- Title: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- IMDB: link
After a hard break-up with his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell), Peter (Jason Segel) mopes around so much his step-brother (Bill Hader) puts him on a plane to Hawaii in hopes he’ll be able to move on.
His attempts are thwarted when he arrives at a swanky resort only to find Sarah and her new beau, ridiculous musician Aldous Snow (Russel Brand), also as guests. The sole bright spot in Peter’s personal hell is a beautiful hotel cleck (Mila Kunis) who, along with other members of the staff, attempt to get Peter back on his feet. For more on the story of the film you can check out Ian’s original review.
The script, although it contains many fun moments, is deeply flawed. Of all the characters only Peter, Sarah, and Rachel (Kunis) seem real. The rest of the cast is a group of characters created solely as one-joke characters, and almost impossible to take seriously.
Another problem is the basic idea that pain, both emotional and pyshical, is hilarious. However pain isn’t always funny in, and of, itself. I like Segel and have enjoyed him recently on How I Met Your Mother, but as a writer he struggles to put together a script which holds together. Yes, some of Peter’s misadventures and misery have some nice comedic touches, but some are just sad.
Much like the initial response to the film in theaters my reaction to the DVD was mixed. There are enough extras on the Collector’s Edition to justify giving it a shot and to slightly bump up my score of the film. It’s a nice rental, but, even though the puppets are really cool, and the film has some nice performances from its three main leads, there’s not quite enough here for me to recommend purchasing either version of the film.
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