Jason Segal and Mila Kunis in Forgetting Sarah Marshall
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is book-ended by the sight of Jason Segal's penis, which perfectly frames this movies emotional vulnerability and locker-room humor into one surprisingly consumable mixture.
"Sarah Marshall" is the latest comedy from the Judd Apatow laugh factory.
Its lead actor and screenwriter, Jason Segel, worked with Apatow on "Knocked Up" and "Freaks and Geeks," and shares his mentor's belief that great comedy comes from humiliation and pain.
"Sarah" will be remembered primarily for Segel's bravery in baring all to the camera when the title heroine (Kristen Bell) dumps his character, Peter. Initially, Segel's full-frontal nudity is played strictly for laughs, but as the scene progresses, and Segel remains naked, we see the emotional pain of Peter's dejection laid bare.
Neither Segel or director Nicholas Stoller desire to pull your heart strings for too long. "Sarah Marshall" has a strong eye for character, but it exists to make you laugh, not to reveal truths about the human condition. And the movie is ably abetted by the presence of such Apatow regulars as Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill and Bill Hader in supporting roles.
After the breakup, Peter heads to Hawaii for a little therapeutic R&R, a plan that goes horribly and hilariously awry when Sarah shows up at the same resort with her new boyfriend, oversexed English rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand).
There are echoes of "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" here, but the appealing Segel has invested the story with enough personal details to make it feel like an outgrowth of his fabulous television work on "Freaks and Geeks", "Undeclared", & "How I Met Your Mother." This is his first produced screenplay, but the material was a lifetime in the making.
STARRING: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Russell Brand, Mila Kunis
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Stoller
RATING: R for sexual content, language, graphic nudity
RUNNING TIME: 1 hour, 52 minutes
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