movie review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

I can't say Jason Segel really stole Freaks and Geeks--every character and actor on that show was so perfect and integral that it would be unfair to specially highlight anybody--but he was great on it. Segel did however, no questions asked, steal Undeclared (not to mention SLC Punk--go Hardcore Mike!). In short, the guy is terrific, and its great to see him finally get his moment to shine. And Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a pretty great moment to have. Much of the strength of Apatow-associated movies lies in their rewatchability, so I can't say yet how it compares to say, Knocked Up, but it was funny and touching and quotable, and all the kinds of things you want a movie like this to be. And besides, it deserves to taken on its own right for the moment.
Segel essentially plays a slightly more mature (or at least, older) version of the endearing / creepy sad sacks that he portrayed so well on Freaks and Undeclared. Anyway, he's pretty excellent overall, remaining likable, and more than ably carrying the movie.
His script is pretty damn good too. The scenario he's concocted (guy goes on vacation to resort where his recent ex also is staying, wacky adventures and hilarity ensue) could easily play out as a typical rom-com, but Segel is smart enough to always push scenes in slightly different directions. During a big scene in the third act, for example, in which Segel's Peter has a moment of weakness with Sarah Marshall, I expected his new love interest to happen by, see him, run off and be mad, leading to an obligatory obstacle to the happy ending. But thankfully, she never shows up, and though Peter's acts do prove to be an obstacle, its only because Peter immediately confesses them, thus reshaping a typical third act plot device into a nice, character driven moment. That actually kind of sums up the script as a whole- the plot feels movieish, but the characters, for the most part, feel real--a tough thing to pull off.
The supporting cast helps out plenty though. I've never quite seen the appeal of Kristen Bell (though I suppose I've really I only seen her in Heroes and this, and one scene in Pootie Tang), but she does fine here in what is really a pretty small part. Though for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, she occasionally looks like the Predator to me. Don't ask me. . . it was a momentary thing while watching the movie. It doesn't even make sense to me right now.
Mila Kunis is pretty good too--like Topher Grace , she avoided the scientology trap of her fellow That 70's Show castmates (Ashton Kutcher did too I guess, though he remains Ashton Kutcher, impediment enough) and is turning into a likable and pretty actress. Her part could easily fall into the pixie dream girl trap, but she manages (with some help from Segel's scripts) to elevate the character--watching her, I was able to buy that this girl had a life beyond helping the protoganist out of his funk, even if that's her main purpose in the story.
Apatow ringers Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill are pretty funny in their bit parts, though both are fairly inessential to the story. I kinda wonder if Hill's obsessive fan character was modeled in any way on his apparent Single White Femaling of Seth Rogen. Jack McBrayer again plays Jack McBrayer, but he's so damn funny that I'm not ready to complain about it (he also gets some of the most quotable dialogue, namely "If God was a city planner, he wouldn't put a playground right next to a sewage treatment plant" or something to that effect). I dug Russell Brand too-- like Mila Kunis, he's really able to elevate what could be a pretty generic character (rock star lothario) into something real and unique. (His Aldous Snow character is another example of the way the script plays fair-another movie would insist on humiliating him, revealing him to be, I don't know, not British and impotent or something. Instead, Segel is content to leave him truly as a larger than life rock star, who when encountered in reality, comes off as just a guy with his own issues and story.)
The direction seemed mostly to be pretty point and shoot, but was fine for this kind of movie. Some reviews I've seen have complained that this, like all the Apatow comedies, runs too long, but the length wasn't a problem for me. These movies are little worlds, populated by cool, funny people. Why wouldn't you want to spend an extry fifteen or twenty minutes hanging out there?
The soundtrack was nice pretty solid too; it was especially nice to hear Belle & Sebastian in a soundtrack that wasn't, um, Juno (note: I liked Juno fine, but I HATED the Kimya Dawson / Moldy Peaches songs running through the movie, which had the nasty side effect of tainting all the other good stuff that was on the soundtrack, including two excellent Belle & Sebastian songs--seriously, efforts to prove B & S not twee were set back years by Juno).
So, yeah, see this. Jason Segel deserves to be a huge success, and this a smart, funny, and even touching movie.