How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 13 April 2008
This article is a review of FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL. |
“I'm trying to. It's so hard here. Brian, everywhere I look I'm reminded of her, okay? Like, she got me this, okay because I would always leave my cereal boxes open, and the cereal would get stale, and so one day I came home, and she had this waiting for me, because it keeps my cereal fresh. And now I have the freshest cereal,” Peter Bretter
I can’t be the only one who thinks KNOCKED UP is over-rated? But if you like KNOCKED UP you’ll like this. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL follows the same formula of a nerdy guy with really no positive qualities having a hot girl fall for him, except here at one point the lead has two hot girls after him. Watching the Death Star blow up a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away is more believable than having writer-star Jason Segel’s sad-sack slob Peter Bretter dating Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) for five years. She realises five years after the audience has realised after two minutes that he is not the one for her.
Peter then goes into a brief unfunny grieving period. Compare Adam Sandler’s meltdown in THE WEDDING SINGER. And this is the recurring feeling throughout FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, that all this has been done better in other films. This is a wasted opportunity at looking at being dumped. It is not in the same league of wit, charm and brains as ETENRAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLES MIND, nor as weirdly bitter-sweet as Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston starrer THE BREAK-UP, nor containing as much bile as Kevin Smith’s MALLRATS.
I can’t be the only one who thinks KNOCKED UP is over-rated? But if you like KNOCKED UP you’ll like this. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL follows the same formula of a nerdy guy with really no positive qualities having a hot girl fall for him, except here at one point the lead has two hot girls after him. Watching the Death Star blow up a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away is more believable than having writer-star Jason Segel’s sad-sack slob Peter Bretter dating Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) for five years. She realises five years after the audience has realised after two minutes that he is not the one for her.
Peter then goes into a brief unfunny grieving period. Compare Adam Sandler’s meltdown in THE WEDDING SINGER. And this is the recurring feeling throughout FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, that all this has been done better in other films. This is a wasted opportunity at looking at being dumped. It is not in the same league of wit, charm and brains as ETENRAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLES MIND, nor as weirdly bitter-sweet as Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston starrer THE BREAK-UP, nor containing as much bile as Kevin Smith’s MALLRATS.
Amazon UK
|
Amazon USA
|
There are moments of mirth – a repressed, religious man talking about how he enjoys a CSI-style show when they mix the sex and violence, or virtually all the main cast doing impressions of Russell Brand in an intentionally rubbish Dick Van Dyke-MARY POPPINS style.
To help get over his pain Peter flies to Hawaii, but ends up staying at the same hotel as Sarah Marshall and her new rock star boyfriend, Aldous Snow (a spot-on Russell Brand). Alleviating this added humiliation he finds solace in striking receptionist Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis – THAT 70S SHOW, FAMILY GUY).
The film skirts along the same groove as so many romantic comedies, which offers up the simplistic nugget of wisdom that getting over an ex is done through falling into the arms of another (who also happens to be The One). It is the rebound school of heartbreak mending. The film is not a dud but what it says about human relationships is so banal, that only a hilarious script would make you not care about its lack of profundity. Good supporting work from Brand, Jonas Hill (SUPER BAD) and Paul Rudd (ANCHORMAN, THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN), together with the gorgeous locations, which seem to capture the warmth and escapism of Hawaii, make the movie worth watching; but where are the modern comedies shining an illuminating light on romance, while being funny and entertaining?
I don’t know about you but when was the last time you saw a beautiful woman dating a physically unattractive, non-famous, and lacking in wealth, bloke with an unenticing, slobby personality? This is sporadically amusing sci-fi, not rom-com.
We have selected movies below that we think will be of interest to you based on this review.
Using these Amazon affiliated links help us keep Filmaluation free for all film and arts lovers.
Amazon UK
|
|
|
|
Amazon USA
|
|
|
|