Three out of four stars (Rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity) Running time: 111 minutes. Reviewed at The Woodlands Tinseltown 17 on April 18.
I accessed the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” site on the Internet Movie Database (Imdb.com) for background information to help write this review. Posters on the message board were going at it tooth and nail as to whether the new Judd Apatow movie is as funny or funnier than “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” or “Superbad.”
My vote goes for “Knocked Up,” hands down. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” generated a lot of laughter in its opening show but once again the movie overstayed its welcome by 20 minutes.
While Apatow is officially listed as a producer, this time the director is newbie Nicholas Stoller. The script comes from Jason Segel, who also plays the lead character named Peter Bretter. He composes and plays the background music for a “CSI”-like crime investigation series named “Crime Scene” starring his long-time steady Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell).
Peter, like a character or two we’ve seen in other Apatow efforts, is your common ordinary slob (I can relate). He eats a ton of cereal out of an oversized bowl, lays around on his couch most of the day watching TV, and wears the same jogging pants day in and day out (I can relate, ditto).
One day Sarah greets Peter as he comes out of the shower draped in a towel. She proceeds to deliver some bad news: the relationship is no more. Distraught, Peter drops the towel—you don’t want to see this guy modeling Speedo swimwear—and stands there in his morning glory to the delight of the audience, all of them howling in laughter.
Peter can’t get over his loss, especially when he finds out he’s been dumped in favor of flamboyant British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). On the rebound, Peter and his stepbrother Brian (Bill Hader of “SNL”) hit the bar scene. He takes home one young lady for sex and proceeds to cry his eyes out. Brian recommends that the downcast Peter go away somewhere to cool his heels. Peter takes his advise and goes to Hawaii.
Bad move, there. As Peter checks in he sees that Sarah Marshall is staying at the same resort with Aldous in tow. Not to mention that he has no reservation. But a friendly desk clerk named Rachael (Mila Kunis) takes pity on Peter and finds him a room.
Peter has humorous encounters with his ex- and her new beau, not enough to sustain the laughs. That’s when the Apatow corral of offbeat characters come in. Paul Rudd plays a perennially stoned surfing instructor, while Jonah Hill is a persistently annoying waiter who longs for Aldous to listen to his audition CD.
Hader checks in often via the computer to give a hilarious running commentary on Peter’s misadventures in paradise. But the funniest moments belong to a honeymooning couple (Jack McBrayer and Maria Thayer) who can’t seem to consummate the deal to the bride’s satisfaction.
As Peter warms up to Rachael’s increasingly friendly overtures, somehow we just know that Sarah is going to re-enter the picture. Not to be outdone, we get one more frontal glimpse of Peter, sans clothing. Great Caesar’s ghost!
The wheels come off at the end, but before then there are plenty of memorable moments in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” In Apatow’s universe, the ordinary schmo always gets the babe. I can relate.
