Sans Sarah, rien ne va!

I normally do not go out for sappy, romantic roller coaster romantic fare; and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (FSM) pretty much falls under the romantic "date flick" rubric.

And I can't, for the life of me, quite figure out why I liked this so much. I guess the filmmakers succeed in making the welter of comic bits, scenes, and images come across like genuine romantic sweet chaos. How they succeeded is beyond my comprehension.

And maybe that's the point. Some films are good, some are bad, and some are sort of like miracles. Their power is inexplicable; and that's how FSM felt to me.

It was boffo, a bit over-the-top, a tad muddled, a mix of character study, revelation, and farce. And, as things unfolded, by dint of pacing and sheer comic/character acting power, I came to really care about the characters; and I loved it! I glowed through most of FSM.

Here's a way of looking at it: FSM was sort of like Shakespearean romantic farce. Maybe that explains why I liked it; because my mind already has a little engine for processing this kind of narrative stuff, built up from past experiences watching Shakespeare In The Park!

It also comes down to artistic sincerity. Most romance flicks are a little insulting because they're not sincere. There was something, in the end, believable and therefore redeeming about the characters and their silly little Hawaiian comedy of errors and feints.

And that's a miracle, in my book! This is not an ordinary date flick.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - A slacker composer Peter (Jason Segel from "Knocked Up") has a breakdown after his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell of "Heroes"), the star of a hit TV show, dumps him for a British pop star. Peter goes to Hawaii to try and forget about Sarah, which proves to be a poor choice when he finds Sarah is not only in Hawaii, but they are staying at the same hotel. Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill and Mila Kunis co-star.

This was a funny movie! It's a more mature than your average comedy. It survives comedically without leeching off too many other bits of pop culture, unlike Knocked Up. There is the exception of some funny spoofs of CSI and Ghost Whisperer, two fatted calfs rip for killing. Everyone is allowed to be funny, even the women, and they are. I enjoyed the occasional "Scrubs" style cut-aways which were frequently funny. The best one has to be the week Peter spent in the same pair of sweat pants.

This was a lucky stroke from from first time director Nicholas Stoller and first time writer (in addition to lead actor) Jason Segel. I hate making comparisons to other actors, but I kept thinking of Judge Reinhold when I saw Segel. Not that that's a strike against him.

Segel is a fresh face in the comedy genre, and is adept at playing sympathetic slacker and funny man in one. Kirsten Bell acts much better in this than Heroes, and it's a nice change of pace to not recognize Paul Rudd in appearance and character immediately. Bill Hader is funny as always. What really comes across in this film is that everyone, even Sarah Marshall, seems like a 3-dimensional character. Hopefully the days in comedies when people are bitchy or vile just for the hell of it are gone. Even the shallow pop star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), who is the rival to Peter, is likable. There's no animosity between the two men. It's nice to have a comedy where we don't have to demonize anyone.

It's a cute film, sometimes hilarious, but the first half is definitely funnier than the second half. I might pick it up on DVD sometime.

B+

Producers Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson gave Jason Segel the chance of a lifetime to write and star in a film that ended up packed with comedic acting talent. The supporting ensemble cast and four leads (Segel, Bell, Kunis and Brand) perform Segel's script with synergistic perfection, generating a chemistry that is contagious to the audience.

Fate sometimes produces great opportunities... The part of Aldous Snow was written by Segal based on his friend, actor Charlie Hunnam. Charlie was cast in the role, but he quit at the first table read, paving the way for Russell Brand's big break (which he did not waste, making the character an iconic role-of-a-lifetime for the actor/comedian).

Each of the four lead actors shines in the spotlight - Kunis and Bell both look stunning and connect well with the parts and audience. Segel and Brand pull off their numerous laugh-out-loud funny scenes with subtle perfection. All four seem born to play the parts.

My favorite Apatow film, 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' combines a great script with perfect casting, across the board great acting performances, and uniquely effective direction by Nicholas Stoller. The result is a deserved 8+ IMDb Rating, as this film is one of the very best romantic comedies of the 2010's.

The whole story feels so refreshing and the characters are so beautifully written that you can't help but fall in love with them. There's these two big guys in the movie that are side characters but they ended up being my favorite with their distinct funny and lovable personalities. They're almost like Disney movie characters but for adults. You also can't help but fall in love with the setting as well since it takes place on Hawaii. The chemistry between actors is unmatched. It's like they're all on the same wavelength and can riff off each other with no problem. Everyone understands the assignment, even the side actors and extras, and it shows in their performances. It's kinda hard to describe the feeling you get from watching this movie, but I guess some words that help describe it are: feel-good, cozy, hilarious, sincere. Mila Kunis looks more beautiful than ever in this movie, it's like she's a goddess or something - she's glowing. If you haven't fallen in love with Mila Kunis yet, you definitely will in this movie. Kristen Bell gives a wonderful performance as well playing the sort of villain in the movie. She taps into her more sentimental dramatic side, without also neglecting her funny side, and it balances the rest of the comedy in the movie so well. Russell Brand is hilarious as the cool yet self-absorbed lothario singer. Jason Segel, who also wrote the movie, plays the heartbroken yet funny main character who ends up finding hope and moving on with the help of Mila's character.

It's a well written rom-com movie that feels very refreshing with all of it's wonderful characters and hilarious moments. They've perfected the Rom-com formula with this one, this is how you make a comedy breakup film. It's a must-watch.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, definitely the biggest movie that everyone was looking forward to seeing this year. Apatow has had nothing but big success with his comedies: 40-year-old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Walk Hard, and now Forgetting Sarah Marshall, their next big hit. Also Jason Segal's first major script brought to life, I have to say he's got talent, the reason I say that? These characters... they're likable! Not only are the likable, they are real and people you could relate too! For example, Sarah Marshall's new boyfriend that she broke up with Peter for, yeah, he's a little bit of a moron, but you know what? You could understand why people liked him, he was pretty cool, even the girlfriend, Sarah, yeah, she was a jerk, but so real and also you don't get too mad at her with her reason on why she fell out of love with Peter. Forgetting Sarah Marshall has great laughs and a fun story.

Sarah Marshall: hot actress, beautiful, and a fun person, just broke up with her musician boyfriend, Peter. He's just heartbroken and needs to get away for a while, so he goes to Hawaii, but guess what? Sarah is there with her new rock star boyfriend, Aldous Snow, and things are not seeming to go his way. But when he meets Rachel Jenson, the nice and really pretty hotel clerk, they go out and he ends up realizing that maybe this break up wasn't such a big deal after all.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a funny movie, I guarantee you are going to laugh. I do have one complaint, the male nudity, now it's not that I'm a prude at all, just this was more uncomfortable than funny with Jason exposing all his assets. I don't know, just that type of humor isn't funny with me, male or female, just depending on the joke, but this was more awkward. But I do think this is a fun movie, it has a great story and really makes you laugh and just have a good time with these characters, it's a good recommendation from me.

7/10