• Wide Release
• Director: Nicholas Stoller
• Written by: Jason Segel
• Running Time: 112 minutes
• Language: English
• MPAA Rating: R - Restricted
• Cast: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Bill Hader, Russell Brand, Liz Cackowski, Maria Thayer, Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Taylor Wily, Steve Landesberg, Davon McDonald, Kala Alexander, Kalani Robb, Francesca DeBlanco, Branscombe Richmond, Billy Bush, William Baldwin, Jason Bateman, Peter Lewis, Trula M. Marcus, Kirk Fox, June Diane Raphael, Ahna O'Reilly, Tanisha Harper, Carla Gallo, Murray Miller, Cynthia Lamontagne, Max Alexander, Kris Fitzgerald, Brittany Ross, Joe 'Kaleo' Kelii, Peter Salett, Gedde Watanabe, Chaunnel Salmon, Allan Jeff Ho, Chaunnel Salmon, Mervyn Lilo, Philip Matila, Danielle Prem, Tehina-Mai K. Mataele, Agnes Matila, Scott Francis Russell, Genny Wilson, William Marshall

Lately every Judd Apatow flick released, about one a week it seems, contains all the same ingredients and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, his latest offering, is no different. Working as a producer, Apatow lets first time writer Jason Segel, a guy who cut his teeth appearing on "Freaks and Geeks" among other things, steer the bus into places unknown, well somehwat unknown. Thankfully, he’s got “Fun With Dick and Jane” director Nicholas Stoller navigating -- and the destination they arrive at is surprisingly quite exhilarating, something that can’t be said for several other Apatow comedies I’ve seen this year. There's a backlash against Judd Apatow currently underway, but hopefully this film won't be one of the casualties because it's a good one.

Despite the added Segel seasoning, the film still smells like Appatow; from the sly way of situating the film’s spirit into the title; to the way it unapologetically venerates a central character (or characters) that are mainly slacker-on-the-couch loser types; to the way it celebrates raunchy and foul mouthed “Porky’s” humour; to the ever-present and superfluous “oh my god” full-frontal male nude shot; to the sharp as Freddy’s claws dialogue; it’s all there and it boy does it smack like Apatow’s breath after a hard night out drinking. That aside, I have to admit that I actually enjoyed this offering from the Apatow movie-assembly line. It’s a sweet and romantic comedy that actually makes you laugh.

Unceremoniously coughed up by his television star girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), Peter Bretter (Jason Segel), a music composer, elects to bury his sorrows in a binge of alcohol fuelled one-night stands. While it seems his sex-life is at its zenith, his mind and heart are still reeling, often leaving him a blubbering mess once the “V” (see the movie) has left for the night. Sensing his pain, his stepbrother Brian (Bill Hader) suggests that Peter take a vacation, get away from the city, and the memory of Sarah, for a while. Relenting, Peter remembers a resort in Hawaii that Sarah talked about and decides to indulge his brother’s proposition. While situating himself at said resort he quickly realizes in an awkward scene that Sarah and her grungy Brit rocker paramour, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) are already checked in. Sensing his unease… and sadness, a perceptive desk clerk, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), decides to personally book Peter into a complimentary suite. Not wanting to look as though he’s running away, Peter decides to make the most of his bizarre situation. Even though his first few nights are spent inside crying, Peter eventually gets out to the beach for some socializing, encouraged greatly by a likeable and sympathetic hotel staff. Spunky Rachel leads the charge, prodding at Peter to use his vacation time to actually enjoy himself and forget the girl that broke his heart.

Thanks to a talkative bartender, we learn quite early that one of Rachel’s duties at the hotel is to keep the guests happy, especially sad-sack guests like Peter. We get the sense that maybe her syrupy concerned friend routine is all an act – an idea given some weight when another side of her peronality is shown, erupting in a goofy scene where nearly gets into an unprovoked scrap with an ex, and later, when Peter finds a mischievous nude photo of her plastered on the bathroom wall of the local bar. Interestingly, Peter’s vulnerability and overall sweetness begins to melt Rachel's heart and before long she’s falling in love with him and he too with her. Complicating matters is Sarah, who upon learning that her C.S.I.-like television series has been cancelled, is looking for someone to confide in, something she doesn’t find in her self-absorbed new boyfriend, but she does with Peter. Too late in the game, she realizes just what she had with her ex.

