Review of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) by Dawdlingpoet — 28 Nov 2021

This is a 'rom-com' with a serious, what I'd call (as may be expected given the main plotline), cringe factor! I found it hard not to feel embarrassed on behalf of Peter. The comedy is fairly juvenile but not totally unfunny. I imagine quite a lot of people would be able to relate to Peters situation. There is a definite element of self indulgence present, with other themes including jealousy and competitiveness. I suppose if I had to compare it to anything, the first thing to come to mind would be the US sitcom 2 And A Half Men.

There are a variety of different characters in this film, some of which are quite amusing in their physical demeanour and caricatures. Of course this include Russell Brands character of Aldous Snow is particularly madcap, being a supposed rock star who is experienced with the ladies. There is another memorable character who works at the resort and is unexpectedly laid back, given his appearance. I felt the plot was quite random, in as much as the tone changed from silly to serious quite quickly and then changed back again. There is a fair amount of sentimentality present, aside from the lude scenes, of course(!). Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of sex references, some sex scenes, moderate nudity and strong language. There's little in the way of violence.

Cast wise, Jason Segel plays Peter Bretter, while Russel Brand plays Aldous Snow, Mila Kunis portrays the hotel receptionist Rachel, someone who is, at first, it seems, on a similar level to Peter. Meanwhile, Kristen Bell plays Sarah Marshall herself. Sarah comes across as a perhaps somewhat dizzy but fairly normal young woman. Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd also make appearances, though their roles are pretty secondary.

The cast do a pretty good job at playing their roles - I wouldn't say its an overly memorable film as such but the acting didn't seem especially fake or wooden as such.

The ending I thought was a bit cheesy but still quite satisfying in a way. Ok so this isn't the most thought provoking film but it does have a few laughs and I thought it was relatively entertaining, as long as you know roughly what to expect by way of sex references and so on.