'Sarah Marshall' remarkably memorable

Published: April 18, 2008

Getting real humor out of alleged comedies is too rare, which is why "Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is so memorable. Screenwriter/star Jason Segel frontloads, backloads and fills the middle of his film with genuine laughs and creates sympathetic characters that help this great comedy transcend its formula.

Peter Bretter (Segel, "How I Met Your Mother” and "Knocked Up”) is a sound track composer for a "CSI”-like procedural drama that stars his longtime girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and William Baldwin (playing himself and channeling David Caruso). Peter has grown accustomed to life in Sarah's shadow, working at home and spending his days on the sofa. But his comfortable, slovenly existence comes to an end when Sarah breaks up with him in an embarrassing scene.

Peter does not cope well, and despite the efforts of half-brother Brian (Tulsan Bill Hader) to shake him out of his funk, the man spends most of his days weeping uncontrollably. On the spur of the moment, Peter jets to a Hawaii resort to forget his troubles but soon learns Sarah and her insufferable new boyfriend, British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), are there.

Fortunately, Peter has a guardian angel. Desk clerk Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) empathizes with Peter's plight, setting him up in a palatial suite usually reserved for kings or Oprah, and tries to show him how to forget Sarah. Without question, Rachel makes a strong case.

Directed by Nicholas Stoller, who worked with Segel and producer Judd Apatow on the great but short-lived Fox series "Undeclared,” "Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is packed with memorable characters and performances. Hader and Liz Cackowski, who plays Brian's wife, steal scenes and deserve their own spin-off/sequel. Brand is great as a slimy, Liam Gallagher-like cad, and Paul Rudd is just as indispensable in a cameo as deeply stoned surf instructor Chuck.

But it is Segel, Bell and Kunis who carry the film. Segel plays a variation on most of his roles, a deeply insecure but genuinely nice guy with a strong geek streak. His dream is to stage a "Dracula” musical with puppets. Segel could have easily written the Sarah character as a simple shrew, but Sarah had good reasons for leaving Peter, and Bell's scenes in which she explicates her problems with Peter are her strongest.

As for Kunis, the former "That 70s Show” star who also voices Meg on "Family Guy” delivers a breakout performance. Rachel is not just an incredibly pretty face; Kunis plays her as a bold force with her own sad past who shakes Peter out of his torpor. She shows him there can be a future beyond his post-breakup misery.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is filled with blunt humor that many people will see as over-the-top raunchiness. The film is bookended by comedic full-frontal male nudity, so be forewarned. But like "Knocked Up” and "Superbad,” "Sarah Marshall” taps into the way young people talk and think when bosses or parents are nowhere to be found. This streak of recent comedy from Team Apatow is refreshingly truthful, and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is so sharp and funny, the laughs will continue long after the last puppet vampire sings.

— George Lang

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