FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL

Ahhhh, Judd Apatow. You slay me.

I'll say it: I rate KNOCKED UP higher. But officially sliding into third of the Apatow-helmers is the comedy Jason Segel penned and starred in.* (And to keep score, the breakdown is this: (1)Anchorman, which Judd Apatow produced; (2)Knocked Up, (3)FSM, (4)40 Year Old Virgin, (5)Super Bad...though I have yet to see Talladega Nights, Walk Hard or Drillbit Taylor (may never).)

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL has the seriousness of a true break-up, much like 2006's THE BREAK-UP starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston, mixed with the comedy of a sensitive man trying to deal. Sure, Jason Segel's character PETER is, at times, far too sensitive to be taken seriously, but he's balanced quite well by Russell Brand (whence came THIS wonderful man?) who plays the over-sexualised ALDOUS SNOW, the British rocker who steals Peter's girlfriend's heart. This film balances between admonishing and praising these two extremes of manhood and waters down the social critique with just the right amount of laughter so that we barely notice how honest the film's subject matter really is: a woman dating a depressed musician tries to save her relationship, fails, cheats, confesses and then regrets her decision when she finally fully observes the sub-par options of other men in the room. This is romantic life, and Jason Segel's writing captures it well. Special kudos to Paul Rudd, playing the "If this were an Adam Sandler movie, there'd be a Rob Schneider buddy role" buddy role, here as a loveable pot-smoking surf instructor.

plot: Vacationing with the ex-The One.
thought: PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is gonna ROCK!
in five: 4/5

the film: http://www.forgettingsarahmarshall.com/

*ack, a hanging preposition!