shot now.
Comment by Andy — April 25, 2008 @ 5:24 pm
I’m so glad you wrote this one up Jonathan because I don’t think I could have.
I didn’t hate this movie, it’s hard to hate something that genuinely made me laugh at moments, but I didn’t love it. The nude breakup bit was funny but the full frontal was completely unnecessary and there was more uncomfortable laughter from the women in the crowd than any real belly laugh.
The Hawaii portion had its moments and you’re absolutely right about the rock star boyfriend. For me, he was easily one of the funnier bits of the movie, as where the collection of adorable Hawaiian locals who all seem to be big soft teddybears - something I loved and hated at the same time. My biggest problem were the parts with Sarah Marshall - a character I didn’t like from the beginning and that I liked even less as the movie progressed. I would have liked this better if they’d left her out of the picture all together and focused only on Peter trying to get over her - they gave his character enough set-up that he could have made the getting over bit interesting enough without having the ex around. Biggest surprise for me - Mila Kunis who I genuinely liked both as a character and a ‘real’ person.
Overall, I laughed, loved the Dracula musical and enjoyed myself but I didn’t laugh as much as I’d hoped and I found it to be a bit too long.
The Apatow comedy train is starting to run dry for me. I have high hopes for “Pineapple Express” but not holding my breath for any more big hits.
Comment by Marina Antunes — April 25, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
I’m really glad I read this review. I went to see ‘Sarah Marshall’ last night and I think this movie is the best of Apatow’s work so far. Better than ‘Superbad’, ‘40 Year Old’, and ‘Knocked Up.’ This movie was fantastic in ever facet, writing and acting. Segel and Kunis were fantastic throughout the whole movie and the running themes like his emotional instability and Dracula: The Musical were great. I forgot I was watching a romantic comedy at points and found myself laughing more throughout this movie than any of Apatow’s previous. In the realm of comedy, this movie gets 5*. Well played, governor.
Comment by Andy — April 27, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
“the full frontal was completely unnecessary”
Okay, sure, but how often is female nudity necessary? I’ll never understand why a wiener WOULD make somebody so uncomfortable, but it does, and yeah, it’s used for cheap laughs in this case, but seeing him like that probably helps the viewer get a sense of what it’d feel like breaking up in the buff.
And Sarah was completely integral to the story! In any other movie, she would have been played off as just a nasty, two-timing bitch - but it’s not hard to emphasize with her somewhat and realize that she had some genuinely good points, even if she didn’t go about the whole thing in the most honorable or honest of ways (umm… realism, anyone?). Seeing as the movie revolved and RELIED on Sarah Marshall being in the movie, I think that would have left the movie and the situations Peter got into pretty damned uninteresting (in fact, it would be a completely different movie/plot altogether - go watch Swingers if you want an effective breakup comedy where the girl isn’t present!). Mila Kunis, I agree, made a pretty solid transition from TV to movies.
Andy - I’m glad you feel the same way. I’d put it up there right alongside The 40 Year Old Virgin as my favorite Apatow-related movie.
Comment by Jonathan — April 27, 2008 @ 10:06 pm
while not as funny as some of the other Apatow productions, I think this one was probably the best film out of the crew. I wouldnt say it was ‘deep’ but the characters were a little more real/relatable, it seems more rewatchable… i’ve been thinking after the fact that it even reminds me of “Empire Records” in the way it cares and weaves its supporting characters in and out.
Comment by Goon — April 27, 2008 @ 10:11 pm
Speaking of unnecessary female nudity… A History of Violence. I love the movie and it has one of my favorite sex scenes of all time (not that I have a list or anything). It is very raw and powerful and steamy and hot and realistic and it is nearly devoid of nudity. It’s a very impressive scene.
Then it’s completely ruined by Maria Bello walking out of the bathroom with her robe open and totally naked underneath. It’s just there to be shocking; nothing more. Now, Maria Bello is a very attractive woman and I can appreciate a naked woman as much as the next guy, but that scene was unnecessary and it irks me to death.
Comment by Andrew James — April 27, 2008 @ 10:14 pm
Jonathan - the female nudity point is well taken but it’s RARELY used as a vehicle for comedy while the penis seems to be the constant object of comedic moments. It’s just weird and did nothing for me.
And I can also kind of see your point on Sarah Marshall having to be in the story but I didn’t buy ANY of it from the beginning to whether it was realistic or not was not something going through my mind. It very well could be….but not for the general population. If that was the case, they would have been regular people working at a record store (to use the Empire Records bit).
Comment by Marina Antunes — April 28, 2008 @ 10:11 am
I have no issues with nudity in film wether it is Female, or Male. I just not all that impressed when its put into movies soley for a shock and giggle moment. Its seems like its cheating somehow.
They could have still had all the uncomfortable breaking up in the nude thang with out having the split second flash of the twig and berries.
Have the same reaction to the latest Harold and Kumar movie. there was a whole lot of genitalia shots just for cheap reaction, nothing else.
Comment by Colleeny — April 28, 2008 @ 10:42 am
And I agreed, the penis shot was definitely and primarily there for cheap laughs, but while in other movies it may be there “soley for a shock and giggle moment” as you put it Colleeny, I’d still argue that in this movie it still served a purpose, regardless of whether it would have been just as effective without it.
p.s. I purposely didn’t mention the penis scene in the review, because people all over the internet are focusing on it far more than they should be.
Comment by Jonathan — April 28, 2008 @ 11:26 am
Jonathan - I’m actually not surprised it’s the thing so many people are focusing on - probably because it’s the thing that stands out the most!
That said, I did love the Dracula musical bit. That pretty much made the entire thing worth watching!
Comment by Marina Antunes — April 28, 2008 @ 11:37 am
I love when puppet Van Helsing jumps from the tower and stakes Dracula with the wooden cross. The facial expression on the puppet was awesome. Go Dracula
Comment by Colleeny — April 28, 2008 @ 11:41 am
Ha ha, definitely. That puppet scene was absolutely priceless. I was thinking about the musical as a live action until he meekly stated he wanted it to be… with puppets. My mind went wild with the hilarious possibilities, none of which were as funny as the actual puppet show. Great.
Comment by Andy — April 28, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
And now we’ll get to see Segel take puppets to another level with The Muppets. I have 100% faith in that now.
Comment by Jonathan — April 30, 2008 @ 10:25 am
Caught this again the dollar theatre the other night. Feel exactly the same about this, if not more strongly so.
Comment by Jonathan B. — July 31, 2008 @ 11:52 am