Forgetting Sarah Marshall   

Year of Release: 2008
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Rating: Rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Liz Cackowski, Maria Thayer, Jack McBrayer

Date Of Review: April 2008

Let’s get one thing straight, producer Judd Apatow’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” isn’t your conventional romantic comedy, it’s a sex comedy with a dash of romanticism. The film is not a teen sex comedy either. It’s an adult sex comedy with some unique dramatizations. Sure, teens will enjoy it but 20-somethings will probably love it and are sure to get the most out of it. I caught this film at an exclusive preview screening and knew nothing much about it other than seeing the poster that stated “From The Guys That Brought You The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Knocked Up”. Well I had certainly seen those two films so it did give me some indication as to where the comedy was headed.  Another way of describing the film would be to call it a modern-day sex comedy for today’s male.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” focuses on the trials and tribulations of regular guy Peter Bretter (Jason Segel), a composer of sorts who is dating big-time TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). Peter does the background music for her TV cop show. When Sarah dumps Peter, in an eye-brow raising scene, he decides to head to Hawaii to clear his depressed mind but he gets more than he bargained for when he discovers Sarah and her new rock star boyfriend, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), are staying at the same luxury resort.  When pretty desk clerk, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), finds out about Peter’s dilemma, she develops sympathy for his plight. Soon affections grow and a relationship develops between Peter and Rachael adding another dimension to Peter’s already confused state.  

In the early part of the film we get a full frontal assault on our senses, literally, in the form of male nudity by the lead-actor, Jason Segel. You may remember Segel from last year’s “Knocked Up” he played one of Seth Rogan’s roommates but in that film he was sporting some facial hair. His unexpected nude scene in this film will certainly shock viewers and even offend some. To top it off, the filmmakers have even book ended the film with more of the same. For years we have been subjected to lashings of female nudity in films. It’s almost as if the filmmakers decided to break new ground by thinking, heck it’s an equality thing, let’s get some guys up there. Whatever the case, I would rather not have been subject to Segel’s package but let’s just say he had balls to put it up there.

At one point, the film was beginning to remind me of last year’s disaster, “Good Luck Chuck”, with the inclusion of some mindless sex scenes and I was beginning to question the quality of the film but somehow it manages to redeem itself. If anything, it seems that maybe some of the sex scenes are strategically placed in the film for pacing, whatever the case, you start to get used to them in the context of the story. As the film goes on these flawed characters and their sexual situations grow on you, somehow you slowly get involved in the characters and begin to care about their outcomes. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” offers a little more than your usual run of the mill sex comedy. It explores the sexual behavior of these flawed characters with a certain authenticity. While sex is one thing, emotions, true-love and honesty are all rampant themes in this complicated love story.

Writer and star Jason Segel downplays his role brilliantly, he’s never over the top or annoying he’s just a fairly regular kind of guy going through a relationship crisis, something that I am sure a lot of guy’s his age will relate to.  Jason seems to have put his all into this project and a lot of himself into the role. I was wondering when I was watching the film if some of Jason’s scenes were semi-autobiographical as they certainly felt like it. Interestingly enough, just before publishing this review I read a brief article in a local newspaper that stated that some of the happenings in this film are from Jason’s own romantic entanglements, in particular the now infamous full frontal nude scene.

Segel’s “average joe” appeal transcends to both male and female. Boys can identify with him while girls will find him cuddly and non-threatening. On the other hand Segel’s competitor, wild-haired, sex-crazed English rock star, Russell Brand, who almost steals the film with his over-the-top performance, shows the flipside of the male psyche. For some guys, Brand as the rock star has a male fantasy appeal as he’s the guy who always gets the chicks. Some females will also find Brand appealing, not only because of his rock star status but because he is hunky, funny and naughty all at the same time. Also, joining the fun are another two mad-cap males, in the form of Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd from “Knocked Up”. Hill plays a rather creepy waiter/maitre-de at the hotel restaurant that is a big-time fan of Brand, while Rudd plays a spaced-out surfer dude that tries to give Segel some guidance amongst the waves.

While the film may be somewhat predictable there is a certain authenticity to the frankness and explicitness of some of the dialogue and some of the sex scenes. These scenes are not for everyone but they are attempting to depict modern relationships and in particular the sexual behavior of these mojo driven characters.  After all of the ups and downs, not to mention the highs and lows of these confused characters, the film, in its own crazy way, has the correct ending that you would hope for. Bad-girl, Sarah Marshall realizes that she made a mistake with the rock star, while the rock star realizes he made a mistake with Sarah Marshall. Sarah realizes that Peter is still the guy for her but he’s moved on and it’s a little too late for her now. While good-guy Peter realizes that leaving Sarah for Rachael is the best decision he has ever made in his life.  I hope I haven’t given too much away but the film is not just your usual raunchy sex comedy. It has a bit of heart and a certain reality amidst all of the sexual shenanigans. It’s a balancing act between romance, relationships and vulgar comedy and somehow it all plays out rather nicely, like a finely tuned trapeze act. That’s why it works.

There is certainly a market for this style of smart sex comedy and I am sure that if you are between 17 and 25 you will lap it up as there are a few laugh-out loud moments, plenty of great dialogue and enough romantic situations to keep you smiling. At 112 minutes the film is leisurely paced but the characters and situations grow on you, just give it some time to marinate and you should be pleased with the outcome. The Dracula opera aspect your either going to love or hate but you cannot deny it is outrageously unique and Segel’s delivery of the song in the bar with his Dracula sounding voice is quite unexpected. The performances from the entire cast are first-rate and an absolute standout sequence is the ensemble scene in which the 2 couples meet for dinner. The dialogue is crisp, well-delivered, hilariously funny, not to mention brillantly timed. If you didn't know you would never believe that this film was a directoral debut for filmmaker Nicolas Stoller who obviously has a real flair for this type of comedy.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a warped morality tales about sex, love and other catastrophes in a mixed-up modern-world. It’s another neat film in the Apatow comedy cannon that I am sure will find its audience just like Apatow's other films.  Writer/Star Jason Segel has put a lot into this project, let’s just hope he hasn’t played all his cards in the one movie. It will be interesting to see if he can match or replicate this minor success in his future works. I had a good time with this film and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” will be a hard thing to do because it’s one of the more original comedies you will see this year…. I just wished they had of used a few more Hawaiian locales, can't win 'em all I guess!

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