American Trip

It's not quite Pixar-like, Judd Apatow's streak of very funny, very good films, but it's close. As a producer, he's as close as it gets to Mr. Automatic, going from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy to The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Talladega Nights to Superbad to Pineapple Express with only a couple Year One's and Walk Hard's to queer the run. Apatow's done it the right way, by surrounding himself with a gang of truly funny people and by recognizing what a lot of timid, gloss-obsessed Hollywood folks won't: that guys like Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Steve Carell and Seth Rogan could carry pictures. They're all... these are odd-looking dudes, these Apatowian fellas, and it's hard to make them look good blown up billboard size. But all of them can write their own jokes, all of them are funny, and as Hill proves in the new Get Him to the Greek, all of them can carry the weight of a big film on their back, despite their schlubbiness, despite the films not being SNL spin-offs. There's just talent and comedy, that's both fresh and charmingly old-fashioned. With Get Him to the Greek there's a weird bit of Hollywood story/actor oddness that evaporates as soon as the picture gets rolling: writer/director Nicholas Stoller is taking characters from a previous film that he directed (that was written by and starred Jason Segel), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, keeping one intact (Russel Brand's rock god Aldous Snow) and slightly tweaking one other (Jonah Hill's disturbed-fan maître d' becomes a shy music intern), and sets them loose in a completely unconnected narrative. Snow is the last true rockstar, recently fallen hard off the wagon post-a disastrous, career-threatening single about starvation in Africa called "African Child". Worried about slumping record sales and a label-head (the surprisingly entertaining Sean "Diddy" Combs) looking for "the next thing", intern Aaron Green (Hill) suggests the company return to its rock roots and sponsor a gig at the Greek theatre in L.A., to mark the 10th anniversary of a legendary Aldous Snow show. Green is sent to London to collect him, packing an adrenaline shot and instructions to do whatever it takes to get the slippery, deluded, hard-partying rock god to L.A. in three days. Very funny hijinks ensue.

Brand as Snow is the spectacle, the wild spark that animates the whole film. Snow vacillates wildly from petulant artistic preciousness to aggressive junkie posturing to anarchic drug logic and back. Story-wise, tt's a dangerous thing to chance, as the rock-excess thing has been parodied to near-death. Brand, though, limns the edges of his chaos with occasional moments of human frailty. The film notes late in the going that Snow's self-appointed rock messiah is intelligent, and it's a small ignorable moment that speaks to the subtle bits of originality in the film's script and in Brand's performance: he's a pompous idiotic waster in true rock fashion, but there's a cruel, manipulative intelligence underneath it all that helps the whole film feel fresh and funny, even if it's going over well-trod Spinal Tap ground.

The discovery of the film, though, is Jonah Hill as Aaron Green, the spectacular punching bag at the heart of a film that mercilessly visits every kind of humiliation and degradation on him. He stands square in the furnace blast of Snow's rock-superstar excess and the shrivelling, repeated "mind f__ks" of his conniving, unbalanced boss: he pukes, he's sexually assaulted by more than one person, he's threatened, cursed, party to a stabbing. But what makes Hill's performance truly funny is that while he is in essence a nebbish, a victim, a barf-coated ill-looking cannonball of a man he nonetheless retains a really kind of compelling dignity and oddly endearing self-confidence. There's a depth to Hill's performance in this film (and in Forgetting Sarah Marshall as well) that's actually… special. He's not an oversize wild-man, he's not a tiny Michael Cera-esquire mumbler. He's doing something new, and it along with everything else in this film is very very funny. 8/10

Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) is a messed up rock star. He has a damaged relationship with his ex Jackie Q (Rose Byrne). Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) pitches an idea for a 10 year anniversary of Aldous Snow's successful Live at the Greek Theatre show to label head Sergio (Sean Combs). Aaron is given the chance to wrangle Aldous for his big chance.

