Benjamin’s Stash
“Love hurts, love scars, love wounds and marks…”
Cast of Characters:
Peter Bretter – Jason Segel
Sarah Marshall – Kristen Bell
Rachel Jansen – Mila Kunis
Aldous Snow – Russell Brand
Brian Bretter – Bill Hader
Matthew Van Der Wyk – Jonah Hill
Liz Bretter – Liz Cackowski
Dwayne – Da’Vone McDonald
Darald Braden – Jack McBrayer
Wyoma Braden – Maria Thayer
Chuck/Kunu – Paul Rudd
Director – Nicholas Stoller
Writer – Jason Segel
Producer – Judd Apatow & Shauna Robertson
Distributor – Universal Pictures
Running Time – 111 minutes
Rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.
TV show composer Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) has been in a five-year relationship with actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), the star of the CSI-like show Crime Scene: The Scene of the Crime. But then, one day, Peter is blindsided by the moment every devoted boyfriend fears – Sarah “wants to talk”. As feared, the moment she uttered those three words, Peter finds himself dumped for another man.
Unable to deal with his grief through one-night stands, Peter takes a vacation to Hawaii; however, his trip is ruined upon arrival when he realizes Sarah and her new boyfriend, self-absorbed rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), are also staying at the same resort he’s booked at. But through the torment of this very unexpected and, more so, very unpleasant surprise, Peter finds relief in Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), a resort employee who at first takes pity on him, but gradually strikes up a relationship with him.
It’s easy for most of us to relate to a movie like Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Breakups are a part of life, and some point in yours, you’ve probably found yourself on the receiving end of a heart-shattering one.
Don’t worry, little ones. You’ll get yours in time too.
Think of it as a right of passage, just one that’ll make you feel miserable at first. As any Puddle of Mudd song will tell you, breakups suck… REEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!, but given that comedy is, in fact, tragedy plus time, they provide solid backdrops for the genre. On paper, the backdrop to Forgetting Sarah Marshall borders dangerously on being a cheap sitcom gimmick. Man gets dumped, takes a vacation to clear his mind and get away from his troubles only to – oh, no, run headlong right into his troubles. Those troubles, of course, being his old flame and her new boy toy.
Well, what a big coincidence!
Yet despite its sitcom-y premise, Forgetting Sarah Marshall delivers one laugh after the other. As is the case with most, if not all, films out of the Judd Apatow factory, the studio plays up the raunch factor in the movie’s trailers, but this is a much sharper and poignant film than what appears on the surface. Sure, the heavily-advertised sophomoric humor is present, but it hardly dominates the film, and gross-out gags are almost a non-factor.
Unless you wanna count Jason Segel’s “ballsy” intro, hence why I said almost and not entirely.
Dude’s got balls… figuratively and literally.
Another heavily advertised aspect of the film is the aforementioned Judd Apatow brand, though Apatow only serves as a producer here and it’s instead Nicholas Stoller doing directing duties in his directorial debut. It’s understandable, though, why Universal would push Apatow’s name so hard considering the critical and financial hits he delivered for them with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Trainwreck, but Stoller’s work here should not be overlooked. It’s not easy to manage the semi-improvisational style of comedy that defines the Apatow brand. Many other raunchy, R-rated comedies of the past 10-15 years have tried it and failed, usually by way of stretching the improvised bits out too long and not knowing when to move on. Even a filmmaker like David Gordon Green, normally a fantastic indie director, had a bizarre Apatow-esque comedy phase that produced poor results. Stoller, however, keeps the riffing in check and never lets it derail off the tracks into long-winded tedium.
The main reason why this film works so well is, of course, Jason Segel, who not only performs acting duties in the lead role, but also wrote the script. Segel, who hails from the School of Apatow with prior roles in Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared and Knocked Up, serves up a healthy dose of wit and hysterical dialogue. It’s clear he knows a thing or two about rom-com road-maps while also providing fresh spins on a few expected formula routes. Unlike a lot of rom-coms, Forgetting Sarah Marshall takes an unapologetically angrier approach to breakups, yet Segel wisely never lets it descend into bitterness. Sure, the film pulls no punches in its comically indignant attitude toward heartbreak, self-loathing and resentment toward exes, but much like breakups in real life, it’s an attitude that’s part of an overall healing process of getting Segel’s Peter Bretter over to that light at the end of his depressing tunnel.
