Get Him to the Greek

Movie Name: Get Him to the Greek
Year of Release: 2010
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elizabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney, Sean Combs, Aziz Ansari, Nick Kroll, Ellie Kemper, Jake Johnson, Kristen Schaal, Dinah Stabb, T.J. Miller, Stephanie Faracy, Carla Gallo
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

Following the well received "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", writer/director Nicholas Stoller reunited once again with actor/writer Jason Segel and devised "Get Him to the Greek", focused on the story of Aaron Green, another every day man who works for a record company in LA (he is a talent scout), who is going through a series of substantial challenges. Aaron suggests creating a unique concert experience with rocker Aldous Snow, celebrating the 10 year release of one of his records. Aldous has fallen out of grace with audiences due to a lackluster performance and tone deaf release of a record named "African Child", which also precipitated the demise of his romantic relationship with the mother of his child, fellow pop star sensation, Jackie Q. Aaron is assigned the task of bringing Aldous to LA for the concert, at the same time his partner Daphne informs him that she has gotten a residency job offer in a Seattle hospital. They don't seem to align on where they stand and put their relationship on a break, while Aaron goes to London, on what seems to be a straightforward job. That turns out to be anything but the case, with Aldous making matters complicated for Aaron, by partying excessively, forcing them to constantly almost miss their flights, not to mention the flurry of awkward situations they find themselves in.

Nicholas Stoller has made a name for himself by finding the humor in awkward yet relatable situations. That was the case with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and is also the case with "Get Him to the Greek" and has also transpired in subsequent films which has included "The Five Year Engagement", "Neighbors", and even the more recently "Bros". What makes "Greek" so interesting is the journey that both central characters go through, and how even though they're at such different places in their lives, they both eventually realize that they have to grow up, and that life isn't solely a selfish pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. However and until they get to that realization, we get to witness all sorts of debauchery typically associated with the high life of the clichéd rock star, with sex shenanigans mixed with drugs, in ways that are at times surprising. What makes this film work so well is the fact that these characters are given an opportunity to be more than simple clichés, and we get to witness a bit of the sadness, anxiety, lunacy and even shallowness that lies within each one of them. Most of these characters get to go on a journey, even if some of them have a more robust journey than others. The film is impeccably cast, with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand making for a great comic duo, with fantastic support from Elizabeth Moss, the hilarious Rose Byrne and the always reliable Colm Meaney. The production team is fantastic, featuring the great cinematography from Robert D. Yeoman (who is Wes Anderson's usual collaborator) and production design from Jan Roelfs (who is the formidable talent who worked on Sally Potter's "Orlando", to name but one illustrious film from a fantastic career). Worth watching and savoring.