Forgetting Sarah Marshall
| Year: | 2008 |
| Studio: | Universal Studios |
| Director: | Nicholas Stoller |
| Producer: | Judd Apatow |
| Cast: | Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader |
The 40 Year Old Virgin put realism to great effect - the way people really talk, the sort of conversation we have with work colleagues, friends, potential lovers, etc.
The 'show it like it really is' tone is almost a comic genre in itself under the Apatow production umbrella, an antidote to the tailored, scripted, choreographed dialogue interaction of most films, but they haven't got it quite right since, and this effort suffers from it more than most.
Instead of jokes being funny, they're hobbled by bad timing, ill-devised punch lines and fast, loose dialogue. Yes, real life's like that, but real life's not particularly funny all the time, which is why we go and see comedies.
Peter (Segel) is a sad sack TV theme composer who's hot actress girlfriend Sarah (Bell) leaves him for sex bomb British rock star Aldous Snow (Brand). He mopes around, trying to screw the memories away with other women, but nothing works.
Thinking a holiday might be the cure, he goes to Hawai'i only to discover in true rom-com style that his ex and her new beau are there. Cue a huge amount of soul searching, avoidance strategy, nose-rubbing and gloating as Peter tries to forget, take revenge on and pine for Sarah, all the while falling for foxy hotel employee Rachel (Kunis, whose voice you know as Meg from Family Guy).
The laughs range from chucklesome to hearty but the tone's all over the place, seeming in one instance like a tween-style romantic comedy and then cutting to Sarah trying to give Peter an erection by giving him fellatio.
Everyone gives it their all, but it starts to drag. It feels a lot longer than its 110 minutes, treating us to several major scenes that don't do much except let everyone indulge in some Apatow-style improv.
The Geek Clique has much better in it than this.
The 'show it like it really is' tone is almost a comic genre in itself under the Apatow production umbrella, an antidote to the tailored, scripted, choreographed dialogue interaction of most films, but they haven't got it quite right since, and this effort suffers from it more than most.
Instead of jokes being funny, they're hobbled by bad timing, ill-devised punch lines and fast, loose dialogue. Yes, real life's like that, but real life's not particularly funny all the time, which is why we go and see comedies.
Peter (Segel) is a sad sack TV theme composer who's hot actress girlfriend Sarah (Bell) leaves him for sex bomb British rock star Aldous Snow (Brand). He mopes around, trying to screw the memories away with other women, but nothing works.
Thinking a holiday might be the cure, he goes to Hawai'i only to discover in true rom-com style that his ex and her new beau are there. Cue a huge amount of soul searching, avoidance strategy, nose-rubbing and gloating as Peter tries to forget, take revenge on and pine for Sarah, all the while falling for foxy hotel employee Rachel (Kunis, whose voice you know as Meg from Family Guy).
The laughs range from chucklesome to hearty but the tone's all over the place, seeming in one instance like a tween-style romantic comedy and then cutting to Sarah trying to give Peter an erection by giving him fellatio.
Everyone gives it their all, but it starts to drag. It feels a lot longer than its 110 minutes, treating us to several major scenes that don't do much except let everyone indulge in some Apatow-style improv.
The Geek Clique has much better in it than this.