Movie Review - 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Rated R

Over the past three years, theaters have been flooded with movies that make the claim, “From the guy who brought you The 40-Year-Old Virgin.” The guy is Judd Apatow, and his success is only partly his own. Because even though he’s only written three movies and directed one since Virgin, the Apatow name has graced seven movies since the summer of 2005, four of those since last May – Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard and now Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Even with a track record like Apatow’s, there is such a thing as overexposure.

The good news is that the latest film from the guy that brought you The 40-Year-Old Virgin might be the best one yet. Seriously, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is at least as good as Superbad, Knocked Up and Virgin, the Holy Trinity of Judd Apatow movies. It might not have the two or three huge laughs each of those other films sport, but it’s easily the most consistent and the most relatable.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is written by its star, Jason Segel, a one-time member of Apatow’s ensemble on the short lived Freaks and Geeks. Now, he’s better known for his stint on How I Met Your Mother, but he shows a real knack for comedy screenwriting here, as Sarah Marshall is almost effortless in its setup, character development and payoffs.

Dumped by his TV star girlfriend (Kristen Bell), the rather average looking Peter (Segel) flees to Hawaii hoping to clear his head. Unfortunately, his ex- is staying at the same resort, and with her new slovenly British rock star boyfriend (Russell Brand, hilariously ignorant in an Ali G. sort of way). Each new day in paradise reveals another level of hell for the guy who never did anything wrong other than being himself.

Everything in Sarah Marshall comes together better than you’d think it should. The cast is hardly A-list, although the ensemble is really working overtime. There isn’t one performance that absolutely steals the show, and whether it’s two characters in a scene or five, there’s a good deal of give and take that allows this film to avoid some of the more tedious subplots that are common in the Apatow School of filmmaking.

For Segel, this is an unqualified success; he proves himself a worthy left-of-center leading man and a cunning writer. His story is instantly recognizable, which allows him a lot of freedom to go for broke with weird characters and gimmicks. It’s interesting that it’s the very same approach that wobbles most of the other Apatow-backed movies, from Paul Rudd in Virgin to the cops and McLovin in Superbad. The only reason to devote so much time to minor characters is when you’ve exhausted things for the leads to do.

Segel never makes that mistake as a writer, though he’s perfectly willing to pass the ball to the supporting players, all of whom make their layups.

Another thing Segel and director Nick Stoller get exactly right is making humiliation work as both embarrassing and funny; usually, lower common denominator comedies can nail one or the other, but not both. And the worse you feel for Peter, the funnier it gets.

Now maybe they’ll change the commercials to “from the guy who brought you Forgetting Sarah Marshall” instead. And maybe they’ll mean Jason Segel.