Year of Release: 2008
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Liz Cackowski, Jack McBrayer, Maria Thayer, Taylor Wily, Paul Rudd, Branscombe Richmond, Da'Vone McDonald, Steve Landesberg
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review
Writer/producer/director Nicholas Stoller started his directorial career and collaboration with writer/actor Jason Segel with this feature. The film focuses on the story of Peter Bretter, a music composer who is in a relationship with the famous Sarah Marshall, an actress currently with a hit tv-show. Much to his surprise Sarah decides to break up and Peter has a hard time dealing with the sudden implosion of the relationship. His stepbrother Brian intervenes, giving him solace and some advice on how to move on. Peter tries to go on several dates, but his depression doesn't seem to get any better. He eventually decides to take a vacation to Hawaii, and decides to check in on a hotel that he has not previously booked. Much to his surprise, the hotel is fully booked, but Sarah is also there enjoying some time off with her new fling, rock star Aldous Snow. Peter gets a break when Rachel, one of the hotels employees handling the check in, commiserates with his situation and finds a suite to stay on. As Peter navigates the awkwardness of being once again close to Sarah and her new love interest, he and Rachel also become friendly and in the process something sparks between the two of them.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is derived from the authorship of Jason Segel, who has since written "The Muppets", "The Five Year Engagement", "Sex Tape" and more recently the TV Show "Shrinking", to name but a few. He typically tries to find humor in awkward moments that people go through in life, moments that can be even painfully embarrassing but that he eventually manages to convert to heartfelt and even endearing ones. What is particularly successful about "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is the fact that these characters are actually given enough time to be more than your typical cliché, namely Peter who may seemingly be just the rejected klutz, but who turns out to be someone with his fair share of problems, and who in the process of this breakup has to figure out a way to grow up and be an adult. The same happens with the supporting characters, including Sarah Marshall, Rachel and even Aldous Snow (who does get his time to shine in the follow up film, "Get Him to the Greek"). It's a film that pushes some of its funnier moments to some interactions with characters who have less screen time, such as Paul Rudd's Chuck or Jonah Hill's Matthew, but it's still a film filled with heart for all these characters. And its disarmingly raw approach to some of the events that take place is both tender and funny. The cast is uniformly solid, with Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd all creating a solid ensemble who brings all these characters to life. The production team is competent, with highlight going to production artist Jackson De Govia. Worth watching.
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