In an interesting twist, the film happily goes against the grain by not relegating Bell’s character to evil villain status, something a lesser film would have done without a second thought. A scene late in the film where a frustrated Marshall pours out her heart to Peter about all the things she did to try to save their relationship, is rather heartbreaking, and helps to not only humanize her character but balance things out in the bigger picture. In that moment we actually sympathize with Sarah and, strangely, understand why Peter might have loved her so much. Usually in films of this type, it’s easy to label one of the characters as the villain and the other as the victim. Here, both parties are presented as real people, with feelings and regrets. Sarah cheated and Peter was unmotivated, and both had, in their way, given up on the relationship.

The thing about this film that makes it so unforgettable is the way it manages to take some rather common comedic situations and really energize them and rework them in ways we're not accustomed to. Witty and cleaver dialogue is married with some highly affable offbeat characters, to create some laugh out loud moments, namely a scene at a dinner table, that’s been done before. Here, however, Segel infuses the scene with some contemporary-humour, taking satirical shots at Sarah Marshall’s character, and those ridiculous television dramas we all know and love, the kind star Kristen Bell, the actress playing Marshall, appears on in “Veronica Mars”. Segel must have been inspired by Bell’s career because next up on his hitlist is a horror film where cell phones kill people. Bell appeared in a film called “Pulse” that featured a very similar plot. Along with that, we also get some moments that wed slapstick with moments of poignancy; the most obvious involves a sequence where the characters indulge one of those carpe diem moments and jump off a cliff. Yes, it’s been done before but never in this way. Segel brilliently subverts this well-worn moment and, as if the perfect allegory for his character, trips and stumbles down the cliff before splashing into the water – and into the loving arms of his future. Sorry folks but this is exceptional writing. Also watch for the Dracula Opera performed with puppets, a scene so funny that I could barely catch my breath.

As the writer and star, Peter Segel (1998’s “Can't Hardly Wait”) pens his character as emasculated, shy, morose, underachieving and lazy; that is until his life charts a course he wasn’t prepared for. Segel also blatantly writes himself into some extended full-frontal nude scenes, something of which were probably funnier during the conception phase. He goes a long way with this character, which is so gentle and affable that it’s hard for the audience to not absolutely love him. For me, the most fun came in watching how Peter is slowly re-invigorated by life and the possibilities that exist within -- and how irresistible he becomes to Sarah because of it. Mila Kunis (1997’s “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves”) as Rachel is a delight. Her character, like Segel’s, is dealing with her own heartbreak and because of it, has been apathetic about finishing her collegiate studies.

Good natured Kristen Bell (2005's "Deepwater"), a woman so beautiful that she takes your breath away, hits all the right notes here with a character that is surprisingly more complex than we first sense. Sadly, she exits the picture on a bizarre note, something I'm thinking had less to do with art and more to do with keeping the film's running time in check. Seemingly inspired by the infamous Gallagher brothers, Russell Brand (2002's "White Teeth") in his Aldous Snow character is simply amazing. This guy just owns the camera every time he steps in front of it. With his pompous attitude, greasy hair, dirty unshaven week old stubble, slurred accent and rambunctious sex drive, he’s the character we’re probably supposed to despise but, alas, it’s not to be. This guy, for all his faults, is also quite likeable. One specific sequence where he stops to help out a sexually frustrated newlywed Jack McBrayer (2007's "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"), helps give his character a layer that it probably didn’t need. Rounding out the cast are some Apatow regulars including a waiter Jonah Hill (2006's "10 Items Or Less"), whose genuine kindness eventually gives way to some creepy stalker-like qualities; Paul Rudd (1995's "Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Meyers") as a perpetually stoned surfer and, in his big screen debut, Taylor Wily, as a sensitive larger-than-life chef who goes out of his way to provide Peter with an ear or a shoulder to lean on, usually when he most needs one.

Although some have drawn comparisons to the Farrelly Brothers mean-spirited flop “The Heartbreak Kid”, I think I spotted more similarities to Betty Thomas’ mostly unknown but wonderful “Only You”, a film starring Andrew McCarthy and Helen Hunt that better captured the overall spirit of this film, minus the comic gold presented here, of course. In closing, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long time, and this is coming from a guy who isn't a Judd Apatow fan. Now, I’m just hoping that he can keep up this trend. Less of the "Knocked Up" garbage and more of the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", I say. Check it out!