Review of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) by Nick A — 06 May 2012

Produced by Judd Apatow, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is without question a product of his influence. Written by and starring Jason Segel (who appeared in Apatow's 'Knocked Up' and worked with him on the television series 'Freaks and Geeks'), the film keenly takes on a resemblance to previous Apatow comedies like 'Superbad' and 'KU', cranking out side-splitting scenarios while quietly subjecting its audience to the painful truths of relationships, which are delivered in such an alarmingly genuine manner that one just knows Apatow was involved. Directed astutely by first-timer Nick Stoller, 'Sarah Marshall' sets itself apart from recent Apatow Gang fare by focusing more on the effects of one individual than an event (much as 2005's 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' did), providing the story with more intimacy and hardier laughs.

Peter Bretter (Segel) is an ordinary guy -- he likes to eat huge bowls of cereal and watch TV while sitting on the couch in sweatpants and a tee shirt -- living an unordinary life. A music composer for a crime television show called "Crime Scene", which stars his celebrity girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) as the lead detective (her co-star is a one-line riot played by William Baldwin), he's constantly overshadowed by her fame -- while she's being swarmed by photographers on the red carpet, he can typically be found holding her purse off camera. And he's fine with all that. He's head-over-heels in love. But when Sarah breaks up with him abruptly and seemingly without reason, Peter is left exposed both emotionally and physically (yes, we see Peter's peter) and is overcome by a feeling of desperation, which quickly evolves into anguish when she tells him that she's been cheating on him with British lothario rocker Aldous Snow (played amusingly by real life English radio host and comedian Russell Brand).

Having been punched in the face by the fist of sorrow, Peter slumps into carelessness -- he has sex with random girls and puts a music stand through the projection scene of the sound studio in which he records tones for the show. When his step-brother Brian ('Superbad''s Bill Hader) suggests he go on a vacation, which Peter insists be to Hawaii, the hard first steps toward recovery look to have been taken...until he arrives to the site of Sarah and her new beau already there. At this point, Peter figures it's better to stay than to run away. It's this decision that realizes the film's subsequent string of dizzyingly hysterical situations and characters -- including a hotel diner waiter named Matthew (Jonah Hill), a surfing instructor named Chuck (Paul Rudd), a sexually inadequate newlywed named Darald ('Talladega Nights'' Jack McBrayer), and the hotel's front desk receptionist, Rachel ('That '70s Show''s Mila Kunis), perhaps Peter's best chance for happiness -- leading up to a climactic act that rivals that of 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'Waiting for Guffman'.

For recommendation purposes, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is a fire-pit of sweltering laughs and commendable wit that boasts a simplistic, seldom-done-right relationship plot and an admirable combination of lewdness and sincerity. It's funnier than 'Knocked Up', if but a little less warmly-intentioned, and presents more likeable, earnest characters than those in 'Superbad'. In terms of writing style, it's a grown-up version of 'Juno', minus the topic of pregnancy and with a more aggressive approach, which shoots off its punch lines at the respectable rate of a rifle rather than the hyperactive rate of a machine gun -- which is a good thing, in my opinion. The bottom line is this: if you've enjoyed any of the films that Judd Apatow has had his fingers in, you'll love 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'; it's a surging source of humor that represents the best of what he's offered thus far, and will definitely be a tough one to top. Oh, and don't be too quick to leave the theater once the credits start rolling; Jason Bateman has a gas of a cameo that would, and probably did, make Billy Baldwin proud.