Forgetting Sarah Marshall

There’s a reason why Judd Apatow is the reigning It boy of Hollywood comedies: he is funny and knows how to tickle our funny bones. Sure, he misfires sometimes, but does get it right more often than most of other comedians out there. I guess it also helps that he is surrounded by a group of outrageously talented young comic actors.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the latest coming out of Apatow factories. Apatow’s role in this movie is simply a producer. The script is written by Jason Segel, a graduate of Apatow School. He got a major start when he was cast in Apatow’s short-lived but critically acclaimed TV show Freaks and Geeks. You will spot many Apatow regulars in the movie such as Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill and Bill Hader.

Segel’s script is suspected loosely based on his own relationships and experiences in Hollywood. Peter (played by Segel) is a composer for TV show Crime Scene and he has also been dating the star of the show, Sarah Marshall (played by Kristen Bell), for five years. He seems to have a pretty good life and then disaster strikes. Marshall breaks up with Peter and Peter is too distraught to do anything, so he decides to go to Hawaii to mend his broken heart. Who else does he run into but his ex-girlfriend and her new rocker boyfriend. Hilarity ensues and by the end of his stay he has learned something new about himself and life.

The movie clearly falls under the general Apatow umbrella – an ordinary looking man/child hooks up with a beautiful woman and eventually grows up. Yes, it is that unbelievable premise again. But ever so slowly, and certainly by his finish, the first-time director Nicholas Stoller wins us over, delivering not another imitation but a very persuasive and entertaining comedy. The movie certainly satirizes our pop culture – all the crime programs on TV, entertainment reporting and rock star’s self-indulgence. Many of the segments on pop culture are over-the-top and caricaturized, however, when it comes down to characters, it portrays them as human beings. Too many Hollywood comedies cannot have two-dimensional characters and be funny at the same time. Sarah Marshall successfully manages both. In this movie, Apatow seems to have taken his final assault on American Puritanism. He has always talked about putting penis in every movie he makes. In Sarah Marshall, penis is not implied or insinuated. The movie is truly Apatow’s frontal assault and intends to make audiences laugh while feeling uncomfortable at the same time. Segel’s full frontal scene has been widely talked about by media. The scene feels quite natural in the flow of the moment and certainly got big laughs among my fellow audience.

The performance in this movie is good even though I can’t really decide if most of the actors are simply being themselves. I am not sure that it is an honor for Bell to be chosen as Marshall, considering that Bell’s claim to fame was her TV show Veronica Mars, a crime solving drama. It is almost like Apatow chooses the insider of his jokes to play his jokes. It is as if life imitates art. More recently Bell has also been featured in tabloids for dating a comedian who has a reputation very much like her on-screen rock star boyfriend. No doubt Apatow has chosen the right actress for his Sarah Marshall. Segel may be a pretty good writer and a likable guy, but his acting skills are pretty much limited to putting on a cute puppy dog face. The only standout performance belongs to Mila Kunis. She has set herself apart nicely from her role on That 70s Show. In the movie, she plays the hotel receptionist Rachel. She is beautiful, warm and smart. There is certainly a bright future, I hope, for her in the show business.

Sarah Marshall is not up on the same level as The 40 Year Old Virgin, but it is certainly much better than Knocked Up and probably even superior to Superbad (depending on your raunchy taste). It is not going to be easily forgotten.