Judd Apatow film ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ delivers audiences laughs
Posted on April 17, 2008
College students are familiar with Judd Apatow’s comedic winning streak, from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” to last summer’s titans, “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” Aside from “Walk Hard,” which would have been more aptly titled “Flop Hard,” Apatow’s success seems to be a guarantee.
His brand of comedic genius, equally raunchy and sweet, celebrates the underdog in a refreshing manner. Apatow’s latest production, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” was written by “How I Met Your Mother” star Jason Segel and helmed by first-time director Nicholas Stoller.
The plot revolves around Peter Bretter (Segel), a recently dumped composer whose life has become a series of meaningless chores that can be easily strung together in a hilarious montage. Peter’s TV-star girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) has left him for the uncannily flexible pop star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), and after a series of tearful one-night stands fail to get that fact out of his mind, Peter retreats to an isolated Hawaiian resort. Coincidentally, Sarah happens to be staying at the same resort, with her new boyfriend in tow.
Segel’s script presents us with a surprisingly sensitive protagonist who wears his heart on his sleeve. He bares a lot more than his soul and also exhibits some real emotional sincerity. While Peter is undoubtedly immature and oafish, his earnestness is occasionally endearing. Peter finds a companion in Rachel (Mila Kunis), the resort secretary who abandoned her studies on the mainland to pursue a life of island leisure. Both characters ran away from their problems, but of course they don’t learn from their mistakes until the end of the movie.
Even after setting aside the inherent structural limitations of any romantic comedy, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” feels like familiar territory. There are the same actors with the same jokes as in Apatow’s other productions, this time in an island setting. There are the same crude jokes about sex and other illicit things I can’t refer to here. But that’s not to say that the audience won’t get what it wants. It’s fun to watch actor Jonah Hill (“Knocked Up”) as a waiter with a massive man-crush on Aldous Snow and the awkward situations that arise from it. Paul Rudd (“Knocked Up”), is also funny as a dazed and confused surf instructor, who probably isn’t licensed.
Kunis, best known for her role as Jackie on “That ’70s Show” and for her voice work on “Family Guy,” fills the role of the pretty “other girl,” although the script doesn’t demand much from her. Her attempts to get Peter out of his shell result in a memorable bar room scene where we get our first taste of his Dracula puppet rock opera.
As the movie comes to a close, the audience doesn’t necessarily feel as if much has been accomplished. But at least “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a more enjoyable romp than such tepid rehashes as “27 Dresses” and “Fool’s Gold.” Maybe this is a formulaic comedy, but this formula is proven to work.