Along with his writing, Segel also excels in front of the camera in his first lead film role. Prior to this film, Segel had appeared in a handful of films, but was mostly known for his work on TV, particularly as Marshall Ericksen on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. This film, though, proved he’s more than capable of carrying a film. As the brokenhearted Bretter, Segel walks a fine line between mopey schlub and pathetic loser, effectively avoiding the obnoxious latter path that would very easily run the risk of making him no longer relatable to the viewer. There’s a down-to-earth everyman presence to him that makes his character believable, and he possesses this natural gift to turn the most awkward and cringe-inducing scenes into laugh-out-loud gold. Not many people can sheepishly respond to their ex asking what they’re doing at the same hotel with “I came here to murder you.” and have it produce gut-busting laughs from the audience.
The rest of us just end up with court-ordered restraining orders.
Plus, give the man his due. Much of Segel’s charm as a comic actor is his no hesitation attitude toward self-deprecation. He just drives right in. In fact, his first ten minutes of screen-time alone will show you just how unafraid and shameless he really is.
One often risks the sin of self-aggrandizement when writing themselves as the film’s lead, but Segel thankfully avoids committing such a pratfall, not just with his own character’s self-deprecation and vulnerability but also in his treatment of the titular ex, Sarah Marshall. It would’ve been easy to portray her as this diva-esque, two-timing bitch, but Kristen Bell is refreshingly un-she-Devilish here and actually has moments of humanity in a few scenes that make her feel like an actual human and not some one-note caricature we’re hoping gets their just deserts. Russell Brand also turns out a scene-stealing performance as rock star Aldous Snow, the new man in Marshall’s life. Brand cranks the narcissism up to eleven here, but there’s still something oddly adorable in the way his character keeps trying to befriend Bretter, while being totally oblivious to why his girlfriend’s down in the dumps ex might not be into that.
We may not like them, but Segel’s script treats them with enough respect to where we don’t hate them either.
As the potential new live in Bretter’s life, Mila Kunis is an absolute joy to watch here. For a woman who made her name playing the catty shrew Jackie Burkhart on That 70’s Show, Kunis flips that script with a snappy and irresistibly sweet performance, while also showing no trouble whatsoever in holding her own opposite Segel when it comes to comic timing. Though she was already an established actress on TV through the aforementioned That 70’s Show and the animated sitcom Family Guy, it’s really this film that helped propel her transition over to the big screen, and it’s no surprise as to why. She’s easily Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s liveliest asset.
And of course, being that this is an Apatow production, we are treated to a number of great supporting appearances by plenty of the usual suspects from the Apatow gang. Chief among them are Jonah Hill as a star-struck waiter and wannabe musician who’s desperate for Aldous’s attention Bill Hader as Peter’s tough love-giving stepbrother, and the always charming Paul Rudd as an affably air-headed surfing instructor.
Also he’s not from the Apatow camp, but William Baldwin has a hilarious cameo as Sarah Marshall’s costar on a fictionalized version of CSI that has him doing a spot-on mock impression of Horatio Caine’s one-liners.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall ends exactly how you think it’s gonna end, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that’s seen any rom-come from the last hundred years of cinema. Predictable as it may be, though, it’s still a hysterically profane and wonderfully sharp comic romp thanks to Jason Segel’s winning screenplay, which is matched by his equally winning immensely empathetic lead performance. Along with a delightful turn from Mila Kunis and stacked comic supporting cast to boot, this is a familiar but hilarious trip worth taking. Breakups are certainly a downer, but Forgetting Sarah Marshall turns it into something consistently funny and surprisingly touching.
Stash Tier: Platinum Stash
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