MovieMantz Review: ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’

‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’

Starring: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Another player from the Judd Apatow hitmaking team knocks it out of the park in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” — a heartfelt and hilarious R-rated comedy from the makers of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” Probably best known as Seth Rogen’s stoner bud from “Knocked Up” — as well as TV’s “Freaks and Geeks” (which Apatow produced) and “How I Met Your Mother” — Jason Segel gets sole credit for writing “Sarah Marshall” in addition to toplining the cast, and the results are, well, unforgettable.

Segel plays Peter Bretter, a laid back underachiever who composes incidental music for “Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime” — a popular TV show that stars Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), his beautiful girlfriend of nearly six years. Peter has no problem staying in the background while Sarah basks in the limelight, but when she rips his heart from his chest and shows it to him while it’s still beating, Peter is totally devastated.

With reminders of Sarah everywhere, Peter escapes to Hawaii in an effort to forget about her. But that turns out to be a bad idea when Peter winds up at the same luxury resort where Sarah is vacationing with her self-absorbed British-rocker boyfriend (Russell Brand). At least Peter gets a break from the torture when he meets Rachel (Mila Kunis), a down-to-earth resort employee who helps him put the pieces of his heart back together again.

Thanks to a heartfelt story and characters that are fully realized, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” joins the ranks of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” as one of Apatow’s best movies. It’s also very well-written, as even the so-called “villains” — played here by the sweet-and-sexy Kristen Bell and the scene-stealing Russell Brand — have moments of depth and vulnerability that keep them from being too one-dimensional.

That’s why the raunchy humor never threatens to overwhelm the story. And it easily could have, especially when Jason Segel lets it all hang out (literally) by going full frontal twice. Moments like these are shocking, but they’re not gratuitous (okay, maybe they are a little). It helps that Segel is right on target as the charming nice-guy who maintains a casual vibe despite making a total fool of himself, and he has great chemistry with Mila Kunis.

And just to remind you that you’re in one of Apatow’s movies, other members of his clan show up in supporting roles. Jonah Hill (“Superbad”) is very funny as the resort worker who has a man-love-crush on Sarah’s rock-star boyfriend, while Paul Rudd (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”) is downright hysterical as the burned-out surf instructor who has a heart-to-heart with Peter and forgets all about it.

Apatow’s films have been criticized for being a little too long, and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is no exception — with a running time of 112 minutes, it could have used a nip here and a tuck there. Otherwise, first-time director Nicholas Stoller effortlessly maintains the easygoing vibe of the film’s Hawaiian setting. But Segel’s the real star here, and that’s enough to make me wonder which of Apatow’s team players will be the next to step up to the plate.

VERDICT: SEE IT!