Reviewed by maroon5gurl88 on Mon April 21, 2008

After I saw “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” I tried to think of the last good comedy that’s come out this year and I honestly couldn’t think of one, which is a good thing. For those who are lacking in laughs this movie is easily one of the best comedies so far.

Composer Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) dreams of creating a Dracula rock opera and living the perfect life with his television star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). When Sarah breaks up with him and leaves him for a sexy British rock star, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), Peter decides to go to Hawaii to forget her. Unfortunately for Peter his ex and her beau are there as well. Peter wonders how he’ll be able to get over her until he meets the hotel receptionist Rachel (Mila Kunis). The two hit it off but things take a turn when Sarah starts to wonder if she wants Peter back.

I loved “Forgetting Sarah Marshall!” Its non-stop laughs and from the opening scene to the end credits you’ll be laughing throughout. Everything is pitch perfect in this movie from the writing, to the acting, to the locations; it’s everything a Judd Apatow movie is without his directing. First time director Nicholas Stoller busts out of the gate with a hilarious movie with a strong story and charm that I wasn’t expecting, and a lot of the amazing one-liners come courtesy of writer Jason Segel, yes the star of the film. The movie doesn’t just jump around trying to find places to insert a joke; the story itself is also great. While it deals with an average guy dating a hot movie star at its core it deals with relationships, breaking up and finding new ones irregardless of status and that’s where the movie excels. The idea of these people being in show business is just a job and the whole film focuses on the ways we find love and how we deal with breaking up and running into the exes and their new loves. The film also benefits from an R-rating which many think might limit the audience but it doesn’t because you need to be of a mature age to understand all the subtle humor. There’s a hilarious scene where Sarah/Aldous and Peter/Rachel are competing for who can have louder sex which made the people in my theater laugh and at the end I heard many a person comment that they had a moment like that or wished they did. Another scene that hit the audience dealt with Peter and Sarah’s awkward sexual encounter at the end. The locations in the film are nothing short of gorgeous, utilizing all the beautiful locations the Turtle Bay resort in Hawaii has to offer, many of which are breathtaking. Another great reason to love this movie is all the little side stories. Sure you have the triangle between Sarah/Aldous/Peter/Rachel but you also have a great subplot with Jack McBrayer and Maria Thayer as newlyweds, the hitch is that the husband is terrified of sex. The movie also has several cameos from Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Jason Bateman and William Baldwin which all make the movie extra special and never seem trivial. And the Dracula puppet opera has to be seen to be believed.

The movie does drag a bit towards the end once Sarah tries to get Peter back. The laughs don’t come quite as frequently at this point. The movie is also pretty lengthy, at almost two hours and some of the audience in my theater was a bit fidgety. Also keep the R-rating in mind and if you’re not interested in male nudity or heavy sexual situations then don’t see this.

The acting from the four leads is all hilarious and amazing. Jason Segel is a great everyman, very much in the vein of Tom Hanks. I loved him in “Knocked Up” and hopefully this movie will cement him as more of a romantic lead a la Seth Rogen. Kristen Bell is phenomenal as Sarah Marshall. She can be sexy, sweet, and funny and she never comes off as spoiled television star, at her core is that she’s a real-life woman. I also found it hilarious that she’s able to poke fun at herself, listen for a discussion about her role in the crappy film “Pulse.” Rising star Russell Brand is a total scene stealer as British rocker Aldous Snow. He’s equal parts Pete Doherty, John Lennon and James Blunt and it’s a great caricature. Every scene he’s in he just dominates. The weakest link is Mila Kunis as Rachel. While she’s not terrible, she’s extremely sweet; I just thought she didn’t have the same glow that the other actors did. She’s strong, but not compared to the other three.

I give “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” a 5/5. Go see it right now!