Review of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) by Kristopher H — 25 Apr 2012

This (mostly) exceeded my expectations. It's less garishly filthy than other Apatow productions (Knocked Up, Superbad), probably because the main characters are actually grown-ups, rather than adolescents (or adolescents in grown-up bodies) and because the writer and star is Jason Segel.

He manages to give all the characters flaws and virtues, makes us care about them at least a little bit even though they do and say unlikeable things. Segel is great in the central role - he even seems to be playing all the piano bits himself, and Russell Brand is also terrific (playing himself!?). The supporting cast were generally decent, although I hated the scenes with Bill Hader. These seemed bolted on simply to appease the Apatow fans who expect improvised-stream-of-crudity scenes. Those things fit neatly into films like Superbad, but not here. They distracted from the main plot and character developments, and made the film 15-20 minutes too long.

All that said, there are some excellent laugh-out-loud moments and overall it's really entertaining.