The Judd Apatow friends gather together to do another hilarious movie. Russell Brand is wonderously wild and childlike. Jonah Hill is a great straight man, charmingly funny and sweet. The combo is a home run. Even P Diddy is great as the bombastic exec. Jonah and Elisabeth Moss are hilarious together in the beginning. The Sarah Marshall call back is hilarious. But it's not just all hilarity. Aldous has real personal problems and not just about the drugs. It's a wonderful mix of heart and comedy. Start stroking the fury wall.

When I saw the trailers for Greek, they looked moderately funny. I hadn't seen Sarah Marshal, so I had no idea what that was all about. But, reviews were good and I thought, hey, what the heck. What I found was a very funny Apatow-filmish take on the rock n roll film. All the elements of a usual Apatow troop film are there: focus on unusual moments, sex drugs and gross out humor, friendship and some serious moments, and the breaking down of typical film trappings. Suffice to say, this is a great summer comedy.

The film, as many know, charges Allen Green with getting washed up rock star Aldous Snow to the Greek Theater in LA for a 10th anniversary concert. As one would guess, things don't go accordingly, and a whole lot of comedy ensues. The film, more than anything, is essentially a rock pic. It's about the life of this rock star who has burned out his bulb and is attempting to put in a new one. And as Aldous Snow, Russel Brand is fantastic. He truly embodies this rock star and you feel he really IS this character. He boozes it up, drugs it up, sexes it up, and whatever other manner of things a rock star might abuse. He's a mess of a guy, and like so many famous people who have gone south, he's a complicated person who has let fame get the best of him. This is translated extremely well. Despite all the comedy, this is an excellent rock and roll biopic type film. Jonah Hill is great as the lead character with baggage of his own and he does what he does best here, although he plays a more awkward kind of character versus his geek-in- charge style that we're so accustomed too.

Stealing the show, however, is Sean Combs, who plays Green's boss Sergio. Every scene he is in is hilarious and he is surprisingly funny. It was definitely pleasant to see him pull off such a funny role. The other supporting characters are great, doing a fine job of being very funny themselves. Most of the film falls into stages of comedy bits, and all are pretty damned hilarious. There's nothing here that's too ridiculous, which is nice. There is once scene that kind of makes you raise a brow, but it's just so damn funny, you forget how insane it is. And that's really the charm of the film. Everything about it is larger than life, yet believable. This is exactly why it perfectly molds both the rock star film and an Apatow comedy so perfectly. It's the kind of comedy you would expect it to be, while not knowing exactly what is going to happen. If you don't like these kinds of comedies, this one may not be for you. But if you've enjoyed other films like Sarah Marshal, Pineapple Express, and other Apatow troop films, you'll find Greek hilarious. I know I did.

This is one of my favorite comedies ever. I can not give it higher than an 8 because it has some weak spots, but overall I though Russell Brand and Rose Byrne give two of the great comedic performances of the 2000s. I enjoy a lot of the music, and there are some other standout moments, such as P. Diddy's "Gamechanger" scene. It's a very simple story, and it does try to hit some dramatic beats as well, but it's at its best when things get ridiculous.

I was lucky enough to see this movie tonight as an advanced screening at my school.

It is the funniest movie of the year so far and I think it will be a sleeper hit like The Hangover was last year. I loved Russel Brand's character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I was bit hesitant to see an entire movie based around the character. If you feel the same way as I did, stop! This was an excellent spin off with a great cast. If you love movies like Superbad and The Hangover, you will not be disappointed with this. Although, don't go in expecting another Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which is more of a romantic comedy. This is just 108 minutes (approx) of pure fun and a lot of crude humor.

Russel Brand, Jonah Hill, and Diddy are flat out hilarious. I'll go far as to say that Diddy's character Sergio is to this movie as Russell Brand's Aldous Snow was to Forgetting Sarah Marshall. There are a lot of hilarious lines throughout the movie and a couple of awesome cameos.

I haven't laughed as much as I did tonight since I first saw The Hangover last year. If you love comedies, then don't miss this! I highly recommend it.

9/10