Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Nicholas Stoller

Writer (WGA):

Jason Segel (written by)

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

From the guys who brought you "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up"

Plot:

Devastated Peter takes a Hawaii vacation in order to deal with recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Resort | Musician | Clerk | Hotel

Awards:

1 win & 9 nominations

Cast

Jason Segel	...	Peter Bretter
Kristen Bell	...	Sarah Marshall
Mila Kunis	...	Rachel Jansen
Russell Brand	...	Aldous Snow
Bill Hader	...	Brian Bretter
Liz Cackowski	...	Liz Bretter
Maria Thayer	...	Wyoma
Jack McBrayer	...	Darald
Taylor Wily	...	Kimo
Davon McDonald	...	Dwayne the Bartender (as Da'Vone McDonald)
Steve Landesberg	...	Dr. Rosenbaum
Jonah Hill	...	Matthew the Waiter
Paul Rudd	...	Chuck
Kala Alexander	...	Greg
Kalani Robb	...	Helpful Hawaiian Waiter

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity.

Runtime:

111 min | 118 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hawaiian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:MA | Ireland:15A | USA:R (certificate #44109) | Norway:11 | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Japan:R-18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:Btl | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Argentina:16 | Peru:14 | Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Apatow Productions

Trivia:

Russell Brand, who plays Aldous Snow, revealed in his stand-up DVD Russell Brand: Doing Life - Live (2007), while talking about making the film, that he fancied Mila Kunis, who plays Rachel Janson.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter is talking to his stepbrother in the kitchen, (before he goes to Hawaii) the cereal in the container on top of the refrigerator changes position several times as does the container after Peter talks about Sarah giving it to him.

Quotes:

Darald: Let me just say that if God was a city planner he would not put a playground next to a sewage system!

Movie Connections:

References "The Sopranos" (1999)

Soundtrack:

We've Got to Do Something

Funny and sweet without seeming too formulaic

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - A slacker composer Peter (Jason Segel from "Knocked Up") has a breakdown after his girlfriend Sarah (Kristen Bell of "Heroes"), the star of a hit TV show, dumps him for a British pop star. Peter goes to Hawaii to try and forget about Sarah, which proves to be a poor choice when he finds Sarah is not only in Hawaii, but they are staying at the same hotel. Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill and Mila Kunis co-star.

This was a funny movie! It's a more mature than your average comedy. It survives comedically without leeching off too many other bits of pop culture, unlike Knocked Up. There is the exception of some funny spoofs of CSI and Ghost Whisperer, two fatted calfs rip for killing. Everyone is allowed to be funny, even the women, and they are. I enjoyed the occasional "Scrubs" style cut-aways which were frequently funny. The best one has to be the week Peter spent in the same pair of sweat pants.

This was a lucky stroke from from first time director Nicholas Stoller and first time writer (in addition to lead actor) Jason Segel. I hate making comparisons to other actors, but I kept thinking of Judge Reinhold when I saw Segel. Not that that's a strike against him.

Segel is a fresh face in the comedy genre, and is adept at playing sympathetic slacker and funny man in one. Kirsten Bell acts much better in this than Heroes, and it's a nice change of pace to not recognize Paul Rudd in appearance and character immediately. Bill Hader is funny as always. What really comes across in this film is that everyone, even Sarah Marshall, seems like a 3-dimensional character. Hopefully the days in comedies when people are bitchy or vile just for the hell of it are gone. Even the shallow pop star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), who is the rival to Peter, is likable. There's no animosity between the two men. It's nice to have a comedy where we don't have to demonize anyone.

It's a cute film, sometimes hilarious, but the first half is definitely funnier than the second half. I might pick it up on DVD sometime.

B+